How do you keep your button quail clean?

[Imapsychowhoa]

Thanks

i will try the pelleted bedding.They do spill their water a lot.I give them a dish of grit every day but i see some of them bathing in their water for some reason.Do i have to keep them in pairs? They get a long ok. i have 7 female and 4 male and they have a lot of room to run around and hiding spaces in case they do fight.

 

[shelleyd2008]

How big is their pen? They should be in pairs, but if given enough space they can 'form' pairs and live happily. I'm talking a LOT of space, so they feel like they each have their own 'territory'.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I switched over to Rabbit/rodent water bottles for my buttons and they work a whole lot better!! Used to, when I used chick waterers I had wet shavings EVERYWHERE, but now I'm just having problems with feeders.

 

[Sumatra503]

The corn cob bedding works like a charm. I never notice any odor with mine when they are indoors. i've also found that the recycled paper bedding that is super aborbant works as well.

You cqan also try putting a small ammount of in a jar with a lid inside the cage. It helps absorb the ammonia which is what causes the odor.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

I just got a pair in an aquarium lined with alfalfa hay that has stayed sweet smelling for a week. They can eat the alfalfa. The water dish is a problem, though, because they kick bedding into it. I may hang a rodent bottle instead. My birds are jumpy, as I expected. I really don't want to stress them out by digging in their house to clean it. Going in there to add food is bad enough. Should I just grab them and place them into a shoe box til I'm done or let them fly out? When I feed them I drape the aquarium and stick my hand under the cloth slowly but that isn't a going to work for scooping out bedding.

 

[Mwilliams32931]

Its Easy--- I Just Drag A Garden Hose And A Wire Bristle Brush Into The House And Stand In Front Of The Cage And Say Quite Loudly In A Threatening Tone While Shaking The Brush At Them... "now If Y'all Dont Start Scrubbin' Your Stinkin' Lil Butts Everyday--- I Will!"


They Take 4 Showers A Day After That..... Oh Wait A Minute Maybe That Was The Kids??? Cant Remember For Sure (hey I Was Beer Sexing My A&m's That Day) But Anyways It Works

On A Serious Note Now That The Comic Releif Is Done... Poo Tray, Deep Poo Tray, Filled With Scoopable Cat Litter Workes Wekk For Me When I Had Them Inside. Had To Be Scooped Daily, But No Odors.

 

[SavageChick]

I am a bit surprised by this post, really. I currently have 14 button quail housed indoors of different age groups. Yet, while we frequently have guests and neighbors who stop in to visit, we've never had an issue with odor. The only time I have ever noticed any odor is when I failed to replace the water dish over a 24 hour period - and this did indeed smell to high heaven when I discovered the water dish filled with droppings fermenting under the heat lamp. Yes, the smell then was really bad. Since then, I now replace the water twice a day. I don't know why your button quail are giving off an odor other than maybe the water dish needs more frequent replacing? I use fir wood chips as bottom liner for our brooders and in the aviary, but other than that, I don't know of anything I am doing differently than you.