Bobwhite Quail/King Quails Co-Habitate

[SmithsCoop41]

Okay ladies & gents, I have a few questions. I am going to be buying some bobwhite quails and possibly some king quails today from a local supplier. I already have 4 males, and 4 females of the bobwhites, that I hatched out of the same batch, and they will be 18 weeks old this Saturday. I have never had any king quails, so I have absolutely NO experience with them. First Question: Can you put the bobwhites and the king quails together, or should they be separate? Please be kind, cause I'm still learning, ever learning of all these birds I'm getting. LOL I'm leaning more towards separate? Also, I live in southeast Georgia, and it got down to around 35 degrees last night. We generally don't get as cold down here as say, New York and places further north, but I just always think "dang it's cold out here, and they have to be out here all night" type thoughts. LOL I know birds have "insulation" so to speak up to a certain point, but I'm just wondering. I know different breeds can stand different temps, but I just want my babies to be comfortable and not stressed, because that can throw their whole body out of sync (egg laying, breeding, etc).
Second Question: Should I put some thick plastic around their coops, or should they be okay? Please be kind, because for one, everything moves along smoothly when everyone is kind to one another, but each and every one on here, once didn't know anything neither, in other words, we all had to learn, sometimes from trial and error, other times from someone giving us advice. I should note that right now, I have the bobwhites (4) in a small outside brooder type pen, with a long run part attached to it, it is not covered with plastic at the moment, and the other pen, well, actually my husband built a bigger pen (coop) for my bobwhites to go in. I had coturnix quail in it until a few days ago, I've sold them off this past Saturday, so they're gone and it's ready for my bobwhites to be moved to it. It IS covered with thick plastic (since last night). Thank y'all for any advice, and keep it kind please. Also, if anyone has any information on the king quails, I would appreciate it also.

Thanks,

Iris

 

[Nabiki]

Your bobwhites and king quail should absolutely be separate. King quail are tiny, and even if your bobs don't intentionally get violent with them, they can kill or injure them just due to size difference. Another thing, bobwhites can handle very cold temperatures while king quail can't.

Your bobwhites will be fine in the cold as long as they're dry, out of the wind, and have place off of wire so they can keep their feet warm. It would be a good idea to cover at least part of their run with plastic.

King quail are from southeast Asia, so while there are people who have kept them in areas where it gets down to freezing, it's not a good idea to let them get below 45-50 degrees.

 

[SmithsCoop41]

Your bobwhites and king quail should absolutely be separate. King quail are tiny, and even if your bobs don't intentionally get violent with them, they can kill or injure them just due to size difference. Another thing, bobwhites can handle very cold temperatures while king quail can't.

Your bobwhites will be fine in the cold as long as they're dry, out of the wind, and have place off of wire so they can keep their feet warm. It would be a good idea to cover at least part of their run with plastic.

King quail are from southeast Asia, so while there are people who have kept them in areas where it gets down to freezing, it's not a good idea to let them get below 45-50 degrees.

Ok, thank you so much for the information. I was leaning more to the "separate quarters" side anyway. LOL but thank you for confirming that. I always try to research any breed/animal I plan on getting before I get them, but I also like getting input from others that already have had experience too. Thank you.

 

[Nabiki]

Ok, thank you so much for the information. I was leaning more to the "separate quarters" side anyway. LOL but thank you for confirming that. I always try to research any breed/animal I plan on getting before I get them, but I also like getting input from others that already have had experience too. Thank you.

That's the right way to do it. I get so frustrated with people who get an animal without even knowing what it eats!

 

[007Sean]

I agree with @Nabiki , Bob's and Buttons don't mix!
Another thing to watch out for is aggression amoung your Bob's....depending on how big your pen is, 2 pair may work or it may not...just depends on the nature of each individual bird....sometimes they may get along and other times they may not!...bigger the pen, better landscaping, better the chances for success!

