Button Quail Questions

[ButtonquailGirl14]

they are a look but don't touch sort of pet.... they are very un-tame no matter how hard you try in my expirence. they don't cost to much to feed, I feed mine small bags of non-medicated chick starter, grit (parakeet calcium supplement if females) mealworms for treats and bird seed. they also LOVE sprouted greens or clover and they love to dig in dirt. I suggest fake plants as they kill any live one I buy. pine shavings or sand work well for bedding. there are lots of beautiful color they come in which makes them fun! Anything else?

 

[007Sean]

Nothing to add @JaeG and @ButtonquailGirl14 have said it all!

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Nothing to add @JaeG and @ButtonquailGirl14 have said it all!

 

[Anonymouse]

The reason you are confused is because their care is often confused with that of other quails, and some people are full of baloney…. they HAVE to be kept in pairs of 2. it sound like a male pair would suit you best. I would give them no smaller than a 50 gal aquarium., I have a 55 and I feel it is MUCH to small, and I would upgrade if I had any more room, but my room is tiny.... also they must be kept inside or in super warm dry climates. they are very loud, so mind where they are in your house, mine are right next to my bed, and If I weren't so in love with my animals I would probably kill them with rage when they wake me up OVER AND OVER AGAIN! (I am joking, I would never kill them... but the rest of my family might) seriously... they are loud. ill give more infor after dinner also @JaeG is super right, and an expert

So, males can be housed together? Another thing I read was that males will fight and can never be housed together. Actually I don't know about a 50 gallon, but a 40 gallon breeder has slightly more floorspace that a 55 gallon. It might sound weird because the gallon amount is higher, leading you to think it is bigger, but 55 gallons have more vertical space.

Yes, I was planning to keep them inside, although even if I did want to keep them outside, it is very hot where I live and never rains, so the weather is fine outdoors as well. It's the animals that would make me worry about keeping quails outside. My neighborhood has a ton of feral cats, and we also have a big dog in the backyard that likes to hunt rats and absolutely hates cats, so I wouldn't doubt she'd go after birds as well. It's just too much of a risk IMO.

Oh, are they really noisy? That is something I was concerned about but I heard from some people they aren't noisy and are quiet compared to most birds. I personally don't mind noise, but I am 16 and still live with my parents. We had a cockatiel in the house once and he would sing all day long, hardly ever took breaks, and he drove my parents crazy lol, I admit there was a few times he drove me crazy too, and I wanted to just put his cage outside. Are they more noisy or less noisy than cockatiels and parrots?

The eggs aren't 'alive' until they have been incubated for a full 24 hours and the cells have started to divide and grow. The female will sit on eggs until she realises they won't hatch, then she will abandon the nest and take a break to molt and recover. Females will still lay in the absence of a male and they will often just keep laying, rather than laying a clutch and then sitting on them. It takes a lot of energy to lay eggs so always offer oyster shell grit so they don't deplete their calcium stores.

They won't notice you've replaced their eggs - just try and make them about the same colour. If you get a pair that was parent raised they will breed like rabbits. Sometimes artificially raising them means they have no interest in nesting, though the female will still lay eggs. You could try restricting their daylight hours as it's that more than anything that tells them it's the breeding season. Only giving them 10 hours of light will mean they think it's winter, but that requires them to be in a room that can be darkened.

I have one trio that's working. Others I have tried have ended in one female being harassed by the male because he's chosen the other one as his mate. They tend to be monogamous.

They can be horrible when they want to be and I had one female I tried to introduce to a male who, in the 2 mins that I left them alone together, pecked the males head bloody. They'd seemed fine before I'd left them. Try to get birds that were raised together as it makes it easier.

I think a lot of people fall into the trap of assuming that, because they are only small they don't need much space. There's also a lot of confusion over different species of quail. Japanese quail have been bred to tolerate 1 sq/ft per bird (or less) so people assume that's fine for Buttons too. But they are always on the go, pacing and picking and dust bathing. They are busy little birds. Mine are in large indoor rabbit cages and they use the whole space, whereas my Japanese quail are happier just to laze about and snooze. Some of my Button pairs need finer mesh over the bars but some I trust not to try to escape.

