Button Quail, what color is s/he?

[shelleyd2008]

Looks like some kind of splash, though I don't have any idea what colors are mixed in there. Plus they both look like boys

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm hoping to goodness that this is a hen, it doesn't seem to have a bib (at least not yet). The two big white ones are acting like males (being mean little brats), and the two littlest are apparantly males, so, well, I'm going to have to back out of the FFA fundraiser, because one bird isn't going to give me enough eggs to send out.

I'll have to get eggs or new chicks. How disappointing.
I'd still like to know what in the heck the two little guys are though, they're so weird looking!

And, yes, I know, my cage needs cleaned, I missed it last trash day.

 

[duckncover]

OT but is there any chance you could tell me who you got them off of?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Does that last one have any colored feathers on its breast? Like red or cinnamon colored? I have one male like that that has no bib, but he does have a light cinnamon coloring to his chest.

 

[Bettacreek]

The last one, the one that I'm hoping to be a hen, has some patterning on the feathers, but it's very faint. It's mainly on the "shoulder" feathers. I'll have to see if I can get a good picture of one of the feathers, but I honestly doubt that I'll be able to.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yeah, I can see the lines on the shoulder, that's why I asked. I would think if it doesn't have red or cinnamon feathers on its breast/vent, then it is probably a hen. But you might just have to wait till it lays an egg to know for sure! Sorry, I'm not much help!

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

Just like I originally said the first one is a Red Breasted. It turned out to be a male since it has the reddish feathering by the vent. They all look like hens when they first get their coloring so they blend in for hiding. Your Red Breasted male will change a ton still getting his male coloring. He will be black on top of his head, bluish on his back and reddish completely underneath. He will also have a small thin white line for a bib.

The second one you asked about is a Cinnamon. It is hard to tell at this stage what type of Cinnamon. There is Cinnamon, Cinnamon Pearl and Cinnamon Red Breast. This one is a male too as I see reddish feathers coming in. This one will change quite a bit until it is fully developed in coloring too. You won't believe the finished product as they change the most from baby to adult in the Cinnamon coloring.

The last one you posted is either a Silver Red Breasted or Ivory Red Breasted. I am thinking it is a hen but you may want to check underneath for pinkish feathering. In the Silver and Ivory mutation the vent area is pinkish rather than reddish like the darker colors. It is basically the diluted version of the red coloring. In dark colored Buttons (including Cinnamons as they get darker colored in males)the males have reddish vent areas and the silver and ivory version they have pinkish vent areas.

I see lots of people on here calling Cinnamon Buttons Splashes. The Splash color in Buttons is basically a White bird with a few colored feathers. Here is a link to my website that shows several pictures of what Splash is:

http://buttonquailheaven.faithweb.com/photo.html

 

[Bettacreek]

Thank you.

When do buttons have their final feathering in? I guess I am getting too ahead of myself, I assumed that since they had real feathers that they were in final color, but they have noticable changes daily. These are my very first buttons, and my only other birds are budgies (first pair) and I had a white faced grey cockatiel before (plus mutt ducks and such when I was young), so I'm not exactly experienced with birds at all.

I was always under the impression that splashes were basically piebalds, being whatever their color was, with white splotches on them. Is that correct, or are they also birds with random color splotches? I'm so confused with everything, even most sites on the internet have conflicting information, lol.

 

[Bettacreek]

Oh, and the other one, the ivory or silver, it doesn't really have pinkish feathers on it (I hate saying "it"), but there is a place under the chin that is looking decidedly lighter than the rest, which I'm thinking (but hoping and praying not) might be a white bib. The underfeathers are the same color as the top though, and this is one of the further developed birds. I'm going to scream if this is a male as well... Also, with the white birds, are there any *certain* ways to tell gender besides venting and waiting for eggs (I have never been able to vent animals), or are there only the generic ways, such as the noise, attitude and size?

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

Final feathering takes a good couple of months especially in the Cinnamons. They change the most and the males really change a ton. They don't end up looking at all like they start out as their coloring gets much darker. They look quite spotty as they develop.

Splash in most other birds is like you describe but in the Buttons the most recognized Splash is bright White with some colored feathers. I have several of them pictured on my last post on my website. Garrie Landry who developed the Splash has some on his website too. There are a lot of conflicting opinions on coloring out there on the internet but I go by the most reliable person and authority on Buttons and that is Garrie.

People also get quite confused about the whole bib issue. Females do have bibs but they are not bright white like a males. The Red Breasted hens have a creamy colored bib with a brown outline. The Silver Red Breasted and Ivory Red Breasted have a pale grey bib and a silver outline. Again the males have bright white. Once you learn the male and female bib differences it is easy to tell. The pinkish vent feathering I am talking about is not in the bib area. Only in the vent area and sometimes up the breast some especially in the red breasted varieties. Plus there are no bibs on the Blue Face variety males including Blue Face, Cinnamon Blue Face and Slate.

As far as the White ones go, they are the hardest to sex. I usually put them alone in a cage at 6 weeks or so and see what they do. If female of course they will lay eggs. If male they will make a sound that only males make. It kind of sounds like a really windy day and they puff their throats up when they do it. They only do it when they are alone so it is a call for a mate. I wish there was not so much misinformation out there about these little cuties!