Button Quail bedding and indoor home set up.

[Chickadee-Dee]

Hey there,
I just have a couple questions about my wee quails.

The first question is about the bedding. When I got my first one, I had no idea what to do with her. She was a petland reject that had brain damage so they just gave her to me. The store had no idea how to care for quails and they had her isolated in a dark cage on blankets. I figured I would try a cut up carpet, which failed because it didnt fit and she would just kick it up. Then I transitioned to shavings, but it seemed overly wasteful to me, so after rescuing 4 more quails I considered reptile sand, but the cost is outrageous! Especially considering how much I would need for a 120g tank. An Instagram quailer suggested I use children's play sand as a base and just sift out the gunk with a flower sifter. The idea seemed both sustainable and fun for the quails. But the problem of white quails becoming brown soon arose as the sand was SO DUSTY. Cleaning the tank also takes about 10x longer, just to sift out the cast aside vegetables, poop, spray millet stems and who knows what else.

So my first question is: in your experience what have you used and what would you recommend?
What is your opinion on using a planted or dirt aquarium, fake grass or a terf mat?
As for the cage/hutch/tank, what do you use to house your little ones (indoor and/or outdoor)? What would you recommend?

I'm finding that the quails really like the length of the tank but it's not as wide as their old 40g. They are also not very annoying with the boinks, so the top doesn't have a lid, and I just have soft chicken wire bent over it. I've been trying to find a terrarium that is no smaller than the 120g, but of course wider and has front opening doors so I can clean the tank without causing as much stress to them. This has proven to be quite a challenge as most store terrariums are not overly long or wide.

Also I have been so curious about their cute little sounds. Would anyone happen to know what they mean? The females crow in two different ways, the Male only has one crow and he growls. Which I find adorable, but just like chicken behaviour and their odd sounds, they all have meaning. So I'm curious about what the quail calls mean, just to help me appropriately read their body language.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Quincy Buttons]

Hey its awesome to hear that you rescued those quails! I use blue surgical cloth that hospitals toss away because they aren't 100% sterile (but unused, still in their unopened packaging). The cloth is waterproof, easy to cut, and makes it easy to clean up. I sprinkle some wood chips over them for bedding and remove soiled chips every day using dull tweezers and an applesauce cup to gather the poop before throwing it into the compost. I'm not sure about sand though, I've never done it before. When my buttons want a bath I either give them chinchilla dust bath powder (good for calcium, but it's superfine and gets everywhere and isn't good for human lungs) or powder from their laying crumble feed (the shop I get their feed gives me more powder laying crumble than peck-sized pieces lol, so I sift the feed and put the powder in a jar. It's good for them to eat and it's big enough not to dust up the air while also giving my buttons a proper dust bath.). I put the powder in a box so they can enjoy playing around it. If using a tank is too much, I can suggest using an old table, flipping it upside down, taping cardboard around the sides, and making a gate on one wall. I got an old pool table for free and wrapped 3 walls with cardboard and made my own flexible gate. I clip veil fabric on top to avoid boinking, and it works awesomely (also some veil on the gates so they're windows. I can attach a picture if you're curious! And their peeps are just the cutest, males have one for sleeping (soft, erratic, kind of like singing), offering food to females (constant chirp chirp chirp while putting food in their beaks and leaning to the side), growling (calling for female), a quail cry (the best one, they just do it but more often if they don't have a female), and warning/attack peeps (mix of peeps and rough barking with wings out and feathers puffed). Females don't say much except do quail cries (female songs are my favorite ) and warning/scared peeps (they'll freeze and duck, making a fast high pitch beeps). If your males suddenly lay down and peep fast and weirdly, it's totally normal, I just don't know what it is lol. And watch out for buttons that suddenly freeze and go lower to the ground, it's a sign that they're about to jump, so take a few steps back if you see this to avoid boinking. Buttons love plants but it's hard to find one that they wont constantly eat. I used a succulent put in a mason jar. It's enough to admire and they can't eat it unless they jump for it. They also like to hide under feather dusters or plastic fake leaves. I also give mine some tents made out of fuzzy felt (kindof like the inside texture of some sweatshirts) and cardboard. i also recommend tying and hanging spray millet by some string so it moves when they peck at it (they love to watch it swing) and to cover up their cage with a cloth every night so they don't get heavy drafts at night. Sorry, I'm not really a total quail expert, this is just what I did for the 4 buttons that I've owned so I'm still not sure whether or not everything I did was wrong haha. Have fun with your quail journey! Sorry for the really long reply

