Quail Questions From A Newbie

[Sunshine0235]

I've done a few searches of the forum, but not quite finding some of the answers I am looking for.

I have button quails eggs in the incubator. It will be one week tomorrow. I was sent 18 in the mail, and 13 are developing, which is a decent percent of them. I've done plenty of hatches with chicken eggs, and this is the very first dabble in something not chickens. I know some of the basics, like 16 day incubation, raise humidity at lockdown, which Im gonna lockdown in the middle of day 13 just to be on the safe side.
I've read to take them out after about 8 hours since they cant last as long as chickens in the incubator, or as soon as they are dry. Which I have no problem doing, since i do that with chicks already. I do have shelving liner that will prevent them from falling through the wire.

I have their food already, a 24% gamebird crumble, one question I have is, will I need to crush this smaller for the baby buttons, it says small enough for baby quail, but I dont know if that includes buttons, I would like to have that ready as they start hatching.

I am going tomorrow to get marbles to put in their water so they dont drown, so no questions there.

I've read the you should'nt use wood chips right away since they can injure chicks, is this true? If so would something like care fresh bedding for small pets at a petstore be safe for them? Or would using paper towels or shelving liner be safer? Or what would be the best to use? I want them to have the best chance at survival.

I already have a heat lamp for them, so that is no problem. One concern though is that chickens can have diseases that are fatal to quail, so should I get a new brooder for them (just a plastic tote)? I have chicken eggs in the incubator also, will something pass between the chicks and the chicken eggs? Is it safe to have them near each other in the incubator? Just a note, I did have a full grown silkie with 4 babies in it about 4 weeks ago, i dont know if that will affect your answers.

How long does it take for them to be fully feathered? (Just so I have a timeline to build their housing)

How soon will I need foam on the top of the brooder so they dont hurt themselves? I am planning on making a 2 foot wide, 4 foot long, and 2 foot high wood habitat for them. I am planning one one male and about three females. I was thinking of different bedding options in there, I was wanting it to look as natural as possible, would something like the coconut coir fiber, that they typically use for reptiles (i use it for my tortoises) be ok to use? I would mix with sand to give it some texture. Or would just doing half the floor with wood chips and the other half with sand for dust bathing be ok? What is the ideal bedding? I plan on doing spot cleaning daily, and complete changes ones a week. I also plan on lots of little hiding spots, will over turned flowers pots and half log tunnels(typically for reptiles) be Ok? I will probably have some silk plants in they also, are there any types I should avoid? I was planning on painting the wood, so are there any proven safe paints to use, or is there anything I should avoid?

For the females, I would need crushed oyster shells for calcium right? Could these be used straight from the bag, or will they most like need to be broken into small chunks? What would be the best thing to use to crush them smaller if this needs done?

I feel like thats all, but is there anything important I am missing? Any tips with them? Anything I should watch for, I really dont want them to suffer since I've never had them before. I will probably ask more questions as I think of them.

Thanks so much for the help. I am kind of nervous of completely screwing this up.

(sorry in advance for any typos)

 

[funsized72]

This should answer your questions cuz it answered mine.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/102281/coturnix-quail-basics-information-and-pictures-galore

 

[Sunshine0235]

Yes I have already read through some of that, but haven't seen some of the answers yet.

 

[dc3085]

I've done a few searches of the forum, but not quite finding some of the answers I am looking for.

I have button quails eggs in the incubator. It will be one week tomorrow. I was sent 18 in the mail, and 13 are developing, which is a decent percent of them. I've done plenty of hatches with chicken eggs, and this is the very first dabble in something not chickens. I know some of the basics, like 16 day incubation, raise humidity at lockdown, which Im gonna lockdown in the middle of day 13 just to be on the safe side.
I've read to take them out after about 8 hours since they cant last as long as chickens in the incubator, or as soon as they are dry. Which I have no problem doing, since i do that with chicks already. I do have shelving liner that will prevent them from falling through the wire.

I have their food already, a 24% gamebird crumble, one question I have is, will I need to crush this smaller for the baby buttons, it says small enough for baby quail, but I dont know if that includes buttons, I would like to have that ready as they start hatching.
you'll have to crush it but be careful not to get it too powdery because it can cause respiratory problems.

I am going tomorrow to get marbles to put in their water so they dont drown, so no questions there.

I've read the you should'nt use wood chips right away since they can injure chicks, is this true? If so would something like care fresh bedding for small pets at a petstore be safe for them? Or would using paper towels or shelving liner be safer? Or what would be the best to use? I want them to have the best chance at survival.

Certain wood chips are harmful to their respiratory system but more than anything they don't know not to eat them so you can get impacted bowels and crops much easier. I have old towels that I use so I can wash them each time.

