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Introduction
Some of you may be asking the same question that I was a few months ago, ”How do I keep button quail?” Well, here’s my two cents after keeping mine. Before I start, I just want to say a special thanks to @Nabiki for always answering my questions and being so helpful.Button Quail (King Quail)
You’ve decided you want button quail but don’t know where to start. One of my questions was, “Why in the world are there different types of button quail?” There’s king quail (which are commonly called button quail) and Australian button quail. King quail are more commonly kept in captivity, and are what this article is about. From here on out I will call them Button quail.Incubation
I already had an incubator, so my first step was to acquire eggs. I ordered them from a breeder on Etsy, who had many different colorations.
Potential Problems
I had a power outage due to a storm, but thankfully it only lasted 2 hours. If this happens to you here’s what you do : Throw a blanket on the incubator and DON’T OPEN IT!! Even if it’s time to turn them, resist the temptation and leave them alone. If you open the incubator they will quickly lose heat. My eggs took a few days extra due to the wrong temperature and the power outage. The trick to incubation is Patience, it will be rewarded! On day 18 I finally hatched a baby!
Chicks
When they hatch, leave them in the incubator for a few hours to allow them to dry. If you think a chick is stuck in its egg, wait until 24 hours after it pips and do plenty of research. I rushed and accidentally killed a chick that was shrink-wrapped in its egg. Button Quail are only the size of a bumble bee when they hatch! Chicks need to be fed game bird starter (which may need to be ground up in a blender), kept between 95-98 degrees Fahrenheit (35-36 degrees Celsius), and given a water dish that they can’t drown in. I used an aquarium with a screen lid as their brooder. Bottle caps can be used as food and water dishes when they are young. I recommend putting marbles in the water dish to ensure that they don’t drown.I kept them on paper towels, which have to be changed daily. Be very careful if you handle them in these first delicate few days. I had 3 healthy babies hatch and 1 who I ended up losing. I believe she had neurological issues, but she tried so hard.
Health problems
Here’s some remedies for common button quail chick health problems.1. If you have a weak chick, try carefully feeding them raw egg through a syringe.
2. If they have curled feet try straightening their toes and encasing them in a piece of tape, so that it looks like they have webbed feet.
3. If your chick’s feet slip out from under them (spraddle leg), put them in a small flower pot or shot glass, so that they’re forced to stand up. Let them out to eat every so often. If a shot glass is used, put something with some traction in the bottom.
Growing up
At one week old they were growing feathers!
Adulthood
At about 8 weeks old they are considered adults. Females will start laying eggs. They will still need heat when it gets cold. They will begin eating regular game bird feed. I have a trio of males, so I feed mine All-Flock crumbles. You can find more information on feeding your quail here. Quail love dust baths and it helps them with their preening. At this age they will stop chirping so much and start making their adult calls. My male quail scream like eagles. They are flighty and nervous, so be careful when handling them. Here is an article on sexing button quail.
Conclusion
My quail are doing great and it has been really fun keeping them. I hope this article helps someone who’s trying to figure out where to start. If y’all have any suggestions, corrections, or questions please post them in a review or privately message me! If you want to learn more, here is another article.Thanks for reading! God bless you and have a great day!
