Button quail fighting or getting jiggy?

[ButtonBag]

Buttons do like climbing, so I’m certain they would use a second level. They can be totally clumsy too though, I’ve seen mine roll backwards off of a platform before, so best not to have too much of a drop!

I’d also agree that it looks more like fighting or feather pulling than breeding injuries, they wouldn’t be grabbing feathers around the eye to mate.

Male-female pairs are generally best, but if there are some that get along and some that fight, you might be alright with a single-sex trio? Another way to tell gender might be to give them some mealworms and see if a male grabs one and tries to offer it to the hens.

Oh, and Q1 is definitely a hen. Do any of the others have salmon coloured feathers toward the tail or underneath? That would make them boys.

 

[Ravenlover]

I tried to look the other day but they absolutely hate being handled and shed feathers everywhere. Any tips for handling? Ducklings are so much easier!

Use the official button quail hold it really works and stops them from hurting them self's while u look at then or help them, learned it from the book and i have 2 skittish males it works on

 

[oldhen2345]

If you can manage to cover their heads in a small towel while you flip them it may help. I struggled with holding my birds too at first! Not to be crude, but if you catch a quail “humping” another one by grabbing its head feathers and hopping on its back, probably a male. Also if they crow. (It’s a very distinctive sound!)

My buttons were separated with two females, one male. I had another bachelor enclosure- 3 males. The male enclosure was peaceful. The paired enclosure was not- that male was so agressive with his mating, it looked more like rape. Neither female had feathers on the back of her head. I finally had to rehome him.