I see, well I guess that could work to replace them with fakes and take the eggs. What do you do with the eggs if you don't want to eat them? The room they would be in wouldn't have the light on unless I was in the room, but it does get a little bit of natural light from the window during the day. That's interesting about the egg color, can they see in color? I had no idea! Would a cuttle bone work for calcium?

Oh wow, that is crazy they can be that cruel! What did you do for the poor guy that got attacked? Did they ever end up getting along? I keep mice as pets and I have had one girl who just wouldn't get along with anyone, she just attacked them all violently, but I finally recently got her to get along with 2 younger mice

I see, I also have a pet hamster and have had several in the past couple years, and they are that way as well. People often assume the little robo hamsters need less space because they are so itty bitty, but they are crazy active little things and still need quite a bit of room. How big are the Japanese quail, can they live in tanks, are they noisy, and are they messy? What breed/species of quail would you recommend if I want one that:

• Can live comfortably in a 40 gallon breeder tank (650 sq inches).
• Is not super noisy? Or are they all equally noisy?
• Isn't too flighty. I don't need them to love me and be super tame, I don't mind a "look don't touch" pet, but I don't want them escaping and me not being able to catch them.
• Aren't super huge - I don't want a huge bird, I already told my parents about the button quails and said they were "Cute little hamster-sized birds that can live in tanks", and they were ok with that, but I'm not sure if they'd be happy if I asked to bring a chicken-sized bird in the house lol.

I also had a question - I know people who have parrot-type pet birds often have a sort of dust all over the cage and tiny little feathers flying around everywhere, and the birds just make a big mess with their feathers and dust, are these birds like that too? And would they be ok in a room full of pet mice, would the mice be too noisy for them with their squeaky wheels going all night? Would they do anything that could be harmful to the mice in some way?

Thanks again!

 

[JaeG]

Yes, quail do create quite a bit of dander but no more than a budgie. The Buttons can be noisy at night, jumping straight upwards a lot (which is why a soft top is recommended) and sometimes doing their "pew, pew, pew" cry (which both males and females do) and the males may do their spooky, wind whistling croak.

2 Button quail should be fine with that much space (if the online conversion thingee is correct). With 2 boys you don't have to worry about eggs and they are pretty. They'll be good buddies and you'll find them snuggled up together. They may fly out while you are changing their food and water and they are slippery little things to catch. They are light enough to fly very well.

Or you could keep 2-3 Japanese/Coturnix quail very comfortably in that tank but they are about 5 times as big as a Button so produce more dust and poop (and they are smellier but fermenting their food helps a lot with that), but they are much quieter. Females sound like crickets but only vocalise during the day (though during breeding season they may call for a mate in the morning and they can get loud). A soft mesh top would be a good idea for them too for ventilation and in case they jump upwards. They are very curious, docile birds and tend to stand in the way while you are trying to clean them out and they are heavy so don't fly that well. They would need more cleaning out than the Buttons. Look for a hobby breeder that handles/interacts with their birds because they will be more skittish if the only time they see a human is at feeding time. They lay eggs like chickens which are yummy and rather pretty.

My poor boy who was attacked now has a partner who loves him and thankfully he healed up just fine. They are tough little birds, that's for sure.

 

[007Sean]

I have one bunch that I would consider a colony. Three are silver females, two tuxedo females, one wild type female, and one red breasted blue male. They all get along fine they have been together since hatching. One of the tuxedos is constantly broody, I can't break her from it, I've tried everything but no luck. Other than that they do fine in their enclosure, which is 3' x 3' x 8' in dimensions.
I feed mine 24% protein crumbles. Peices of kale twice a week, sometimes they get mealworms. Have a dust bath for them, that they love. This arrangement works for me but someone else may or may not have the same results. Birds, like people, have different personalities. Sometimes it's just a "hit or miss" as to whether or not it will work.

