Button Quail Chat

[Serin]

I got a pair of 6 week old button quail a few days ago as indoor pets. I have made them a very cheap, very roomy cage by cutting a few windows in the front, back and lid of a $14 120 qt sterilite storage tub and attaching bird cage panels for ventilation, and they love the room. They have some silk vines for cover, several tubes to run over/on and a dark nest box with three entrances full of hay that, with a lot of luck, I hope to encourage natural nesting with but that's further down the line. They do already sleep in the box.

I would love to hear more about others who keep these little guys as pets, how you house them and pictures, pictures, pictures!

 

[Serin]

Here are Annie and Grover...

And their habitat.

 

[Serin]

I like to regularly change up their housing to keep them enriched. A new set up for one pair is two cages attached by a carpet roll. They enjoy scurrying between them through the tunnel that maybe mimics the thick tall grass theyd run through in nature.

 

[Serin]

View attachment 1931483 View attachment 1931484 View attachment 1931485 View attachment 1931486 my 4 buttons share a “rat cage” with my 2 zebra finches. The cage is approximately 29”x14x29” that I found on sale. DS decorated outside with silk flowers/greenery and they have a chinchilla house that they love. DH has plans to build custom wooden cage for them when time permits. This one is really messy as they throw bedding, feathers etc out. i have not figured out a good cleaning method either as my buttons are still really skittish when i reach into the cage (also don’t want finches to possibly escape as would be very difficult to catch). any tips on cage cleaning would be appreciated!! i’m trying to figure out a good system to incorporate into the custom cage!!

I'm new to keeping the species but everything I read on their husbandry and natural behavior says that button quail are monogamous and you cannot keep four of different sexes together once they grow up without some very bad fighting, so I'd recommend pairing them off once they are older (they look young, or are they all girls? If the latter you may be okay..)

That cage will be hard to clean with finches and quails in it. Mine are pretty calm, I can just scoop bedding out and they run to the other side and kinda pace but don't freak out. You'll have to try and scoop out through that door, maybe clip a towel over it so they dont fly through? The quails will freak out but you'll have to work around them unless you can herd them into a box to take them out each cleaning. But that will stress them.

I have a lot of finches too but I keep them in a larger cage with a pull-out tray. For yours I'd recommend some more perches, some silk greenery to hide in and a swing or two. Only keep a nest in if you want them to breed, otherwise it encourages zebra finch hens to lay eggs constantly and males to get aggressive.

I have 7 society finch in here... 30 x 18 x 36 high. They do have a nest as this species is much more good natured and I switch their eggs with fakes for population control or is have dozens.

 

[Serin]

Got some photos of the little dears taking treats this morning and then him sharing with her.

I am starting to think she might actually be planning to brood these eggs. She has them all in a very nice little nest of hay and checks them often, then covers them out of sight. Four eggs in there now.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Sweetpea and Bean

View attachment 2007567View attachment 2007568

Your quail are adorable! I also have a quail named Beane, though he's a coturnix.

 

[mixedUPturk]

I got this pic for you today heres my lil silver hen watching me watch TV

Sorry its poor quality but if id gotten up she would have gotten down so its zoomed in too far

 

[Serin]

I have gotten Grover and Annie some more decor to climb and hide in and a covered dust bath... But still have to get some sand for it. They really like the big silk fern to hide and scurry around in mimicking the undergriwth they'd live in naturally.

And I picked up some mealworms for them. They love hunting for them when I scatter them in the bedding!

 

[Serin]

Oh! i also ment to tell you all that white is how my lil roo started too. Heres a pic of when i forst rescued them.

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He definitely is a slightly different mutation from mine but Idk what.

As far as my pair they really are so sweet with each other now and have really bonded. Grover is always preening Annie. He comes scurrying to the door when he sees me now expecting a mealworm, will take it from my fingers and then goes up to her and actually gives her all of his treats be they hemp seeds or mealworms and now won't eat a single thing until she's so stuffed she won't eat any more. He'll just keep taking them and running them to her. He's so considerate and generous! I've never had a bird that did that.

 

[blackoaktammy]

Here's one of my cinnamon pearls. He is the only aggressive button I've had or heard of. He follows me every time I pass his cage trying to get me, and attacks me when I reach in to feed and water. Because he's a bad boy, he lives in a bachelor colony so he doesn't pass off his bad genes. The only reason I haven't culled him is because he amuses me with his antics. He really thinks he's intimidating