Button Quail Chat

[Serin]

Congrats on the babies.

They need extra attention now to rear their young. Provide a fresh dish of mashed hard boiled egg shell and all in the cage every morning as the chicks need protein. Some green food is also vital. The best way to provide it is to sprout their bird seed until you see roots pop out. It greatly ups the vitamin content. If you cant sprout offer kale, romaine and broccoli chopped up fine nixed with the egg. If they don't want to try the mix sprinkle in some seed.

They won't raise healthy chicks on bird seeds alone.

The chicks will stay in the nest for 21 days then they fly. They then are fed by the parents 2 more weeks out of the nest. Between 5 and 6 weeks of age they must be moved to s new cage or the parents may kill them. Zebra finches are highly territorial. The kids will have to be split into pairs at that time or they will also fight. The pairs can be same or opposite sex but siblings do breed and will begin as young as 3 months old so don't give them a nest.

 

[muddy75]

Congrats on the babies.

They need extra attention now to rear their young. Provide a fresh dish of mashed hard boiled egg shell and all in the cage every morning as the chicks need protein. Some green food is also vital. The best way to provide it is to sprout their bird seed until you see roots pop out. It greatly ups the vitamin content. If you cant sprout offer kale, romaine and broccoli chopped up fine nixed with the egg. If they don't want to try the mix sprinkle in some seed.

They won't raise healthy chicks on bird seeds alone.

The chicks will stay in the nest for 21 days then they fly. They then are fed by the parents 2 more weeks out of the nest. Between 5 and 6 weeks of age they must be moved to s new cage or the parents may kill them. Zebra finches are highly territorial. The kids will have to be split into pairs at that time or they will also fight. The pairs can be same or opposite sex but siblings do breed and will begin as young as 3 months old so don't give them a nest.

thanks soooooo much for the information!! i’m working to sprout seed now and will boil and mash quail eggs now too! i will have to check my greens.....i think i have parsley and spinach here for the bunnies and guinea pigs, but will have to buy some kale, broccoli etc. not not absolutely sure when they hatched as the 1 that I found out of the nest already had down feathers......(i thought finches hatched basically naked)???

 

[Serin]

thanks soooooo much for the information!! i’m working to sprout seed now and will boil and mash quail eggs now too! i will have to check my greens.....i think i have parsley and spinach here for the bunnies and guinea pigs, but will have to buy some kale, broccoli etc. not not absolutely sure when they hatched as the 1 that I found out of the nest already had down feathers......(i thought finches hatched basically naked)???

Zebra finch hatch with long hair on them actually. If chicks are falling out you can take the nest, gently tip chicks into your hand, renove some of the bedding and put babies back so they are below the height of the nest entrance.

 

[muddy75]

Zebra finch hatch with long hair on them actually. If chicks are falling out you can take the nest, gently tip chicks into your hand, renove some of the bedding and put babies back so they are below the height of the nest entrance.

i don’t think the bedding is too high.....the baby looked to have been gone for a while but i’m not sure if it fell out of nest or if i knocked it out checking for eggs.....i just put the mashed (quail) egg bowl in there....mom and dad are not too sure about it yet. and i put some seed on a sponge in windowsill to sprout.

 

[mixedUPturk]

My button roo escaped today as i was tryn to add feed replace the waterer and check for eggs. He was actually pretty calm! Allowed me to get DHs help and take a few good pics! I wouldnt dare tryn hold them in one hand like a coturnix. I even got a bit daring and brought him Outside for good lighting. (Net within reach )

ETA i didnt realize he was so rumpled for his capture but i think i really could cup train em like weve discussed before

 

[Serin]

Looks like Grover but mine has a lot more white on his throat and still has baby feathers on his back. Clipping all the wing feathers short will keep him contained.

I cleaned my cage for the first time yesterday after 2 weeks. It didn't really need it still smelled clean but I thought it would be good to do anyway. The quails did so well! After a week of mealworm treats by hand they both come running to the door and climb on the log tunnel to take them from my fingers so they are not afraid of me. I just scooped out the wood shavings and they scurried behind me picking at the seeds that fell out of the bedding as I pulled it out. I vacuumed out the remaining dust and they just walked to the back corner. Then I put new shavings and returned their decor. They immediately took a dust bath - the little blue bird bath thing is great and keeps all the mess inside.

No eggs from mine yet. I don't really want eggs. They only get natural light and the days are shortening. I'd be happy if she waited until spring, and maybe then nested naturally and raised chicks.

 

[Serin]

I really recommend a hamster bottle to water these guys also! It keeps the cage clean and dry and they figure it out fast. I cant imagine having open water on poopy wood chips. Is think it would mildew and be unhealthy if not cleaned out every day?

 

[mixedUPturk]

I really recommend a hamster bottle to water these guys also! It keeps the cage clean and dry and they figure it out fast. I cant imagine having open water on poopy wood chips. Is think it would mildew and be unhealthy if not cleaned out every day?

Your right and thats one reason mines changed everyday as well as kust to keep it fresh. As pictured previously it is a chick waterer so the gap is smaller than it wouldve been for either adults Or as a bowl. I have since switched to a quail waterer which has about a half inch gap all the way around. Didn't have enough of them 2 wks ago and remedied that. Also thats why it is raised up on a chunk of 2x4, normal poultry precaution. Ive tried the hampster bottles before and they did leak all the time. I thought about making a little hardeware cloth covered platform to give the water a place to go and clean it with cage cleanings.

 

[Serin]

Your right and thats one reason mines changed everyday as well as kust to keep it fresh. As pictured previously it is a chick waterer so the gap is smaller than it wouldve been for either adults Or as a bowl. I have since switched to a quail waterer which has about a half inch gap all the way around. Didn't have enough of them 2 wks ago and remedied that. Also thats why it is raised up on a chunk of 2x4, normal poultry precaution. Ive tried the hampster bottles before and they did leak all the time. I thought about making a little hardeware cloth covered platform to give the water a place to go and clean it with cage cleanings.

I have a glass bottle. It cost $9 but has lasted me since 2010 with different pets. No leaks!

 

[mixedUPturk]

I have a glass bottle. It cost $9 but has lasted me since 2010 with different pets. No leaks!

Yes sir that other one i keep around because it is a glass 1 pt jar which is easy to replace if broken and not gonna grow those yuckies also. Still grows algae and im always scrubbing waterers

I probly have a plastic bottle in my tool chest still from past critters. Ive had one of those glass ones and your right they dont leak like the plastics. Still just like w all the chicks i raise, this works.

Thats where all my experience is and why ive no experience with pet birds. Always did poultry, on purpose, so they have more of a purpose than my entertainment. I did repltiles before poultry strickly for that entertainment. from fish to snakes and loads of lizards with a couple frogs too.