Found quail

[Buttereater]

Hello,
I found a quail in my urban yard today. Now I am in love and would like to do what is best for her. I have no idea

where she came from. None of my neighbors have birds. My thoughts is to keep her but I've read that it's best for them to have friends. I've also read that you don't introduce adults only littles. I believe she is an adult.

 

[cherrynberry]

Hello,
I found a quail in my urban yard today. Now I am in love and would like to do what is best for her. I have no ideaView attachment 3561912 where she came from. None of my neighbors have birds. My thoughts is to keep her but I've read that it's best for them to have friends. I've also read that you don't introduce adults only littles. I believe she is an adult.

Aww, she’s adorable. You definitely did a good deed saving her. So if I’m understanding correctly she is your only bird so far? If that’s the case, I’d first start with keeping her in the house. Try to accompany her also, birds don’t do well alone. Some sort of small dog crate or cardboard box would work temporarily. For something more permanent, you could search the site for some inspo. I saw on your intro that you have both dogs and cats…housing might be a bit more difficult if that’s the case. Maybe not if you have a coop to keep her outside in, but for now it’ll definitely be harder. For food, quail need a high protein diet—18-20% for starters, even higher for chicks. Some sort of gamebird feed would be best. You could try to give her a small dish of sugar water (1tsp:1cup) to help with any stress she may have. Another thing birds need is some place to take dust baths. A small dish of sand or dirt will do. You’d also want some grit available for her if you plan on feeding treats. It doesn’t take long for quail to reach maturity. So if you really wanted, you could get some quail chicks to raise. Or you could also just buy adults—that’d be quickest and also what I recommend here. In case you aren’t sure what to look for, they’re called Coturnix quail. Oh and also, it’s best to integrate birds slowly…both for biosecurity and pecking order reasons. If there’s anything else you need help with, feel free to ask. Clarification included, ik it’s a lot at once!

 

[le_bwah]

Looks like a male golden/manchurian variety Coturnix quail. I've never kept a bird alone, and believe they do better with others of their kind. If you want to keep him, he'll likely need either 3-5 female companions (resulting in fertile eggs) or a couple of other males in a female-free environment (to reduce fighting and crowing). Check out the old quail pens thread for ideas.

 

[Nabiki]

He is a coturnix quail (and definitely male). If you want to keep him, you will want to get him a male companion and hope for the best, or 3-5 females. One female is not enough. If you get more, make sure that you don't get any more males unless there are no females at all.

If you can, get him game bird or turkey crumble. You might want to start here for information, but feel free to ask questions!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/quail.32/

 

[Buttereater]

Aww, she’s adorable. You definitely did a good deed saving her. So if I’m understanding correctly she is your only bird so far? If that’s the case, I’d first start with keeping her in the house. Try to accompany her also, birds don’t do well alone. Some sort of small dog crate or cardboard box would work temporarily. For something more permanent, you could search the site for some inspo. I saw on your intro that you have both dogs and cats…housing might be a bit more difficult if that’s the case. Maybe not if you have a coop to keep her outside in, but for now it’ll definitely be harder. For food, quail need a high protein diet—18-20% for starters, even higher for chicks. Some sort of gamebird feed would be best. You could try to give her a small dish of sugar water (1tsp:1cup) to help with any stress she may have. Another thing birds need is some place to take dust baths. A small dish of sand or dirt will do. You’d also want some grit available for her if you plan on feeding treats. It doesn’t take long for quail to reach maturity. So if you really wanted, you could get some quail chicks to raise. Or you could also just buy adults—that’d be quickest and also what I recommend here. In case you aren’t sure what to look for, they’re called Coturnix quail. Oh and also, it’s best to integrate birds slowly…both for biosecurity and pecking order reasons. If there’s anything else you need help with, feel free to ask. Clarification included, ik it’s a lot at once!

Wonderful. Thank you so much for all the good advice. On the way to look for some sort of enclosure now. I gave them a little sugar water this morning and found some bugs in the garden. They were well received.

Hello,
I found a quail in my urban yard today. Now I am in love and would like to do what is best for her. I have no ideahe now has a hutch, dirt bath, View attachment 3561912 where she came from. None of my neighbors have birds. My thoughts is to keep her but I've read that it's best for them to have friends. I've also read that you don't introduce adults only littles. I believe she is an adult.

Thank you all for the advice!! What a wonderful community.
He now has a hutch, dirt bath, appropriate feed, water bottle, and bedding. Tomorrow we are looking at female birds for company. When the universe sends you a quail I guess the only logical choice is to get more.
Thanks again! I will post updates if folks are interested.

 

[Nabiki]

Wonderful. Thank you so much for all the good advice. On the way to look for some sort of enclosure now. I gave them a little sugar water this morning and found some bugs in the garden. They were well received.

Thank you all for the advice!! What a wonderful community.
He now has a hutch, dirt bath, appropriate feed, water bottle, and bedding. Tomorrow we are looking at female birds for company. When the universe sends you a quail I guess the only logical choice is to get more.
Thanks again! I will post updates if folks are interested.

Please do post updates! I hope the articles are helpful.