Button Quail Questions

[ButtonquailGirl14]

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?



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!

so... I know what different sites and people may say, but I am going to give you the absolute best truth I can.in order for them to be as happy as any animal deserves they should live in no smaller than I 40 gallon tank, should live in pairs, (I would STRONGLY suggest a male pair for you.) they should be in a warm, dry, safe environment, with PLENTY of fresh food and water (and very high protein food). as for you... I have never owned coturnix (japanes quail) or parkeets , but buttons are LOUD... they make wind noises and loud crowing, and they wake me up almost every night. (and the rest of my family too) so they should only be kept where they won't be disturbing you. they are pretty dusty, but most stays inside the aquarium. as for coturnix... they are loud as well, but they are much more tame than buttons. they don't come in such bright colors. would personally keep the coturnix outside as they would have more room, and they enjoy the fresh air. (they probably produce lots of dust, but I don't know that for a fact.)

 

[Anonymouse]

so... I know what different sites and people may say, but I am going to give you the absolute best truth I can.in order for them to be as happy as any animal deserves they should live in no smaller than I 40 gallon tank, should live in pairs, (I would STRONGLY suggest a male pair for you.) they should be in a warm, dry, safe environment, with PLENTY of fresh food and water (and very high protein food). as for you... I have never owned coturnix (japanes quail) or parkeets , but buttons are LOUD... they make wind noises and loud crowing, and they wake me up almost every night. (and the rest of my family too) so they should only be kept where they won't be disturbing you. they are pretty dusty, but most stays inside the aquarium. as for coturnix... they are loud as well, but they are much more tame than buttons. they don't come in such bright colors. would personally keep the coturnix outside as they would have more room, and they enjoy the fresh air. (they probably produce lots of dust, but I don't know that for a fact.)

Thank you for the info. I really personally have no issue with the noise, I wouldn't mind one bit. It's just, I'm not sure if my parents will be ok with it or not, and I want to know how bad it is before I decide to get quail. I was noticing the colors of the buttons, they are very pretty, but honestly I don't care a ton about the colors, more about the personalities of the birds. And I can definitely provide everything listed, but I worry that if they are too noisy my parents will want them to live outside, and I don't think that would be safe for them with the feral cats around. We have a pond in our yard and sometimes fish will disappear because of the cats

I don't know, I think it's mostly the fact that they are noisy that is making me unsure about quails as pets for me right now. I definitely do want to own them someday, they are neat birds, but maybe it's best to wait until I have my own home, or maybe I should just tell my parents they probably will be noisy and see what they think?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Thank you for the info. I really personally have no issue with the noise, I wouldn't mind one bit. It's just, I'm not sure if my parents will be ok with it or not, and I want to know how bad it is before I decide to get quail. I was noticing the colors of the buttons, they are very pretty, but honestly I don't care a ton about the colors, more about the personalities of the birds. And I can definitely provide everything listed, but I worry that if they are too noisy my parents will want them to live outside, and I don't think that would be safe for them with the feral cats around. We have a pond in our yard and sometimes fish will disappear because of the cats

I don't know, I think it's mostly the fact that they are noisy that is making me unsure about quails as pets for me right now. I definitely do want to own them someday, they are neat birds, but maybe it's best to wait until I have my own home, or maybe I should just tell my parents they probably will be noisy and see what they think?

I am so sorry about the feral cats. I think you could easily make a cat proof coturnix quail cage.... if its personality you want than I suggest coturnix.

 

[Cyprus]

Button Quail Sounds

 

[Cyprus]

Coturnix sounds

 

[JaeG]

Here's a really good video of a male Button doing his thing.

Females still do the "pew, pew, pew" but they don't do the spooky wind noise.

It's spring where I am and even though my quail are in a shed quite a distance from our house I can still hear the Buttons starting up at 4am. My male Coturnix wait until about 5am.

Female Coturnix don't make much noise. They sound like crickets and tend to be quiet most of the time. They prefer sleeping over making a noise at night.

The Coturnix are more aware of you as a caregiver and seem to enjoy interacting with their human, though some are always more timid than others.

I'd say each one would be as dusty as a cockatiel, but the bedding you use can contribute to that as well. They do like to dust bathe which is, again, another source of dust.

Coturnix don't go broody (except on very rare occasion) so they have no attachment to their eggs. They can lay all over the place but I found giving them a hidey house makes them more likely to lay in there. They tend to lay in the late afternoon.

