Bobwhite Quail can make excellent house pets.

[JKav]

Hey, have any of you gotten sick from eating quail eggs? (See my new post)

 

[PIDGY]

Thx!

You are very welcome, clawstar!

 

[Robecki]

Hi Pidgy. I'm hoping to get some help. My husband I rescued a Bobwhite quail chick from the feed store 2 weeks ago. The other chicks were pecking her and she was bleeding from her beak and 1 of her toe tips (she lost it). Well the feed store pulled her out and said you can have it since it's probably going to die anyway. So we took her (we're calling It a her till we find out for sure) home and set her up in a fish tank with infared heat. She is doing great! We pet her and take her out to cuddle her everyday. We've decided we want to keep inside as part of the family. So what kind of cage/home do you use inside your house once Toffee was fully feathered? We definitely are going with a no wire bottom. What other supplies do you recommend us getting? Oh, her name is Lucky Dexter Quailington Thanks

 

[313759]

I was wondering, how do you get your bobs to be so tame? I love them up everyday since chicks but are so skittish anyway...*sighs*

 

[7L Farm]

I don't let them in my house but they are running around my shack. They will come up to me when I call of course I give them some scratch. They will call back to me when I call. Cool liitle birds.

 

[Quail lady]

So far everyone I know who has been unlucky enough for only 1 chick from the clutch make it and treated them like one of the family. I.e. lots of cuddles and time has had a great little companion. They adapt really well and although aren't a domesticated bird I think are much more suitable for pets than parrots. You needn't take flight away from them or commit to over 30 years. As much as I wish my little girl could have lasted 30 years
Ducky 13, they are skittish by nature, or they'd never make it Even then house quail flees when you sneeze or cough unexpectedly!

 

[Hobbybreeder]

Are all quails skittish? My male recently lost his girls and has been staying inside mith me and has never gotten scared. I let him walk outside and when he would lay down I would stopmp around and try to scare him but it never worked.

 

[Ktesta]

What an adorable little girl. I am in the same situation, maybe you can help me. I tried to hatch 8 bobwhite quail eggs with my sixth graders, but unfortunately only 1 hatched. She currently lives in a guinea pig cage in my kitchen. She is now 7 weeks old, and becoming an adult. Will she need to build herself a nest when she eventually lays eggs? If so, what should I put in the cage for her to accomplish this? I'm glad to hear of someone else having a quail as a pet, I can't seem to find any information on this. It would be nice to know what all of her different sounds mean. She is constantly singing. I THINK she is happy.

 

[Robecki]

Hi there. I've had my little Lucky since July 18, 2015. I read your other thread and I'm just going to answer those questions here too. I'm not an expert, but I did a lot of research online and with the feed stores and people who have quails. Please get your quail game bird feed. They need a higher protein feed (26-30). Chicken feed only has about half the amount in it (15-16). Bird seed is good as a daily treat, but should not be used as a source food. We got some grit for her as well, because in the wild they will eat some dirt or really tiny "rock" to help with digestion. Our friends who have quails on their farm say the don't give them nesting stuff. They just lay the eggs all over their yard. Lol. But you can if you want. Lucky lives in a rabbit cage in our living room, but she let out everyday when we can watch and socialize with her. Don't use cedar in her cage as it not good for their lungs, but pine shavings, or the stuff used in small animals cages are great; also woodstove pellets. Just may sure nothing is treated with chemicals. We took the wire bottom out, because we read it is not very good for her little footies. We have 2 dogs and a cat and everyone gets along. If anything they are all a bit scared of her when she wants to snuggle with them, so they run away when she tries to - hee hee, it's pretty funny. Lucky is extremely lovable and loves to be handled and loved on! Lucky makes tons of cute sounds and we've figured out which ones are her happy sounds and when she is screeching for our attention. She has imprinted to me has her human; she'll go to anyone, but if I call her or she hasn't been with me in for a little she comes running to me for my loves. She does her natural dusting movement on our carpet or in my hair when I lay on the ground and spread my hair out. They bathe in dirt and not water, but we haven't got her a dusting bath like you get for a chinchilla yet. She really doesn't need it since she is only an in home pet. As you know they poop little hard pellets that are easy to pick up so we don't use a flight suit on her. I hope what little know know helps! We love our little one so much.

 

[DK newbie]

I remember reading in another thread that bobwhites didn't require that much protein - I think something like 22% was mentioned? I keep buttons on sand, it sooo easy to clean with a cat litter shovel, you don't need to change all of it every time you clean the cage - and you don't need to give them a dust bath when they are kept on sand. Good luck with her!