🥰CUTEST PICS HERE! Help, button quail expert needed. 🥰

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

I would not free range quail they are fast at flying away.

You are meaning to put them in a cage on the ground, yes?

Sorry, yes, they have an outdoor run, I unfortunately lost my best girl once, just opening the cage to feed her. I have now had to make a net contraption for the cages, so that can never happen again. I literally still get upset about it now!

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

I'll trust @007Sean on the colours. I'm not great with colours, mostly because I just care about whether or not they're pretty.

And they are pretty!

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

I was amazed at how different the juvenile color and patterns were from the hatchling’s. An all yellow chick ended up looking like this:

That's exactly the same thing that happened to me. It seemed Luke within 24 hours someone Had swapped my buttons for new ones, lol!

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

So do you keep them all together instead of pairing them up?

In the first and last pics I would say that the two on the outside are male and the two middle are hens.

I think and hope you are all right about sexes, because, when I am standing watching them, they have entirely different shapes. The Vaders males look, sort of more squat, then the 2 "females." I don't know if you can see from pics, however, the "females," seem almost longer, maybe slightly slimmer, definitely a different body shape. X

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

I don't suppose anyone here is any good with Coturnix? I have an idea, but need an expert opinion. Apologies, for my terrible photography and nails, yesterday was an outside work day, lol!

 

[Nabiki]

So do you keep them all together instead of pairing them up?

I keep a large community pen. As long as it's big enough and they all have their own places to hide, they usually get along just fine.

My pen is overcrowded right now, but half of them are going to their new home today.

 

[Nabiki]

I don't suppose anyone here is any good with Coturnix? I have an idea, but need an expert opinion. Apologies, for my terrible photography and nails, yesterday was an outside work day, lol!

This one is male, the others aren't feather sexable and don't look like they're laying or sexually active yet, so hard to tell.

 

[Ladybird CA]

I'm less familiar with coturnix. I know with males you can squeeze the foam out but ive never done it myself. I last had them about a decade ago. The italian males were easiest to distinguish with their facial markings followed by the japanese. The other colours unless it crowed or laid an egg I had no idea.

How old did you say the buttons are? I always thought the females were more plump as they are supposed to be slightly bigger than males for egg laying. Males will also do the tidbitting with treats for females.

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

Ditto!

Sorry is one of the males a wild type male because I just read this. One has a super defined bib and one not so much. Sorry again.

 

[Emmadoingchickenlife]

This one is male, the others aren't feather sexable and don't look like they're laying or sexually active yet, so hard to tell.
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Thanks, is the defo? I squeezed around the white ones cloaca and white came out but I wasn't sure if it was poop or foam. Could it be poop or would it defo be foam? Thanks for all your help! And here's to getting some space back in your pen for more, lol!