button vs. coturnix as pets

[Picco]

I would like to give quail a try as indoor pets and wonder what would be better to keep indoors, buttons or coturnix (Japanese). I would like to make a small indoor aviary. These guys would be more for looking at although it would be nice to handle them a little. What are some pros and cons of both species?

 

[redhen]

i just hatched some buttons from some eggs my friend gave me....my gosh! they are cute! and literally the size of a bumble bee!

 

[monarc23]

I think for your idea of just looking at buttons may be the way to go for handling coturnix may be the way to go though they don't like to be handled either but they are normally more accepting of eating out of your hand tho buttons can be trained to be as well.


Buttons calls are cuter i must say...

Coturnix calls are garbly cute but garbly lol.

Buttons come in more colors and eat much less than coturnix.


Coturnix you can raise up and eat and also eat their eggs.. You can eat buttons and buttons eggs as well but mostly they are bred for look at purposes

Coturnix are less spazzy atleast in my experience.

Coturnix require a little bit of bigger housing but not by much at all.

Buttons do best in pairs, coturnix you can do 1 roo per 4-5 hens easily and you should..as a pair of coturnix the hen can get really harassed.


I hope this helps some

 

[citalk2much]

Buttons come in lots of colors they are little bit cases in an aviary so funny to watch they are always on the go! I do know of people who have gotten buttons trained to be easy to handle
My are not as said in other post they spaz
I have a pair of Japanese quail they are calm beautiful and sweet they will eat from my hand. I will say to watch give me a button any day. Just rearrange there cage and sit back and laugh or give them a small plastic ball what a whoot.

.

 

[ButtonQuailHeaven]

Smell wise for indoors though Buttons win hands down. When I had Coturnix the ammonia smell was much worse than in the Buttons. Plus for me anyway the Coturnix were a lot messier. They got the cage wet very easily. That is the main reason I didn't last long with them because all of my Quail are indoors. Monarc23 and citalk2much are right though, the Coturnix are much calmer.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

I have had both , but for the indoor home i would have to say Buttons ! Buttons are prettier in my oppinion and come in many dif colors. can be tamed with some time and patients. In my experience Buttons are not as messy as the Coturnix and not as loud as well. Our Coturnix got a new outdoor pen . The Buttons stay in house and are our pets , they are so fun to watch .

Fay

 

[sandyj]

Handling a Button is nearly impossible. We can easily handle the Couternix and they are really friendly. The only problem with them is they are POOP machines.
sandyj

 

[spookyevilone]

I have both indoors. The Coturnix are more calm and easily tamed - mine ride around on my arm/shoulder all the time. The Buttons are pretty, but they're pretty much universally spastic and they startle REALLY easily. I guess the world is a pretty scary place when you're three inches long.

The cage requirements are different. Buttons don't do well on wire bottom cages. Coturnix handle wire bottoms just fine, and it's easier to clean if you have wire bottoms. I have mine in 3'x2' parrot cages with slide out trays, and my Serama pair makes more stink than all 7 of the Coturnix. I chuck new shavings in the cage every other day, and the Coturnix roll around in them and work them through the wire down into the tray.

I would start with the Coturnix, especially if you're not used to raising quail. They're more hardy and can take more inadvertent abuse. Buttons find new and interesting ways to die, especially as chicks.
-Spooky

 

[Picco]

I'm planing on building an indoor aviary that's sort of like a terrarium with out the humidity and lots of plants. Sounds like the button quail would be a better choice. Thanks!

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
your last sentence had me