As Nabiki has mentioned, as long as they are dry, not exposed to the elements, and can get out of the wind...draft free space, they can handle temps below freezing.
I'm in Texas, and every couple of years we get a hard, long week or two of below freezing temps, usually in the teens, occasionally negative temps. My birds all do fine, as they can get out of the elements and out of the wind and stay dry!

I commemd you're conducting research before you get any birds or animals, so many people don't and you'll see threads here pleading for help!

 

[SmithsCoop41]

I agree with @Nabiki , Bob's and Buttons don't mix!
Another thing to watch out for is aggression amoung your Bob's....depending on how big your pen is, 2 pair may work or it may not...just depends on the nature of each individual bird....sometimes they may get along and other times they may not!...bigger the pen, better landscaping, better the chances for success!

As Nabiki has mentioned, as long as they are dry, not exposed to the elements, and can get out of the wind...draft free space, they can handle temps below freezing.
I'm in Texas, and every couple of years we get a hard, long week or two of below freezing temps, usually in the teens, occasionally negative temps. My birds all do fine, as they can get out of the elements and out of the wind and stay dry!

I commemd you're conducting research before you get any birds or animals, so many people don't and you'll see threads here pleading for help!

Well, I mean I've already had them since hatch, so I've had them for a little while, but...I'm in south ga and we're starting to get some cold nights here, and this is the first time of cold weather since they hatched and I just want to be prepared. Thank you.

 

[drmay78]

Okay ladies & gents, I have a few questions. I am going to be buying some bobwhite quails and possibly some king quails today from a local supplier. I already have 4 males, and 4 females of the bobwhites, that I hatched out of the same batch, and they will be 18 weeks old this Saturday. I have never had any king quails, so I have absolutely NO experience with them. First Question: Can you put the bobwhites and the king quails together, or should they be separate? Please be kind, cause I'm still learning, ever learning of all these birds I'm getting. LOL I'm leaning more towards separate? Also, I live in southeast Georgia, and it got down to around 35 degrees last night. We generally don't get as cold down here as say, New York and places further north, but I just always think "dang it's cold out here, and they have to be out here all night" type thoughts. LOL I know birds have "insulation" so to speak up to a certain point, but I'm just wondering. I know different breeds can stand different temps, but I just want my babies to be comfortable and not stressed, because that can throw their whole body out of sync (egg laying, breeding, etc).
Second Question: Should I put some thick plastic around their coops, or should they be okay? Please be kind, because for one, everything moves along smoothly when everyone is kind to one another, but each and every one on here, once didn't know anything neither, in other words, we all had to learn, sometimes from trial and error, other times from someone giving us advice. I should note that right now, I have the bobwhites (4) in a small outside brooder type pen, with a long run part attached to it, it is not covered with plastic at the moment, and the other pen, well, actually my husband built a bigger pen (coop) for my bobwhites to go in. I had coturnix quail in it until a few days ago, I've sold them off this past Saturday, so they're gone and it's ready for my bobwhites to be moved to it. It IS covered with thick plastic (since last night). Thank y'all for any advice, and keep it kind please. Also, if anyone has any information on the king quails, I would appreciate it also.

Thanks,

Iris

I can answer this question. I have Button/King quail in a large outdoor pen ( 8ft x 20ft ) with my bobwhites and valley quail. They all get along just fine. When I first introduced the buttons there was a day or two where there was some getting to know each other but now the larger quail treat them just like smaller quail. If they stay on the ground the buttons will snuggle up with them but I also keep a sheltered heating brooder plate for the buttons that the large quail can't get to if they want it. I've had no deaths from the larger quail attacking the buttons. Space and cover is a necessity though. A small pen or a cage and I wouldn't recommend it.

It was 22 degrees here last night and the buttons huddled under their heating plate overnight but now it is around 40 during the day and they scurry around like normal and head to the heat if they need it. They've adjusted better to the cold than I expected. Without the heat they would absolutely die though. During the Summer they were fine at night down to the mid 40s with no heat.