Housing size for 7 buttons, also for 2 pekins

[shelleyd2008]

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No, they would be fine all together, it's called colony breeding. I have a group of 16 in a cage together, granted it is a big cage, with lots of different levels, but they are still together.

 

[Akane]

You can colony breed but they need some extra space and they tend to get stressed easier. Also every now and then you get a male that just won't get along in such a situation. I had one kinda go insane and pluck all the females bald and bloody up their backs while I was at my college classes. My other 2 males did fine in a large group but I've since split them because I wanted to keep the colors seperate. I have 1 cage with 1 male and female that I plan to add a female (4.5sq ft), 1 cage that I keep 3 females and 1 male (6 sq ft and I wouldn't add anymore to that cage), and 1 cage I'm setting up for a pair or trio (2.5sq ft).

 

[Dill]

They don't breed very readily do they? I'll probably want to have one batch of babies one day, but that would probably be it. How many do they have per clutch usually?

Do the females lay often? I hate that, because it sscares me with my ducks that they might get egg bound or have other egg problems and suddenly die one day...

When I have them out to play in the house, is it a danger that they might freak out, popcorn and hit their heads on the ceiling? I want to be able to give them playtime just like I do with the rest of my birds and to be able to interact ith them. I know that they aren't really 'cuddly' birds but I still want to give them out of cage time and such..

they need grit, right? How much and how often should I sprinkle it over their food? Or should it be given in a separate bowl?

Will I need chick starter feed for them? They are 3-4 wks old, supposedly.

I should be picking these guys up this afternoon!

 

[Akane]

Unless you handle buttons a lot they won't be tame enough to handle. They will dash around the cage and shoot off the first chance they get. I did have one bounce off the ceiling and run into a wall. Make sure the ceiling fan is off and any dangerous areas are covered before trying to take a button out of it's cage. If you handle them an extreme amount as chicks they can become very tame. It just takes a lot of work.

They need gamebird starter from chick through adult. Other poultry feeds don't have enough protein. 28% protein is really what you want but that's hard to find. Most gamebird starter I see is around 22-24% and then I add a little bit of 42% protein all meat dog food to mine. The starter may need to be ground or moistened into mash for the chicks and definitely for any chicks under 2weeks old. Then they will need calcium supplements and grit just like chickens. You can crush up cuttle bone that's sold for birds, get spray calcium supplements in the reptile aisle, or crush up egg shell and feed it back to them. For grit either fine sand or parakeet grit (also contains calcium) can be used.

Buttons lay pretty much daily without fail. They rarely go broody or take a break. Aside from my runt that laid inconsistently the rest have laid an egg a day since the first egg. Usually you have to hatch them in incubators. Sometimes with enough space and a sheltered nesting spot you can get them to set. Mine have started to make nests and collect eggs but they always give it up after a couple days and I end up putting them in the incubator.

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

I tried keeping 2 pairs of buttons in one cage. Then one pair bonded really well. Then they both started ganging up on the other two. The female attacted the male. And the male attacted the other female. The poor female that was being attacted ended up missing the side of her face before I realized how bad it really was. I thought the poor thing would never make it, there was so much blood for such a tiny creature. I seperated her and she healed nicely. But a few of her feathers dont seem to be growing back. After that experiance. I no longer keep them in a colony, only in pairs..

 

[shelleyd2008]

As for the grit, I have the parakeet grit in a bowl, it is mostly sand, so they pick through it and eat it, and dust bathe in it. I also have a bird feeder that has only grit in it. They haven't found that one yet. If you don't want to set the eggs, you can always boil them, chop them up (shell and all) and feed them back to the buttons. That would give them protein and calcium, without having to buy extra stuff! They love mealworms, which is also a good supply of protein.

 

[BackSwampGirl]

Hey Shelley do u have pic.of your button quails.I would love to see them,,,Sandra

 

[Dill]

I got teh buttons!

They're so cute and tinier than I thought they'd be! They make the most adorable peeping noises too. When they grow up will they stop that? I hope not, I love the sound of it.

At what age are they considered adults?

Unless you handle buttons a lot they won't be tame enough to handle. They will dash around the cage and shoot off the first chance they get. I did have one bounce off the ceiling and run into a wall. Make sure the ceiling fan is off and any dangerous areas are covered before trying to take a button out of it's cage. If you handle them an extreme amount as chicks they can become very tame. It just takes a lot of work.

Yeah, i'm going to handle them a lot... I guess it doesnt really matter if they aren't very tame, but I would love them to be.

Veggies are ok, right? Like broccoli? can I put grass in their cage for them to peck around in?​