Coturnix vs Button

[Kiwithequail]

Hi fellow quail lovers,

I had been taking care of my sweet baby Kiwi; she was an abandoned Gambles quail ( we have them all over our neighborhood) and then she passed away about 8 days old. I was thinking I would get some buttons or Coturnix. This is my question,I hear Coturnix are smelly, so can I keep them outdoors in a hutch? I live in Las Vegas so it gets very hot here July and August. I also hear they have a nicer temperament and bigger eggs. I hear Button Quails don’t smell And you can keep them inside; but they are skittish.

Anyway; if anyone has any advice let me know!

Thanks!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you keep them clean, I don't think Courtinx are smelly. Noisy maybe, but I wouldn't say they're a smell bird when clean

 

[jaymean]

Hi fellow quail lovers,

I had been taking care of my sweet baby Kiwi; she was an abandoned Gambles quail ( we have them all over our neighborhood) and then she passed away about 8 days old. I was thinking I would get some buttons or Coturnix. This is my question,I hear Coturnix are smelly, so can I keep them outdoors in a hutch? I live in Las Vegas so it gets very hot here July and August. I also hear they have a nicer temperament and bigger eggs. I hear Button Quails don’t smell And you can keep them inside; but they are skittish.

Anyway; if anyone has any advice let me know!

Thanks!

I’ve had both button and coturnix. Both smell! A pair of the buttons were grosser and smellier than the coturnix. I live in Hawaii and I keep my quails indoors in decent sized runs.

Here is my breakdown based on my experience with them.

Buttons:
-skittish / hard to handle
-tiny eggs
-good nest makers and would sit on eggs
-night jumpers (would fly to the top of the cage; had to pad the top with foam)
-loud (my female buttons were louder than my coturnix— they would “talk” to each other)
-need hiding spaces

Coturnix:
-hearty / less jumpy and easier to handle
-bigger, sturdier eggs
-male coturnix crows / squawks
-female coturnix much quieter (one female would make calling sounds when her friend died, but was quiet aside from that)

I had good experience with both! Get multiple because they need friends. Be aware of the sex of the quails when putting them together.

 

[MageofMist]

Buttons can also be more aggressive and can be less social compared to Coturnix, preferring to be kept in pairs. Though it is possible to keep a colony of hens to a male if you have both a very vigorous male who can cover them and calm hens who won't try fighting to the death over the male. They will even snuggle together when it gets cold in an adorable huddle. But it is like trying to keep Robovoski hamsters together... You can, but you have to provide a lot space, hides, a lot of food and be extremely vigilant for even the smallest of injuries which'll turn the rest of the flock into piranhas.

Japanese quail are far less dramatic as they aren't normally monogamous, though there are exceptions and all birds are capable of bird drama. Also I have had far better luck on taming Japanese Quail compared to buttons, though it is possible to tame both, buttons are far more jumpy and skittish. It is like a mouse vs rat in calmness and jumpiness... Just in this case, the mice can fly like sparrows!

However I do find bachelor pens for male buttons are far more peaceful to keeping male Japanese quail together in a similar setup, though it could be due to the Japanese Quails in question, Bambi and Scrappy, are likely not from the same clutch despite me calling them brothers, and Scrappy's absurd mating drive which Scrappy still possesses as he reaches 4 years old in 2-3 months.

 

[Kiwithequail]

I’ve had both button and coturnix. Both smell! A pair of the buttons were grosser and smellier than the coturnix. I live in Hawaii and I keep my quails indoors in decent sized runs.

Here is my breakdown based on my experience with them.

Buttons:
-skittish / hard to handle
-tiny eggs
-good nest makers and would sit on eggs
-night jumpers (would fly to the top of the cage; had to pad the top with foam)
-loud (my female buttons were louder than my coturnix— they would “talk” to each other)
-need hiding spaces

Coturnix:
-hearty / less jumpy and easier to handle
-bigger, sturdier eggs
-male coturnix crows / squawks
-female coturnix much quieter (one female would make calling sounds when her friend died, but was quiet aside from that)

I had good experience with both! Get multiple because they need friends. Be aware of the sex of the quails when putting them together.

Thank you so much for this info! Very helpful!

 

[jaymean]

Buttons can also be more aggressive and can be less social compared to Coturnix, preferring to be kept in pairs. Though it is possible to keep a colony of hens to a male if you have both a very vigorous male who can cover them and calm hens who won't try fighting to the death over the male. They will even snuggle together when it gets cold in an adorable huddle. But it is like trying to keep Robovoski hamsters together... You can, but you have to provide a lot space, hides, a lot of food and be extremely vigilant for even the smallest of injuries which'll turn the rest of the flock into piranhas.

Japanese quail are far less dramatic as they aren't normally monogamous, though there are exceptions and all birds are capable of bird drama. Also I have had far better luck on taming Japanese Quail compared to buttons, though it is possible to tame both, buttons are far more jumpy and skittish. It is like a mouse vs rat in calmness and jumpiness... Just in this case, the mice can fly like sparrows!

However I do find bachelor pens for male buttons are far more peaceful to keeping male Japanese quail together in a similar setup, though it could be due to the Japanese Quails in question, Bambi and Scrappy, are likely not from the same clutch despite me calling them brothers, and Scrappy's absurd mating drive which Scrappy still possesses as he reaches 4 years old in 2-3 months.

My buttons were kept in pairs too and they were big cuddles! I tried to introduce one new button to the pair and that was a nightmare. I’ve never had male buttons, so I’m not sure what their behavior is like.

I have one Japanese quail who lets me handle her regularly. The rest would rather not deal with me!

 

[Ravenlover]

Hi fellow quail lovers,

I had been taking care of my sweet baby Kiwi; she was an abandoned Gambles quail ( we have them all over our neighborhood) and then she passed away about 8 days old. I was thinking I would get some buttons or Coturnix. This is my question,I hear Coturnix are smelly, so can I keep them outdoors in a hutch? I live in Las Vegas so it gets very hot here July and August. I also hear they have a nicer temperament and bigger eggs. I hear Button Quails don’t smell And you can keep them inside; but they are skittish.

Anyway; if anyone has any advice let me know!

Thanks!

All i got to say is button we quail

 

[Kiwithequail]

My buttons were kept in pairs too and they were big cuddles! I tried to introduce one new button to the pair and that was a nightmare. I’ve never had male buttons, so I’m not sure what their behavior is like.

I have one Japanese quail who lets me handle her regularly. The rest would rather not deal with me!

Oh Ok. This is great information thank you!!

 

[Kiwithequail]

All i got to say is button we quail

Oh gosh I can’t handle the cuteness

 

[Sammi_0411]

I have 33 courinx quail i clean them out two three times a day because theres so many but dont really smell if cleaned regularly.... the gamebird starter crumb does tho