Help Me ID My Buttons Please

[Shayna]

I've hatched out 12 button quail, and I'm trying to determine colors and male/female.

Below are the pictures and my best guesses, but I'm totally new to this.... Any help would be greatly appreciated! They're about 5 1/2 weeks now.

Silver blue face female??


Silver red breasted male?


Golden female?


Red breasted pied (white face) male?


Red breasted white wing pied male? (in front)


Next two pics red breasted females?



Tuxedo male?


Tuxedo female? What color tux??


Next two pics red breasted males?



White wing pied red breasted hen?



I'm already in love with these fun little birds! I'm waiting for them to pair up and I'll start separating them. I suspect one male is getting beat up, but I don't see any aggression among them yet. The male I think is a white wing pied red breasted has a scab on his head that makes his feathers stick up. It was bleeding again tonight and happened a couple days ago. I don't see any other way it could've been cut. I put some blue kote on it and will monitor him closely. Any suggestions for him are welcome. I don't know that he would do well isolated from the others since they're behaving socially still.

Thanks again!

 

[buttonquailtx]

Ok,lots to cover.

The first pic looks more like a silver red breasted male. Silver and Blueface make Slate which will be solid grey with no red or white markings. No color difference between males and females.

The second pic looks like a silver male. The redbreasted gene will make males have a single line of white on their bibs, normally.

The third pic is a golden pearl hen.

The fourth pic is a normal male that probably has tux or pied in his genes somewhere

The fifth from the pic looks like a cinnamon male. White wing is a good description

The 6th and 7th pics are normal? hens. Maybe pearl,but def not redbreasted

The 8th and 9th are tuxedos, but it's hard to tell sex on them, but I think I see red feathers on the second one, making it a male (maybe red breasted/vader)

The 10th and 11th are normal males.

The last one is a normal hen. lightly pied.

Many people confuse normals with redbreasted. The one in my picture is a redbreasted/vader male. Female redbreasted are often a cream color with barring similar to a barred rock chicken.

 

[Shayna]

Thanks so much for helping buttonquailtx!

I really can't tell the difference between red breasted and normal and I've looked at sooo many color id pictures on various sites. The females look the same to me, and the regular males seem to be sprouting reddish feathers in the chest area too.

The silver in #1 and the tuxedo in #9 I guessed were females not so much by the color, but by the more laid back and timid personality. They behave more like the other ones I think are female, but the tux does have red feathers by the tail, and the silver does have a red breast, so if that's an identifier, they're definitely boys. Just less dominant I suppose.

Can anyone tell me what the base color is on the tuxedo in #9? I think so pretty. Maybe some type of splash or charcoal? There are so many different colors there.
Here's another pic that shows the colors, although he's in the background:


Last question... regarding the male with a head injury. It doesn't appear too deep or severe at this point, but there is a large scab that appears to have been picked at somewhat. I've put blue kote on it and I'm keeping an eye on it. Is there anything else I should be doing? I am not noticing aggression yet. I really don't know what happened to him. I'm afraid he wouldn't do well alone.

 

[buttonquailtx]

If I had to guess I would say the tux is a vader tux.

You always want to separate injured birds. Remember, quail can be quite vicious towards injured fellows. If you are afraid of him being lonely, try sectioning off a part of the cage, about 1 foot by 1 foot, so he can be separate but still be with his friends. You can make a 5 sided box out of 1/2 inch hardware cloth and attach a hamster water bottle for him to drink out of. Be sure to put something soft on the top so he doesn't do himself more harm.

 

[buttonquailtx]

I will try to post some pics of redbreasted hens later this evening.

 

[Shayna]

Thanks for all the info - great suggestion on separating him. I will see what I can put together to separate him within the same pen. His head does appearr to be healing well and I haven't noticed anyone picking at him, so that is a good sign, I think the blue kote may have hidden it for now, but it will more time to heal. The homes for pairs will be ready soon. Do you suggest leaving them together and let them pair off themselves? That is what I had planned. Or is it best to start separating them before that and try different males/females together to see how they do?

I'm sorry - you did see vader above. I misunderstood and thought you were talking about the other tux.

Thanks again for the info - I'm learning all I can and trying to do everything right. They really are neat little birds.

 

[buttonquailtx]

I would go ahead and pair them myself. Watch for overly aggressive males. It's normal to have some chasing and small squabbles at first as the male and female get used to each other in a new environment. So if they aren't causing damage to each other, just watch them carefully for a few days. If a pair is isolated, they will usually bond.

Yes I was talking about the tux. The tux gene is actually a specific pied gene and independent from color. So you can produce a tux in any color. So judging by the darker head and the light grey barring on it's back, I tried to picture it as it would be if it was a solid color. The closest match I can come up with by comparing him to my birds is a Vader male. So that would make him a Vader Tux. Female redbreasted tux and Vader tux are easier to identify due to their vivid barring. Btw you have a beautiful flock.

 

[buttonquailtx]

Here are some pics of redbreasted and pearl hens to help you tell the difference. Sorry, their feathers are a little ruffled from me moving them into a smaller container for photos.


Pearl Hen



Pearl and Redbreasted hens


Redbreasted hen




Notice the redbreasted hen has a base color of light cream, and more random barred markings.

The pearl hen is more darkly colored with more barring and some laced feathers.

I'll post pics of redbreasted males vs normal males later.

 

[buttonquailtx]

Here are some photos to show the difference between normal and readbreasted males. The "normal" male is actually a cinnamon that doesn't show too much. Again, sorry for the ruffled feathers. I had to use a net to catch them since they are in a large cage with 20 other birds.


Normal Cinnamon Male



Redbreasted Male Front View



Redbreasted Male Side View



Normal vs Redbreasted



Notice the Normal male's bib has 2 white lines, while the Redbreasted male's bib only has a single thin line.

Also notice that the Redbreasted male has red all the way up to his bib, while the normal male has a strip of blue separating the red and his bib.