Can you mix Button's with Coturnix quail in the same coop?

[RobPS]

I have a coop with 8 female coturnix that are about 8 weeks old. The Coop is big enough for 10-12 birds, going by the 1 sq foot per bird rule. It has a "downstairs" and ramp leading to an "indoor-upstairs" section and all birds have access to it all.

Would I be able to add 2 - 4 button quail to my collection?

Also, i'm assuming that an all-female hutch would tend to be more peaceful, given my (limited!) experience with coturnix. Is this true for buttons?

Thanks!

 

[Q QUAIL S]

I am not sure if your coturnix will be racist to your buttons I've had the problem with my coturnix beating up on my other quail and when I was cleaning out the coop I put them together and it was the other way around. Maybe yours won't have that problem.

 

[Gray Farms]

No. Cots will kill Buttons.

 

[JaeG]

I've kept a Japanese trio with a male/female pair of Buttons. I had one Japanese girl I had to remove as she was going to be a pain to the Buttons, but the Japanese male and 2 females were fine and never bothered them. Ours were in a good sized aviary though with lots of hiding places. I ended up taking the Japanese out as they became very highly strung with so much scary (to them) space. You can only try, and have another cage on hand in case you need it.

Buttons are a lot more highly strung than Japanese quail and are no where near as friendly. They will probably freak out the moment you put your hand in the cage and it's fun trying to clean them out in a small cage as they can fly quite well being so tiny. So there's a big risk of them escaping unless they are indoors or in an aviary. Some people have had their Buttons kill themselves because they freaked out so much. We are lucky that we have a very laid back female and a pretty laid back male.

I'd get two Button sisters if you just want girls as otherwise there could be bloodshed between them. But be prepared to house them separately if necessary. It all comes down to the personality of the individual birds.

 

[RobPS]

Thanks friends. Sounds like I should just stick with what I have. Maybe someday I'll expand with another coop for the Buttons.