Button Quail Chat

[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.

 

[blackoaktammy]

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.

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Pretty pair of golden pearls!

 

[Serin]

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Pretty pair of golden pearls!

Now what makes them golden pearls???

 

[Serin]

I thought it was a cinnamon hen and a young blue breast cock.
The brown feathers on his back are molting out.

 

[blackoaktammy]

I thought it was a cinnamon hen and a young blue breast cock.
The brown feathers on his back are molting out.

The white on the forehead of a male means it is a pearl. They usually lose the pearl barring when their adult plumage comes in. The hen is a cinnamon pearl.

By blue breast do you mean normal wild type? I haven't heard that term before.

I normally don't pair pearls together since the gene is double dominant lethal. They are pretty, but I just can't get my mind past the fact that half the eggs won't develop and hatch.

 

[blackoaktammy]

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Now what makes them golden pearls???

Here is a pic of my normal pearl. I can't find one of her back, but I'll try to get one tonight.

 

[Serin]

I'll have to take your word for it because I can't find a comparison of every mutation online. They dont look like pearls to me. I saw a photo of button quails in the wild with the white forehead.

 

[blackoaktammy]

Finding pictures of the mutations is really hard. I belong to a FB group that has some awesome breeders, including Garrie Landry who worked so hard to import the different mutations. If you are on FB, the group is Button Quail.

Normal Pearl Hen

Normal Wild Type Hen

Normal Wild Type Male

 

[Serin]

The biggest difference I'm seeing is pearls have much less striping on the back.

What makes me question my cock being pearl is that he has stripes not spots. And 3 weeks ago had more stripes that fell out... Not spots.

 

[Serin]

She is sitting tight as of this morning on 6 eggs. Male is standing guard and bringing her food.