I already have a heat lamp for them, so that is no problem. One concern though is that chickens can have diseases that are fatal to quail, so should I get a new brooder for them (just a plastic tote)? I have chicken eggs in the incubator also, will something pass between the chicks and the chicken eggs? Is it safe to have them near each other in the incubator? Just a note, I did have a full grown silkie with 4 babies in it about 4 weeks ago, i dont know if that will affect your answers.

Even between quail chicks I bleach the brooder with 10% bleach solution then I leave it in the sun for a full day. UV rays are fantastic disinfectant. The eggs won't pass anything to the chicks but chicken chicks could so obviously different brooders for them.

How long does it take for them to be fully feathered? (Just so I have a timeline to build their housing)
4-5 weeks, then they can come off the lamp. They don't do well outside in winter if your temps get below 40 degrees, so you may have to light them up to keep them warm during cold months.

How soon will I need foam on the top of the brooder so they dont hurt themselves? I am planning on making a 2 foot wide, 4 foot long, and 2 foot high wood habitat for them. I am planning one one male and about three females. I was thinking of different bedding options in there, I was wanting it to look as natural as possible, would something like the coconut coir fiber, that they typically use for reptiles (i use it for my tortoises) be ok to use? I would mix with sand to give it some texture. Or would just doing half the floor with wood chips and the other half with sand for dust bathing be ok? What is the ideal bedding? I plan on doing spot cleaning daily, and complete changes ones a week. I also plan on lots of little hiding spots, will over turned flowers pots and half log tunnels(typically for reptiles) be Ok? I will probably have some silk plants in they also, are there any types I should avoid? I was planning on painting the wood, so are there any proven safe paints to use, or is there anything I should avoid?

The end of the second week they'll be able to hit the lid pretty easily.

Button quail are monogamous and mate for life, like a dove. They should be kept in single pairs. Even the females get aggressive with each other over their mate.

For the females, I would need crushed oyster shells for calcium right? Could these be used straight from the bag, or will they most like need to be broken into small chunks? What would be the best thing to use to crush them smaller if this needs done?

If you don't break up the oyster shell more they'll just cherry pick the smaller pieces and leave the bigger stuff.

I feel like thats all, but is there anything important I am missing? Any tips with them? Anything I should watch for, I really dont want them to suffer since I've never had them before. I will probably ask more questions as I think of them.

Buttons usually need to be shown how to eat and drink when you transfer them to the brooder.

Thanks so much for the help. I am kind of nervous of completely screwing this up.

(sorry in advance for any typos)

 

[Sunshine0235]

OK so pairs only, didn't realize that. Guess I will need more habitats for them then, probably go with two pairs then. Thanks for the info, I've not seen the pairs only thing otherwise females will get aggressive with each other.


Should I separate them when they get to moving out of the brooder age? Or when would be best?

 

[dc3085]

It's not only female agression. Stress level stays lower. Plus it's better for the breed. People breeding them improperly breaks down the genetics of the species. Wild coturnix mate in pairs but domestic coturnix will kill just one hen by over breeding her and these days they need 3-4 hens minimum. I'd not want to see button quail end up the way coturnix are (fat and kind of stupid).

Even 20-30 gallon aquariums work for housing a pair, they don't need much.

You have till about 8-10 weeks to separate before they start fighting too much.

All of these briefly discuss the monogamous habits of button quail.

http://brackenridgeranch.com/site/Housing-and-Feed/
http://www.featheredobsessions.com/Button_Quail_Care.html
http://www.featheredobsessions.com/Housing.html

 

[Sunshine0235]

OK another question, I have an old C&C guinea pig cage, I've seen where someone used one of these. Mine is 2ft by 5 feet. If I divide this into 3 section, will that be acceptable housing? (each will have 3.3 square feet)

How small of holes can they fit through? The holes on my cage are 1in by 1 inch, just to be safe I will probably use hardwire clothe to line it, but is the 1in by 1 in enough for adults?

In between the pairs will I need a solid wall so they cant see each other or will just the hard wire cloth be enough?

 

[dc3085]

OK another question, I have an old C&C guinea pig cage, I've seen where someone used one of these. Mine is 2ft by 5 feet. If I divide this into 3 section, will that be acceptable housing? (each will have 3.3 square feet)

I don't see why not.

How small of holes can they fit through? The holes on my cage are 1in by 1 inch, just to be safe I will probably use hardwire clothe to line it, but is the 1in by 1 in enough for adults?

They can fit through 1x1 holes as adults.

In between the pairs will I need a solid wall so they cant see each other or will just the hard wire cloth be enough?

Solid. if they can see each other it just stresses them out pacing and fighting and fighting and pacing.