Buttonquail slow decent into hating me

[LuAG]

I have everything my home baby buttonquail need, from high protein crumb (crushed down) to a pebble filled water source. But the issue I'm having isn't physical needs, it's an emotional one. I incubated my two buttonquail at home, I did incubate 6 eggs but due to them being shipped only two were viable - I was there the moment they hatched and have been with them everyday for at least 2 hours a day. Problem is, they are slowly getting more and more intolerant of my presence: from day 1 to around 4 they loved cuddles and followed my hand around and cried if I wasn't there. But now, (day 6-7) they do not let me get close and frequently jump when I move at all. The reason this is an issue is because I incubated them for indoor pets, I've done my research and have the perfect lifestyle to suit them but it almost seems as if they are slowly losing recognition of me being their "mother" which in this situation I'm prepared to be (I'm a uni student, I'm at home constantly with them). Any clue as to what could be happening? I've checked for all sorts of illnesses but I doubt it could be that - I feed them distilled water and they've had no exposure to mites and such. Any ideas?

 

[The Birb King]

This is normal. Button quail are naturally very skittish animals. My adult buttons will eat from my hand but they dont like being touched at all. A few months ago however I incubated their eggs and only 1 chick hatched. I spent lots of time with him and he was very tame. He would follow me around, hide under my hand, and get sad when I went away. Sadly he died when he was a couple days old and im not sure why but yea you should spend a couple more hours with them each day. You could also take them out and hold them a lot or when you want to interact, put them in a smaller cage and put your hand in there and they should eventually get used to it.

 

[LuAG]

This is normal. Button quail are naturally very skittish animals. My adult buttons will eat from my hand but they dont like being touched at all. A few months ago however I incubated their eggs and only 1 chick hatched. I spent lots of time with him and he was very tame. He would follow me around, hide under my hand, and get sad when I went away. Sadly he died when he was a couple days old and im not sure why but yea you should spend a couple more hours with them each day. You could also take them out and hold them a lot or when you want to interact, put them in a smaller cage and put your hand in there and they should eventually get used to it.

I do occasionally get them out, I turn a heater on to make the room super warm and put them on my floor (all nooks and crannies sealed of course) but they seem to lose all recognition of me when I do this. Calling out for me but also not recognising me, very strange. I'll try to keep my appearances up even more as you advised, thank you!

 

[The Birb King]

I do occasionally get them out, I turn a heater on to make the room super warm and put them on my floor (all nooks and crannies sealed of course) but they seem to lose all recognition of me when I do this. Calling out for me but also not recognising me, very strange. I'll try to keep my appearances up even more as you advised, thank you!

You could also try putting them in a smaller cage or container and putting your hand in there with them. With no where to run they should get used to your hand and not be so skittish.