Are quail really that stupid?

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Compared to the chickens feeding and watering our quail is a dream.

My Coturnix are all hand raised and will eat and hop in your hand.

If Ihad to choose between chickens and quail I'd pick the quail but I'd
really miss my chickens.

 

[CountryMom]

I made the mistake of cleaning and feeding our Bobs cages this afternoon and not in the evening. They are much calmer in the evening, but I had other parts of our ranch to clean also. Anyhow, I just had a quail barn - open air style - built to hold my cages and it came in handy today. One pen I openned blew up in my face. Only one bird made it out, but he topped the barn at 7 feet before he got tired and dropped to the ground. He was easy to catch then. After I put him back in they all seemed to calm down. Our one and only Coturnix roo we had was much friendlier than any of the Bobs. We lost him to a coon reaching through the cage and grabbing. So hence the quail barn. I hope to have flight pens in a couple of months. That will really help for the 2009 coming up.

 

[Akane]

They do sort of learn. My buttons in a really tall aquarium (2') have learned to somewhat hover just under the top. They still spook into it sometimes but not as much. It also helps to put a light over them and give them hiding places. Mine very rarely hit the top of the cages and then only when their light is out.

 

[danny40]

If broken necks become a problem, then try using a layer of bird netting just below the roof or use the netting as the roof iteself. Bird netting is what farmers and horticulturist use to protect their fruits from birds. Also great a keeping birds in. It is extremely strong, very cheap and prevents broken necks. That will fix up button quails. With coturnix, keep the height below 30 inches and you will be fine.

 

[John Bryan Reid]

I was just talking to another or former BYC member about quail that I am soon getting. The person said that if the cage is too tall they will jump and hit their heads. My question is, I know they are birds but, are they really that stupid? I am pretty sure that if something hurts they wont do it again. Is this true? Are they dumb birds?

Speaking from anthropological point of view, I lean against calling any animal stupid. I'm a proponent of believing they're wired to react a certain way to a given stimulus. A lot of people think chickens are stupid, but they're not. If you watch them carefully long enough, you start understanding what they're geared for and then the individual personalities start showing themselves. Will they ever play a piano? No, but a chicken will be a chicken and some chickens are smarter than other chickens.

 

[JaeG]

Speaking from anthropological point of view, I lean against calling any animal stupid. I'm a proponent of believing they're wired to react a certain way to a given stimulus. A lot of people think chickens are stupid, but they're not. If you watch them carefully long enough, you start understanding what they're geared for and then the individual personalities start showing themselves. Will they ever play a piano? No, but a chicken will be a chicken and some chickens are smarter than other chickens.

Who says chickens can't play the piano?

That's a pretty cool chicken!

I agree, and birds as a group are extremely intelligent. Recent studies have shown how smart chickens are. It just suits us to think of them as 'dumb animals'.

 

[CCUK]

The same hen I think.

They can also play drums!!

 

[JaeG]

The same hen I think.

They can also play drums!!

That's adorable!

 

[CCUK]

The only thing missing is the egg song!

 

[Kaya1]

I lost a Coturnix hen to this in a 30" tall, temporary cage. I lined the top with sticks so they couldn't see the sky, and problem solved.