Button Quail Newbie Questions...

[Dawn @ Breezy's Legacy]

I am new to Quails. I recieved a Button Quail a couple days ago. It was found running loose & ran up to someone. It is so darn cute! I have decided to keep it. With that being said... Where do I start? Sex & age is unknown. I was told that it is a "Splash" Button Quail. I want to make the perfect setup for my new button... I need some inspiration in creating my own. Also I have some (many) questions lol. Sorry if it seems like a lot of questions or if I am repeating questions that others have asked already. But I basically need to know absolutely everything there is to know about properly raising Quails including their likes/dislikes & their Do's/Don'ts. I truly want everything to be perfect for my Quail(s).

BASIC CARE INFO:
- Do they need mental stimulation...
- Toys (purchased or natural)
- Hunting/Foraging
- Different levels for climbing
- Do they have to be paired/grouped or will they be fine alone...
- Male/Female Ratio
- Territory size
- Quails safely grouped together
- Foods, Plants, Other items that are toxic/deadly

GENDER/AGE:
- How to determine gender
- marking/coloration
- size

FRIENDS OR FOE:
- Other Birds like Pigeons
- Poultry
- Peafowl
- Guinea pigs
- Rabbits

FEEDING & WATERING:
- Mealworms (live or dried)
- Crickets
- Feed (starter, scratch, pellets)
- Safe watering system
- Supplements
- vitamins
- calcium
- salt/minerals blocks

MEDICAL/MEDICATIONS:
- Dewormers
- Parasite, Mite, Flea sprays/powders (best brands)
- What should I always have on hand for quails that is needed (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, emergencies)...

HOUSING:
- Indoors or Outdoors
- Complete or Partial roof coverage
- Prefered housing
- raised Hutch (wired bottom)
- aviary
- aquarium
- terrarium
- Enclosure size (measurements/dementions)
- Building material/items
- Enclosure must haves
- hide-aways
- tunnels
- dens
- different levels to climbing
- perches
- Dirt/Sand baths
- Plants
- Safe bedding/substrate & nesting material
- Wood chips
- Hay/Straw
- Saw Dust
- Paper (shredded, compressed)

 

[2 many chickens]

Seeing a picture would help determine the buttons age.
Since you only have one, he'd be fine in a large aquarium with shavings as bedding, water, food and a couple of hideouts. I use hamster igloos and my buttons love to sit on top of it and play in it. They do better with their own kind, so it would be better if you got him or her amother button quail. If it's a male, it's going to crow all day long calling for a female. It's going to get annoying after a while. Do not house them with other birds that aren't their own kind, esp. Chickens. They can make quail sick.
You can have one roo to 2 or 3 females. It's best not to have more than one roo in a house with another. Roos will fight other roos and can really hurt them.
Dried or live meal worms as a treat are fine.
My buttons do go crazy if I offer crickets now and then.
One easy way to tell if it's a male or female is males usually have bibs. And smiley shaped line on their necks.

 

[2 many chickens]

My female with her babies. She has no bib and is a typical color of a hen.

My male, see his bib? He also has a splash of red, which is a male color.

 

[lena_]

I am new to Quails. I recieved a Button Quail a couple days ago. It was found running loose & ran up to someone. It is so darn cute! I have decided to keep it. With that being said... Where do I start? Sex & age is unknown. I was told that it is a "Splash" Button Quail. I want to make the perfect setup for my new button... I need some inspiration in creating my own. Also I have some (many) questions lol. Sorry if it seems like a lot of questions or if I am repeating questions that others have asked already. But I basically need to know absolutely everything there is to know about properly raising Quails including their likes/dislikes & their Do's/Don'ts. I truly want everything to be perfect for my Quail(s).

BASIC CARE INFO:
- Do they need mental stimulation...
- Toys (purchased or natural)I find that they tend to ignore the toys, one of my hens was actually scared of them. They love a good dust bath though, and millet sprays also interest them.

- Hunting/Foraging Very important. I give mine a small bucket of leaf litter over their sand every now and then and they love it.

- Different levels for climbing Yes, they prefer to have multiple different levels, it helps give them options for nesting, and more then one level just seems more natural for them. They'll need a ramp to get up to each level though, a thick, well textured branch also works

- Do they have to be paired/grouped or will they be fine alone...They will get lonely if kept by themselves...

- Male/Female Ratio Best kept in pairs, trios sometimes work as well. Groups rarely work, unless they are kept in a very large area.

- Territory size To keep more then one pair, the territory would have to be a very large aviary, as this would help to avoid confrontation between the pairs

- Quails safely grouped together I have done it before, but it seemed to stress them out, and they never went broody, or even laid an egg

- Foods, Plants, Other items that are toxic/deadly I had a friend who's quail died a day after bracken was added to their enclosure, not sure if this is confirmed/has been tested. Cedar shavings are irritating to their lungs.

GENDER/AGE:

A picture would be most helpful if you have one.

- How to determine gender Males will crow, females will lay eggs. Males will(depending on colour variety) have a bib(striped feathers just underneath their head) males will also have red or pink feathers(depending on colour variety)

- marking/coloration Depending on the colour variety, you may be able to tell.