 

[Anonymouse]

Yes, quail do create quite a bit of dander but no more than a budgie. The Buttons can be noisy at night, jumping straight upwards a lot (which is why a soft top is recommended) and sometimes doing their "pew, pew, pew" cry (which both males and females do) and the males may do their spooky, wind whistling croak.

2 Button quail should be fine with that much space (if the online conversion thingee is correct). With 2 boys you don't have to worry about eggs and they are pretty. They'll be good buddies and you'll find them snuggled up together. They may fly out while you are changing their food and water and they are slippery little things to catch. They are light enough to fly very well.

Or you could keep 2-3 Japanese/Coturnix quail very comfortably in that tank but they are about 5 times as big as a Button so produce more dust and poop (and they are smellier but fermenting their food helps a lot with that), but they are much quieter. Females sound like crickets but only vocalise during the day (though during breeding season they may call for a mate in the morning and they can get loud). A soft mesh top would be a good idea for them too for ventilation and in case they jump upwards. They are very curious, docile birds and tend to stand in the way while you are trying to clean them out and they are heavy so don't fly that well. They would need more cleaning out than the Buttons. Look for a hobby breeder that handles/interacts with their birds because they will be more skittish if the only time they see a human is at feeding time. They lay eggs like chickens which are yummy and rather pretty.

My poor boy who was attacked now has a partner who loves him and thankfully he healed up just fine. They are tough little birds, that's for sure.

I see, the reason I ask is because mice are very sensitive to anything in the air that could irritate their respiratory system, but I do have an air filter in the room, so if the dander isn't too bad, that would probably take care of it. So 2 males won't fight? It's weird some sources say they fight and some don't. From a quick Google search this is what I get about male quail living together:

If they are housed together they may eventually attack each other, which can lead to fatalities. Put female button quails together, if necessary. If you need to keep more than a male and female pair of button quails in the same cage, you can keep females together.

So the Japanese quails, I don't know a lot about them, you said they could be in groups of 2-3, should males be housed together or will they fight? And females? How often would you need to clean the cage for them? As long as it's not like daily or something, it's not too much for me to handle, I clean my mouse cages weekly, and I have 6 mouse cages to clean. Do they smell really bad or just a little? I don't mind smell but my parents do not like smelly animals.

Also, I am not seeing very many options for getting quail near me, do you know where to find them for sale? I looked for listings on Craigslist and they are all too far away, like hours away. Except I do see one listing for the coturnix quails near me. Maybe I could also check some local pet stores, I had seen chicks in a pet store but I'm not sure if they were quails or chickens. We have a pet store close by that has a lot of unusual animals, like a variety of birds and reptiles, and even some unusual rodent varieties, like hairless rats! So there's a high chance they might have quail.

I don't know, if males can live together I may just go with the button quails... but then again they are noisy, and I'm not sure about that haha, they all have their pros and cons.

I'm glad to hear your boy is doing well now!

I have one bunch that I would consider a colony. Three are silver females, two tuxedo females, one wild type female, and one red breasted blue male. They all get along fine they have been together since hatching. One of the tuxedos is constantly broody, I can't break her from it, I've tried everything but no luck. Other than that they do fine in their enclosure, which is 3' x 3' x 8' in dimensions.
I feed mine 24% protein crumbles. Peices of kale twice a week, sometimes they get mealworms. Have a dust bath for them, that they love. This arrangement works for me but someone else may or may not have the same results. Birds, like people, have different personalities. Sometimes it's just a "hit or miss" as to whether or not it will work.

Yes I read that they eat the game bird feed? Is that correct? I also have play sand for my hamster and I could give them some as well. My dad raises mealworms, so we have plenty of live mealworms too.

 

[Anonymouse]

So I've been looking around a little bit and I found this topic. Some people say they raised them in a tank with no issues, but I don't see anyone who said they kept or were currently keeping them in tanks and they were doing well.