 

[ABohrer]

Hey its awesome to hear that you rescued those quails! I use blue surgical cloth that hospitals toss away because they aren't 100% sterile (but unused, still in their unopened packaging). The cloth is waterproof, easy to cut, and makes it easy to clean up. I sprinkle some wood chips over them for bedding and remove soiled chips every day using dull tweezers and an applesauce cup to gather the poop before throwing it into the compost. I'm not sure about sand though, I've never done it before. When my buttons want a bath I either give them chinchilla dust bath powder (good for calcium, but it's superfine and gets everywhere and isn't good for human lungs) or powder from their laying crumble feed (the shop I get their feed gives me more powder laying crumble than peck-sized pieces lol, so I sift the feed and put the powder in a jar. It's good for them to eat and it's big enough not to dust up the air while also giving my buttons a proper dust bath.). I put the powder in a box so they can enjoy playing around it. If using a tank is too much, I can suggest using an old table, flipping it upside down, taping cardboard around the sides, and making a gate on one wall. I got an old pool table for free and wrapped 3 walls with cardboard and made my own flexible gate. I clip veil fabric on top to avoid boinking, and it works awesomely (also some veil on the gates so they're windows. I can attach a picture if you're curious! And their peeps are just the cutest, males have one for sleeping (soft, erratic, kind of like singing), offering food to females (constant chirp chirp chirp while putting food in their beaks and leaning to the side), growling (calling for female), a quail cry (the best one, they just do it but more often if they don't have a female), and warning/attack peeps (mix of peeps and rough barking with wings out and feathers puffed). Females don't say much except do quail cries (female songs are my favorite ) and warning/scared peeps (they'll freeze and duck, making a fast high pitch beeps). If your males suddenly lay down and peep fast and weirdly, it's totally normal, I just don't know what it is lol. And watch out for buttons that suddenly freeze and go lower to the ground, it's a sign that they're about to jump, so take a few steps back if you see this to avoid boinking. Buttons love plants but it's hard to find one that they wont constantly eat. I used a succulent put in a mason jar. It's enough to admire and they can't eat it unless they jump for it. They also like to hide under feather dusters or plastic fake leaves. I also give mine some tents made out of fuzzy felt (kindof like the inside texture of some sweatshirts) and cardboard. i also recommend tying and hanging spray millet by some string so it moves when they peck at it (they love to watch it swing) and to cover up their cage with a cloth every night so they don't get heavy drafts at night. Sorry, I'm not really a total quail expert, this is just what I did for the 4 buttons that I've owned so I'm still not sure whether or not everything I did was wrong haha. Have fun with your quail journey! Sorry for the really long reply

I have Buttonquail in my aviary, which is very well ventilated. I have lost a lot of Buttonquail for some odd reason they just will sit in a corner and eventually die what is this? What am I doing wrong? Everything was fine for the first three months and then all the sudden things changed. Is there something I need to put in their water? Someone please help

 

[Nabiki]

I have Buttonquail in my aviary, which is very well ventilated. I have lost a lot of Buttonquail for some odd reason they just will sit in a corner and eventually die what is this? What am I doing wrong? Everything was fine for the first three months and then all the sudden things changed. Is there something I need to put in their water? Someone please help

FYI, this thread is four years old, and the person you're replying to hasn't logged in since June 2019.

Let's see, though...
How cold does it get in your aviary?
What are you feeding them?
Are your hens getting enough calcium?
Do you see any other symptoms?
Are they eating, drinking, and pooping normally before they die?