Buttons.. has anyone ever housed them successfully in a group?

[Nyrial]

I guess the subject says it all.. I have 15 buttons, no room in the house for 7 or 8 cages, a high ratio of males to females, and even if I did pairs, I would have a lone button or a trio. Has anyone here ever successfully housed them in larger groups? Would it just be a matter of floor space and hiding spots, or is it a disaster waiting to happen? I think these guys are 4-5 weeks old now, but my memory is hazy.

 

[cpbirds407]

Hi there!

I would very strongly suggest NOT to house them together. I have tried and ALWAYS failed. In the wild, they are momogamous and they will chase off any other button in sight. It may start as a little chase, then some plucking, then a little injury around the head/eyes until...sooner or later...you'll find a dead one in the cage. I would do my very best of housing them in pairs and not in groups or trios because it always happens where sooner or later, problems occur due to the fact that we are forcing the birds to live in groups and that is simply not their nature. You know the saying...We can take the horse to the river, but we cannot make him drink!

Same goes with Chinese Blue Breasted Quails. We can force them to live in conveys...but we can't make them get along.

Other quails can be kept in groups but Buttons...hhmmmm not so much.

I hope this helps.

Charlie

 

[Nyrial]

Thanks Charlie

I'll get started on the cage design tonight then.. Will they be okay for another week? I'm thinking they may have to be garage housed for that many cages, but there are windows and no cars are parked in there.. I'll just hang a heat lamp during the cold months for them.

 

[MissCluck]

I think you will be ok while you build your other housing because yours are still young. When the boys start to growl and do their loud call is when they will probably start to fight.

I have four in a bachelor cage and will be separating these boys out to pairs shortly. I have a lack of hens! Only one hatched out of six eggs.

 

[Nyrial]

I have a disproportionally high male to female ratio as well. One more question. What do I do with #15? Trio? Solo?

 

[MissCluck]

Other folks much more "quailie" than me have suggested to pair them off - even male to male is better than solo. I had a pair of mine sold but when they all turned out males the buyer said no so I need to arrange one more cage so I will have two bachelor cages with a pair in each. I have four boys in the one cage right now and there are some squabbles as they've matured so today I'm making the move to take a pair out of there so there are no injuries. You might be OK with the odd one in but I'm not sure.

The boys are absolutely gorgeous with their adult feathers coming in. They do make a LOT of noise at odd times of the day. One little guy likes to do his "CREE! CREE!" and "PEEOOO!PEEEOOOO!PEEEOOO!" calls at three in the morning.

He will also call if I laugh or the phone rings. I see his little head pop up over the edge of the cage (I have them in guinea pig Tubby cages) and he's so adorable when he starts to call....stands high on his toes and pops up and down.

 

[cpbirds407]

Well, I normally kkep them together until about 8-10 weeks of age in a BIG cage. I keep about 25 fully feathered babies in an outside aviary 8'x8'. They seem to do OK until about 12 weeks which is when they start plucking if I don't remove them.

The #15 bachelor, I'd try to get him a female or give it to someone who has a female. Craigslist works good for me trying to rehome any extras that I have.

Now, I can advise that you study the lighting very well so that you don't end up with a lot more males than females when these start breeding.

If you keep that extra male together with another male, be very careful and keep a close eye. In a plit of a second... they can get severely injured.

There's a book called A Closer Look At Button Quail that I'd very strongly recommend. Email me and I have extra copies if you are interested. [email protected]

Charlie

 

[T-Rexxx]

Ours live in 2 colonies, no problems.

 

[MissCluck]

Thank you Charlie! An outdoor 8 x 8 aviary sounds so wonderful to me up here in the chilly North! I'd love to have an indoor aviary but with a home only 725 square feet I'm limited!

Do you have any photos? We love photos!

I have that book and can also recommend it.

I agree that space is the key to happier birds/pets. I try to always give my animals and birds the largest space I can afford and am always trying to upgrade.... (you should see what my chickens have!!!! hee hee).

 

[cpbirds407]

T-Rexxx,

I understand and respect the way your birds are kept...in colonies. Many people keep them in colonies "successfully" however, it all depends on how big the aviary is and how much hiding places they have. If you pay very close attention, the males fluff up and run other males away within that "colony" ...that, to me, is not a colony. A colony is where the birds are happy and they get along just fine without "fear" of another male trying to defend their territory.

I personally would not like to have someone chase me away in my own home. Even thoughy my wife does from time to time

we have to look at the big picture and see that these birds do not live in colonies in the wild and we should keep these birds in the best possible ways in terms of housing.

Please do not take offense to what I have just stated. This in my educated opinion based on what I have learned through research and experience.

Charlie