Anyone with an *Indoor Pet Bobwhite Quail*?? Beginner questions from Long Island, NY

[JKav]

Thank you! Yes, keep posting as you think of things. I can't wait until she figures out poop is gross! I let her roam for a few hours a day and am constantly picking it up. She's 3mo old. Is that why?

I'll have to look into oyster grit. No idea where to get that around here.

I just finished her habitat. Took longer than I thought cutting then sterilite and hot glueing the screen on. But ts nice and big. She loves her "nest". Goes in it and on top. A water bottle was added after I took the pic. Debating putting her dust bath in there. It's filled with chinchilla dust and coffee grounds. I'll probably drill a hole on the side of it and add it before the night is over.

 

[Quail lady]

Sorry about the delay, I didn't get a notification in my email.
If Quincy were in her enclosure all day/night (it was also her bed), she would probably poop the most when she was let out...
You know to empty the tank when out of her space... So umm not 100% sure, but I suspect that's why you're picking so much up...
In regards to food Quincy goes through phases, she was crazy about corn, then sunflower seeds, now oats.... She gets a mix of all these things and much more, but has fads where she will pick out her favourites.
I often pick her broccoli flowers/buds and I love feeding her celery, she loves it and it makes her smell lovely.
I'll keep thinking

http://instagram.com/quinctagram

 

[Quail lady]

Oh yea, being a mainly inside bird, her toenails need trimming fairly regularly.

 

[Quail lady]

I went to take a picture of Q in her "shack" to give you a idea of the size of it (since she doesn't mind doing her business in there), but she was sleeping.... Looked tired, I'll post one for you later, it's a rabbit hutch.
It's pretty much this one, but she never goes up top.
http://www.ezysales.com.au/p/double...on-run/RH206?gclid=CITB54HXpsECFQF8vQodlBEAiw

 

[JKav]

Thanks. She comes out quite often. Usually I lock up Harley (black cat in pic) bc he is super curious an not to be trusted, but last night we tried putting him in a harness and leash and that worked great. He didn't even try to go after her! Omelette perched first on my daughters head for a while, then the back of the couch, then the TV. When I put her back for bed about 3hrs later there was no poop! But during the day when she is out wandering for hours (I work from home so she is out a lot), she poops little poops on my desk, in the floor, on the couch as she walks. When she was in the brooder I had her on paper towel then wee wee pads. Switched her to pine shavings around 10weeks. Maybe now that she's on the bedding and not walking in it she will get better? I hope I hope. I would have switched her sooner but we were trying to release her then.

Celery! Haven't tried that yet. Thanks. She's calling for me again. Doesn't like to be left alone. Actually started screaming when my daughters and I were standing at the door with coats on the other night! Smart bird. She knew we were on our way out. Too funny.

 

[JKav]

Oh, and toenails. Hers are quite long. Thanks, I will definitely do that now. How short should they be? Do they bleed if you clip too close?

 

[Quail lady]

I'm sure they would bleed if you did clip too close, usually you can see where to not cut if you hold them up to bright light. We just use big nail clippers.

 

[JKav]

Guess what?? I put Omelette in bed with me last night! She had one little poop and I made a big deal out of it, "Ew Omelette. Gross!" Maybe she got the message because we slept in and no mess. Mostly she slept on the pillow against my head. My sheets and pillow are a bit slippery and I don't think she liked that. Like Q, O is particular about her fabrics. So eventually I moved her to the quilt and she settled in between the quilt and blanket. No mess. Thanks for the encouragement. I don't think I would have tried otherwise. Now if I could just get her to stop pooping on my for and table!

Clipping nails, bright light. Got it. Thanks.

Love the pic of Q and your dog. So cute. O is roaming and Harley our cat is on harness and leash. He just sits calmly in the harness so we have found a way to keep them out together. Sort of

 

[Quail lady]

Wow! Great news, she's not a total grot! Really happy for you. Would love to hear how your toilet training goes as you continue!
I'd say in our case though we have done no quail training, Quincy has simply trained us....
My dog Kellie is 15 and has grown up with chickens, pheasants and quail her whole life. I'd still not leave her unsupervised with Q, even if Quincy was in her softwood house if I wasn't home. Poor Kellie(dog) has to be put outside. She doesn't even have hunting instincts, just is too big, playful and curious.
Regarding the nails, you can often see where it's grown too long and there's sort of a hollow or concave bit where it's too long. Hard to describe in words really.

 

[JKav]

Potty training (if you can call it training) is going well. I have been putting a paper towel down and moving her and her poop to it, but I'm not sure if that's doing anything. She just seems to be pooping less while she's out, though my work papers are fair game lol.

Another question if you don't mind. What are you feeding Quincy? And pellets or crumble?
I still have Omelette on starter feed but think I should to switch her to a lower protein feed. I found oyster grit! Tru Value will ship to a local store. They sell chicken layer feed 16% protein that I can mix with the starter feed. Do you think that with the oyster grit will work?

She also gets veggie treats daily. Today I also crushed some Cheerios -

she liked that.

You know you've be come my Quail Guru!