I work in metric measurements so it's difficult for me to visualise the size of your tank. I keep 8 Coturnix in an indoor rabbit cage that's about 47 inches by 23 (when I use the online converter). But that would have a lot more ventilation than a fishtank.

 

[Anonymouse]

Thank you everyone for the videos, those are helpful. They sound a lot like killdeer birds to me.

Here's a really good video of a male Button doing his thing.

Females still do the "pew, pew, pew" but they don't do the spooky wind noise.

It's spring where I am and even though my quail are in a shed quite a distance from our house I can still hear the Buttons starting up at 4am. My male Coturnix wait until about 5am.

Female Coturnix don't make much noise. They sound like crickets and tend to be quiet most of the time. They prefer sleeping over making a noise at night.

The Coturnix are more aware of you as a caregiver and seem to enjoy interacting with their human, though some are always more timid than others.

I'd say each one would be as dusty as a cockatiel, but the bedding you use can contribute to that as well. They do like to dust bathe which is, again, another source of dust.

Coturnix don't go broody (except on very rare occasion) so they have no attachment to their eggs. They can lay all over the place but I found giving them a hidey house makes them more likely to lay in there. They tend to lay in the late afternoon.

I work in metric measurements so it's difficult for me to visualise the size of your tank. I keep 8 Coturnix in an indoor rabbit cage that's about 47 inches by 23 (when I use the online converter). But that would have a lot more ventilation than a fishtank.

I told my mom what they sound like and she said "I could always close the door" lol, do you think that would really help? They'd be 1 room away from me and my parent's bedrooms. Huh, maybe the female Coturnix quails would be best then, my only issue is I'm not sure how good they'd do in a tank and if they'd smell really bad.

According to a website I found, the tank size I have is 91.4 x 45.7 x 43.2 in centimeters, 36 x 18 x 17 in inches.

Thanks again!

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Thank you everyone for the videos, those are helpful. They sound a lot like killdeer birds to me.


I told my mom what they sound like and she said "I could always close the door" lol, do you think that would really help? They'd be 1 room away from me and my parent's bedrooms. Huh, maybe the female Coturnix quails would be best then, my only issue is I'm not sure how good they'd do in a tank and if they'd smell really bad.

According to a website I found, the tank size I have is 91.4 x 45.7 x 43.2 in centimeters, 36 x 18 x 17 in inches.

Thanks again!

I think some female cots would fit you best

 

[JaeG]

I forgot to explain the fermented feed. You put a portion of their feed in a glass or plastic container (not metal) and add enough water to cover it, adding more as it gets absorbed but not so much that it turns to soup. It should be nice and thick like porridge. Loosely cover it and stir it a couple of times a day. After about 3 days (depending on the temperature its kept at) it should be bubbly and smell slightly sour. Some people don't like the smell but I find it pleasant (it can depend on what's in the feed as well). Feed out most (you won't need much so don't make much) keeping a little back to seed the next batch. Just mix in new food and water and by the next day it will be ready to go again. I found it drastically reduced their smell when we had our Coturnix inside.

The Buttons probably wouldn't make much noise once they were settled and bonded to each other, especially if they have no other quail to call out to (which is my problem).

 

[007Sean]

Here's a really good video of a male Button doing his thing.

Females still do the "pew, pew, pew" but they don't do the spooky wind noise.

It's spring where I am and even though my quail are in a shed quite a distance from our house I can still hear the Buttons starting up at 4am. My male Coturnix wait until about 5am.

Female Coturnix don't make much noise. They sound like crickets and tend to be quiet most of the time. They prefer sleeping over making a noise at night.

The Coturnix are more aware of you as a caregiver and seem to enjoy interacting with their human, though some are always more timid than others.

I'd say each one would be as dusty as a cockatiel, but the bedding you use can contribute to that as well. They do like to dust bathe which is, again, another source of dust.

Coturnix don't go broody (except on very rare occasion) so they have no attachment to their eggs. They can lay all over the place but I found giving them a hidey house makes them more likely to lay in there. They tend to lay in the late afternoon.

I work in metric measurements so it's difficult for me to visualise the size of your tank. I keep 8 Coturnix in an indoor rabbit cage that's about 47 inches by 23 (when I use the online converter). But that would have a lot more ventilation than a fishtank.

My buttons heard this video while I was watching it and my males started going crazy.