Button Quail question

[ncummins06]

I have four 3 month old button quail, two male and two female (ID by crowing only). There have been no eggs laid in the aviary. Do I have 4 males, or are they still too young? Is there anything I should be putting in the aviary to make it super comfy? I currently line the floor with about 2+ inches of aspen shavings, a large pile of grass, a basket for hiding in, an overhanging shelf about 6 inches from the floor to hide under and walk on.

 

[BirdBoy88]

Sounds like to me you have 2 males and 2 females

my button quails are 11 weeks old now and the hens didn't start to lay any eggs till they were 8 weeks old..now i have 4 hens and 5 males but i only have 2 males with the 4 hens because some of the males were fighting plus being rough with the hens..anyways your aviary to me sounds good enough my aviary just has cob shavings and sand in it and fake plants for them to hide under and a nest box...

Even though i have 4 hens only 1 hen is laying and i only got 7 eggs from her one got broken from another quail...after she laid 7 she stop laying and i haven't got any more eggs since then..so i put the 6 left over eggs in my bator to see if they are fertile

all i can say is just keep giving them different foods to eat like mealworms and lettuce and boiled egg and i sometimes give mine a strawberry to eat they love it and it's just a waiting game ..lol

it also would be good if you could to post pics of them so that we can all see for sure if they are 2 males and 2 females

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
^ I agree with everything birdboy said, and deff want to see pictures

Females can crow too i've found my "male" is a female. LOL!

 

[coffeemama]

Hi! Just wanted to say hi, and I hope you are happy with the quail. I hope they start to lay for you soon

It does sound like you have 2 pairs, but updated photos would be good. They were hard to tell when I sold them to you.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Except for white and chocolate, you should be able to tell the males by the white bib or "necklace" under their chin.

How much light are you giving them each day? The males need at least 14-16 hours of daylight to do their thing, and the females only lay really well when they get that much light, too. We went through several weeks of dark/gloomy/rainy weather, and my girls slowed waaaay down. We had one sunny day, and I added a light on a timer, and voila'! More eggs!

Now, keep in mind that in regards to size, Buttons lay the largest eggs compared to their body size, so they need a lot of protein (20-28%) and really good nutrition. Quality finch seed, occasional greens, fruit, veggies like cucumbers... they love it all. Crumbled boiled egg will help, too.

I look forward to seeing pictures...

 

[jkcove08]

What are you feeding them? I had been giving mine meat bird feed but needed to get chick starter one day. I always feed what ever I have for bagged feed. After a few days on the chick starter the started laying up a storm... They went for almost 2 months with no eggs. That was about the same amount of time on the meat bird feed. I realize my chick started is medicated but after having buttons for almost 2 years I have never had a problem with that and the got chick started for the last year too. I had just started this summer since I had ducklings and goslings that I had to feed unmedicated to. Jenn

 

[coffeemama]

The quail are spoiled from what I saw-they couldn't have gone to a better home

I think the silver/slate and whites are all difficult to sex, and I think I sold her some of those colors. Can't remember for sure.

 

[Mrs MIA]

It could just be a light issue, then.

The silvers are hard to tell, but my males did eventually get a bib, and a little salmon blush to the chest so I knew.

 

[monarc23]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Except for white and chocolate, you should be able to tell the males by the white bib or "necklace" under their chin.

How much light are you giving them each day? The males need at least 14-16 hours of daylight to do their thing, and the females only lay really well when they get that much light, too. We went through several weeks of dark/gloomy/rainy weather, and my girls slowed waaaay down. We had one sunny day, and I added a light on a timer, and voila'! More eggs!

Now, keep in mind that in regards to size, Buttons lay the largest eggs compared to their body size, so they need a lot of protein (20-28%) and really good nutrition. Quality finch seed, occasional greens, fruit, veggies like cucumbers... they love it all. Crumbled boiled egg will help, too.

I look forward to seeing pictures...

Tori, i gotta show you a new picture of "Pippin" my button quail chick that started crowing at 3 days old, he/she is now going on 7 weeks old, has a silght white bib, but is still in hen colors...curoious what you think it is? I've come to the conclusion it's a hen...looks exactly like Kitty my older hen...no eggs yet but they're btoh outside so that'd probably explain that.

actually duh i already have pictures of pippin and kitty! But about crowing, even kitty crows "wee woo woo!" But she'll only crow if my male Fez crows.

The reason im confused, is because i've seen some 4 week old button quail already with male colors...if Pippin IS a male...going on 7 weeks in just days...shouldnt he have his male coloring?

He's the one on the left with the bib...Kitty on right. Kitty is about 12 weeks? Pippin is a bit smaller than her but i was guessing if Pippin is a hen this could be chalked down to her being younger?

THougths...oppinons....only thing is, if Pippin is a hen the white can be explained by the fact that Pippin is a pied.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Pippin looks like a male. I have females that "crow" too... it's fun to whistle at them and have them answer.