Button Quail Chicks - what color are they?

[DK newbie]

I'd put him with one of his sisters and deal with the possible issue of bonding later. They really don't like being alone. If they are right next to each other, he might not actually 'freak out', but he will still be a very unhappy quail.

 

[Sara L]

Well, I cleaned out their cage again today, and managed to hold each one upside down for a somewhat thorough look at their vent feathers. I learned:
1) they are really hard to hold with one hand and sometimes hard to hold with two hands
2) they like to poop on you so you might drop them
3) they can fly a lot better than I thought they could
4) I am really glad I closed all the doors before starting this exercise
and finally
5) the only one that has pink/red vent feathers is the obvious male with the bib. So, 9 girls and 1 boy out of 10 eggs hatched. Does this make up for the odds when someone else hatches 10 eggs and gets 9 boys?

Also, I found 2 teeny tiny eggs when I cleaned out the cage, so at least one of the girls is starting to lay.

 

[DK newbie]

Oh dear, your boy must think he's in heaven with that many girls and 0 competition ^^

I'm not sure I've ever been pooped on, but yes, in order to hold them you need to get past the point where you think you are helping them by being gentle - a firm grip is necessary and if you can get their head tucked away in your palm or behind your fingers that usually keeps them more calm - if the head is out they always try to escape.

As for flying, I believe I've actually read a document somewhere stating that in their natural environment, some buttons are migratory birds - meaning they can stay on their wings for miles if they want to. Luckily though, they tend to land pretty soon after escaping and then you usually have a few seconds after their landing where they are frozen in the spot - if you act fast you might be able to catch them with your hands.

 

[Sara L]

Luckily though, they tend to land pretty soon after escaping and then you usually have a few seconds after their landing where they are frozen in the spot - if you act fast you might be able to catch them with your hands.

That is exactly what happened, and I was able to grab her before she could take off again. Silly birds.

 

[Sara L]

New batch of chicks, hatched two button quail on 12/25/17. Mom is a brownish hen and dad is silver/grey and does not have a bib. Still not sure of the difference between silver & grey color mutations. One chick was pretty much all yellow and the other was darker. They are now almost fully feathered but I can't quite figure out the coloring. After taking the pics, more colors showed up in the pics than I could see looking at the birds. I think the dark chick is going to be the blue/red coloring and is probably male. The yellow chick looks like it is mostly white but there are some dark feathers, has anyone seen this before? If it turns out to be a hen, how long can I leave them in the same cage - they are full siblings and I don't want them pairing off.

 

[DK newbie]

I think the dark one is red breasted - possibly red breasted blue face. Once it gets its adult feathers it should be more clear. The white one might be just that, and then have some pigmentation faults or it could have some kind of pied/tuxedo genetics, not sure about that.
If you separate them around 6-8 weeks you should be fine, but keep in mind you need to have a friend ready for each of them as they don't like being alone.

 

[Sara L]

Is there anywhere on the site that goes over the button quail genetics?