- size I don't believe that there is any noticable differences

FRIENDS OR FOE:
- Other Birds like Pigeons Button quail can be kept in a large communal aviary, just be careful that they aren't injured by the pigeons.

- Poultry No, poultry are to large, and can spread diseases to the quail.

- Peafowl No, peafowl are to large.

- Guinea pigs Never tried, but maybe.

- Rabbits Never tried.

FEEDING & WATERING:
- Mealworms (live or dried) Mine took no interest in the drieds, but love the live ones.

- Crickets Only tiny ones, larger crickets can hurt the quail.

- Feed (starter, scratch, pellets)I feed a mixture of crushed eggshells, budgie seed mix, and non-medicated chick mash(not crumbles)

- Safe watering system
Mine have a small plastic container, but if you plan to breed, a plastic lid with marbles or small pebbles will prevent chicks from drowning.

- Supplements Usually I mix in untreated blood and bone garden fertiliser. It gives them a boost, and helps with bone strength.
My feed mix:
3 parts chick mash
3 parts budgie seed
1 part blood and bone fertiliser
1 part crushed eggshells

- vitamins None necessary

- calcium Crushed eggshells, oyster grit also works

- salt/minerals blocks If you can find one especially formulated for birds, then they may appreciate it.


MEDICAL/MEDICATIONS:
- Dewormers Any should work, just make sure it's diluted enough for the tiny little quail.


- Parasite, Mite, Flea sprays/powders (best brands) Not sure, I give mine natural diatomaceous earth in a shallow pan to dust bath in. I have never had an issue with lice or mites, however I do have a lice powder that works well if need be.

- What should I always have on hand for quails that is needed (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, emergencies)...I always have cotton tips, antiseptic ointment, and blu-kote(a blue antiseptic spray that discourages other quail from pecking at them)

HOUSING:
- Indoors or Outdoors Indoors, can be kept outdoors, but don't seem to do as well.

- Complete or Partial roof coverage 3/4 works best, the cold wet is a killer.

- Prefered housing

- raised Hutch (wired bottom)

- aviary Kept mine in an aviary for almost a year, they never bred, and always seemed unhealthy...

- aquarium The aquarium seems to work best for me, they are now breeding and healthy

- terrarium

- Enclosure size (measurements/dementions)My three live in a smallish fishtank, not sure the dementions, but they seem to do better in a smaller space!

- Building material/items Hardware cloth(tiny square mesh) Plywood, hinges, and a frame.

- Enclosure must haves
- hide-aways Yes, must have.

- tunnels Mine seemed to like them

- dens Natural dens work great for making them comfortable

- different levels to climbing Yes, must have

- perches No, quail don't tend to perch

- Dirt/Sand baths Mine get a dust bath twice a week

- Plants Grassy shrubs, small potted plants etc

- Safe bedding/substrate & nesting material
- Wood chips
- Hay/Straw This is what I always use
- Saw Dust
- Paper (shredded, compressed)

Hi! Congrats on getting a button quail! I adore mine, one of hens is actually incubating eggs right now I have typed my answers in bold next to each question, good luck.

 

[Dawn @ Breezy's Legacy]

Here is my Button. I was told that it is a "Splash" Button. It doesn't make any noise at all. I figured it didn't make any noises because it was unsure or unfamiliar with its surroundings. I just want the best for my button.

 

[2 many chickens]

The white one's are a bit more difficult to sex. Do you see any red or pinkish tones on him? If you check his vent area, he would have red feathers near there if he was a male.
I'm guessing it's a girl. If she's not puffing her throat out and making woosh sounds, then she's a she for sure. Like I said, roos usually crow and crow if no hens are around. She should be laying in a couple of weeks, they are usually stressed after a move and take some time to settle in. She's at least 8-10 weeks old.

 

[2 many chickens]

Also, I'd get rid of the newspaper as bedding. It will get slippery and messy quickly. They crap a lot. Try wood shavings, they sell them at farm stores..tsc.. ss..etc. even Walmart or petsmart.

 

[Dawn @ Breezy's Legacy]

The only color on it is the one black feather on its back. So do you think this one definitely shouldn't have been running loose? From what I have been told, articles I have read & pictures, what I have is a farley new morph (mutation).

 

[Dawn @ Breezy's Legacy]

The newspaper was just a temporary thing. I have pine shavings in a larger cage.

 

[Sara L]

The only color on it is the one black feather on its back. So do you think this one definitely shouldn't have been running loose? From what I have been told, articles I have read & pictures, what I have is a farley new morph (mutation).

Button quail aren't wild in the US, so it shouldn't have been running loose. It probably escaped, they can fly pretty well if the situation is right.

I had a splash hen a while back, she had more black feathers than yours does. I got her by breeding a red breasted male with a silver female, no clue on the ancestry of the parents though.

I recommend getting your button a female companion. If it's a girl they probably will get along great. If it's a boy they might pair up. Usually they get stressed if they are by themselves.