First time quail keeper... questions!

[ChickenLove6]

I am wanting to buy quails from a local seller. Is there any tips you can give me? What do they eat? How to care for them? What bedding do they need? How often do they lay eggs? What breed is best to get?
Also, once they are all settled in, and I am used to looking after them, I want to breed them. How many females should I have if I have one boy? Do they need a separate house for breeding? Thanks in advance!!

 

[James the Bald]

What type of quail are they? If they are Buttonquail, here is a link that can help you, and if they are coturnix, this link can help.
James

 

[ChickenLove6]

I haven't got them yet. But I will be getting either Japanese quail or Button quail. Thanks for the links!

 

[veggiecanner]

What do they use Botton quail for? Pets?

 

[buttonquailtx]

What do they use Botton quail for? Pets?

Button quail are normally kept either as pets or as clean up crews for aviaries.

 

[marksouth]

I'm new to quail too and you can find the answer to just about anything by reading through the threads. I'm so thankful to have such a wealth of info at my fingertips. Thanks everybody!

 

[QuailOfaTime]

Hi there i too am new to Quail, a few years ago i bred Zebra Finch n Goudian Finch now im trying quail... the two chicks in my pic are a day n half old both females but dont know if pied or white yet. I will be looking to add more n a male too and muations i like are whites, pied, darth vadar, blue breasted, red breasted and silver tuxedo pied... there really isnt that much on net about chinese paiinted quail or button quail as there also know and why i joined here for help lol.

i know about husbandry n just sourcing a incubator to start my hens once there 8weeks old watch this space lol

 

[Weirdness555]

Be careful with your spaces James the Bald, buttonquail are a totally different species who require WILDLY different care.

Also, if you want eggs to eat you're best with Coturnix (AKA Japanese) but if you want cute pets that don't take up much space then go with buttons. Their eggs are tiny, I never bother eating them. That isn't to say that coturnix don't make great pets, and they don't take up much more space, but really if you're not concerned with usefulness then it comes down to preference.

Also, QuailOfATime, how do you know their female so young? Just curious

 

[QuailOfaTime]

apparantly they have been sexed buy a trusted method of magnet spinning? alot of ppl do this and sex their birds whether its correct with these two im yet to find out as i wont have them for another two weeks

 

[buttonquailtx]

It sounds like the old needle and thread method some older people use. They would dangle a needle on a piece of thread and "tell" the sex by how the needle swings. If the needle swings in a circular motion, it was one gender. If it swings back and forth it's another sex. I bought some birds from an older gentleman who used this method. He tried to sell me a blueface male as a female. So in my experience, there is no accuracy in this old wife's tale. The best accuracy one can hope for with these methods is 50%, which is about the same as reaching in the cage and picking randomly.