Chinese Painted Quail behaviors

[quailfairy]

I work at an aviary that houses Chinese Painted Quail as a little cleanup crew. It is a public facility in a very tourist driven city and we get many visitors a day. This makes some of the quail a “stepping on” risk, unfortunately. Due to this issue, our employees supervise and protect quail that are particularly at risk.
I have taken in two of these “at risk” quail. One is particularly people friendly and tame, allowing me to pick her up and pet behind her ears. Her issue in the aviary was having no fear of people, and spending more time than she should hanging out on the walking paths. The other quail is missing an eye, presumably from previous male fights he got into. I can recognize their sex as they have the distinctive coloration and the male has rust colored vent feathers and even has a bib. His issue was clearly this disability, although the injury is completely visibly healed and he shows no other signs of injury.
The two of them have been settling in for four weeks now, and while they are behaving completely normal, eating, drinking, and even mating, I have a few questions. It seems that raising quail as pets isn’t as common as raising them for eggs and meat, so I can find very little information on their behavior or preferences as pets.

1. We have not had an egg yet. The two of them have been mating pretty regularly, and each have their own hiding places they seem to enjoy. I have put some research into it and it says it’s normal to take a while to settle in, but they seem so settled that I am starting to worry. I have found online that egg production can be slowed for several reasons
Food: They are fed a layer crumble and are given oyster shells as well as a high calcium grit.
Sunlight: We wake up around 8AM and keep their cage covered at night. The cover is open from 8AM until it is dark outside, they have a nearby window and also have the artificial light from our lamp, should I implement their own lamp with a timer?
Excessive cleaning: I have been cleaning the cage nearly every other day, which may disrupt her settling in and nesting.
When should I worry about the lack of eggs? She has been behaving very normally and is very energetic, but I worry about egg binding or other potential health issues after going a month with no eggs laid. Is there a way to easily encourage laying? I have started providing alfalfa hay as a nesting material.

2. Strange behavior from the male
Sometimes, when the female gets close to him he will drop to the ground and spread his wings. They have a relatively amicable relationship, so I think she just sneaks up on his bad side and scares him? However, this response of laying on the ground sometimes goes on for several seconds and starts to scare me, before he goes back to usual. Is this a regular response to being startled? Perhaps because he has been in some scuffled back at the aviary?

3. Silica in sand bath.
I have found online that play sand and most types of sand you can buy at a store such as Lowe’s are made with Quartz silica, which can be toxic when breathed in. The bag of sand I am using for them lists this as an ingredient and even has a warning despite being marketed as play sand. From what i’ve found online, this sand is commonly used for dust baths for chickens/chinchillas/quail with few issues, but I still just worry about that toxic warning. Is there an alternative I should use for them? I don’t want to provide sand that will give them respiratory issues in the long run.

4. Likes and dislikes
This is a silly one, but i want to provide enrichment for them! I have given them basil which they are very fond of and millet which causes quite a bit of excitement. They were indifferent to cucumbers. I have been thinking about mealworms as a treat but haven’t got my hands on any yet. What snacks do your quail like? What can I implement into their diet for some variety? Also, other than the sand bath and hay to burrow through, are there any activities they enjoy? I can’t necessarily find quail toys online, lol, but I want them to have fun! Any ideas so they don’t feel bored?

5 Pacing!
The female quail is very prone to pacing. I know pacing is a sign of stress, but also just a common aspect of their temperament. She will eat, sand bath, and then pace. Me and my boyfriend think she’s just especially energetic. We also presume she might pace for attention, as when we come near and talk to them or interact with the cage she stops pacing to interact back. Is it normal to have one quail that is just extra wound up?

 

[Nabiki]

1 - How much daylight are they getting? If they are getting less than 14 hours of daylight, she may be taking a winter break. As long as she's acting normally, I wouldn't worry about lack of eggs.
2 - The male's behaviour doesn't sound too disturbing. He could be putting on a bit of a display for his mate.
3 - I would use construction sand for their bath. It is cheaper than play sand and less likely to be toxic to them.
4 - Be careful about treats. Treats shouldn't be more than 10% of their diet, but a bit of millet, mealworms and other veggies or insects should be fine. You will want to try a few different types to see which ones your birds like.
5 - How much space do they have? Do they have hiding places? If she is pacing back and forth along a wall or opening, she's probably feeling stressed. If you don't have hiding places, put some in. They don't have to be fancy, a plain cardboard box with a couple holes in it for them to go in and out of will be fine.