 

[JaeG]

So I've been looking around a little bit and I found this topic. Some people say they raised them in a tank with no issues, but I don't see anyone who said they kept or were currently keeping them in tanks and they were doing well.

If you were packing them in at 0.5-1sq/ft per bird (as they so often are) it wouldn't be any good but a couple in a sizeable tank with a mesh top for ventilation should be just fine. Males crow loudly as long as they are getting 12 or more hours of light so they aren't the best for indoor living, as they will start at about 5am. A settled male shouldn't crow excessively but they are still loud, and multiple males will mate with each other and they can get really rough to the point of drawing blood, whether there are females around or not. Females are fine if kept as a pair or small group and they have been bred to be a production bird and pump out the eggs (though always make sure they have access to oyster shell grit - I think you can use cuttlefish but you'd need to crush it up somehow as their beaks aren't strong enough to bite a piece off like hookbills can).

I would definitely ferment their food to reduce the smell they produce and keeping their cage as dry as possible is key. If they manage to spill their water they will stink. They love a bit of budgie seed as a treat and they love sunflower and alfalfa sprouts.

I'm in a completely different country so I'm not sure where you could get some birds.

Not sure I could love a hairless rat. I had to look them up!

 

[Anonymouse]

If you were packing them in at 0.5-1sq/ft per bird (as they so often are) it wouldn't be any good but a couple in a sizeable tank with a mesh top for ventilation should be just fine. Males crow loudly as long as they are getting 12 or more hours of light so they aren't the best for indoor living, as they will start at about 5am. A settled male shouldn't crow excessively but they are still loud, and multiple males will mate with each other and they can get really rough to the point of drawing blood, whether there are females around or not. Females are fine if kept as a pair or small group and they have been bred to be a production bird and pump out the eggs (though always make sure they have access to oyster shell grit - I think you can use cuttlefish but you'd need to crush it up somehow as their beaks aren't strong enough to bite a piece off like hookbills can).

I would definitely ferment their food to reduce the smell they produce and keeping their cage as dry as possible is key. If they manage to spill their water they will stink. They love a bit of budgie seed as a treat and they love sunflower and alfalfa sprouts.

I'm in a completely different country so I'm not sure where you could get some birds.

Not sure I could love a hairless rat. I had to look them up!

Ok, so the male Japanese quails are as bad as the button quails as far as sound goes? What about the females, are the female Japanese quails noisy?

I'm not exactly sure what fermenting their food is/means. I know fermenting is the natural breaking down of things, but what does it have to do with feeding quails? How does it help with smell and how would I do it?

Can they use aspen shavings as substrate? What about paper shavings like these, are they safe for them?

I see, I'm thinking maybe a farm supply store near me might have the quail chicks, but I'm not sure about grown quails. I know they have a bunch of bins full of different kinds of chicks but I didn't look at them close enough so I'm not sure if they were all chickens or if they had quails too. I also just found a listing for button quails near me. I need to decide what type of quail I want but I'm still not sure! The button quails are so tiny and cute and smell less, but I don't want them escaping and being so hard to handle, and being noisy. The Japanese quails are nicely sized and apparently easier to handle, but are the females super noisy too? Do the female Japanese quail get upset when you take their eggs and are they likely to become egg bound like the button quails? How smelly exactly are they, like way too bad to keep inside?

Do you have a list of things a group of Japanese quail needs to have in their setup? I know they need some sort of food dish, maybe a hide house of some kind? Can you use timothy hay has nesting material for them, or do they not need nesting material? Would you use a dish of water or some sort of water dispenser for birds?

Haha, yes hairless rats are interesting. Believe it or not I saw a hairless hamster not long ago at a pet store, hairless animals can be strange!

Sorry for so many questions, I just like to make sure I know everything about a pet before getting them so they can live happily without issues. Thank you so much for all the help you are giving me, I really appreciate it!