Equipment & set up recommendations for button quail

[Sushi]

What "stuff" would you recommend for people keeping button quail?

I think one of my best "finds" were hermit crab dishes. The sides are graduated like little stairs in the dish, and the edges of the dish seem just wide enough for the little babies to perch on to drink water. I use these instead of marble filled dishes. Only problem is that I have to check them several times a day to make sure they have water. The shallow dishes dry out fast.

Feather boas from the dollar store. I just cut off a piece and put it in with the babies. They like to crawl in and under it to hide and keep warm. When it gets dirty, I just put a new piece in.

Flower pots, even broken ones. My mom broke a ceramic flower pot on her yard this year and was going to throw it out. It made a nice hide out for the buttons. Intact flower pots I turn on their sides and anchor down with a couple of rocks around it and I find they like to sit and hide in them. Sometimes they use them to nest in. Pencil cups also work for this.

I have also salvaged pieces of trees that have been cut down. Logs look natural and give them something to climb on, run around and hide behind. Branches that still have leaves on them are popular with my buttons and a branch that had aphids on the leaves were a special treat.

Also, if you're going to keep a lot of pairs I use big clear rubbermade bins to keep them in. I just cut out part of the lid, and tape a piece of plastic canvas (craft stores) in with white duct tape. I find it has a nice bounce to it. Keeps them from hurting themselves when they flush.

What stuff would you recommend for keeping buttons?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Read this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=408527

 

[Sushi]

Not really what I had in mind for discussion, although it is an informative post. I was more or less looking for ideas of common items that can be useful in keeping buttons quail. I find that most pet bird products, like cages and dishes aren't designed with ground dwelling birds in mind and can be quite expensive. Poultry products are too large and not very attractive looking in an aviary.

This is the dish I found for hermit crabs that I found very useful for button quail.

You can see that on the right side of the dish it has a graduated side, like little stairs that made it easier for my baby buttons to get in and out of the water dish. The dish is only 1 & 3/4 inches deep. I paid $5.99 for mine in a local pet shop, but the website I found this pic on has them for $3.88 (pet discounters . com) The "groovey jacuzzi" that's also available from the same company has "stairs" in it too, and would look quite attractive too.

 

[Stellar]

the hermit crab dishes are nice, I use jar lids too for my breeders (inexpensive too).

For houses I have hamster houses in some cages

I have flower pots too. The plastic ones.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Never thought of the flowerpots, I'll have to see if there are any on clearance next time I go to the store. Some of my buttons have parakeet waterer/feeders for their water, some of them have quail water bases on quart jars. Those will soon be changed to some 1/2 pint jars I got, that way their water will need changed more often. It gets a little stinky sometimes if it sets too long

All mine have cut-down small butter bowls for their food 'pans'. They are free, more or less, and easy to use. Some of them have little hidey houses I got online, either grass or wood, though they don't use the wood ones much, I think they are too small