I found this quail, I think??? Or maybe it's a chicken?

[Brendan Slater]

Hello all,
I'm new to all this,
I found this bird sitting on the road. After seeing a car drive over it ( not the wheels of the car)
And realized I couldn't fly like a normal bird. I took it in...so it didn't get eaten by a cat....
At first I thought it was a baby chicken. But after google research I'm led to believe its a quail.
Its free to Rome the house but kind of just chills out in the one spot.. Eats its chicken feed and drinks it's water.
I bought a little cage today so it was safe out on the grass..
My question to start is.......
If it's a quail...what kind of quail is it?? Because I can't find and info on white ones like it.
I'm in the north of AUstralia.. and the native quails arn't like this.

 

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

That would be a pied Coturnix quail, must have escaped from somewhere cause they are most certainly not native to Australia.

 

[cottontail farm]

Coturnix quail. It's really beautiful!

 

[Brendan Slater]

Wow 2 responses, how cool is this site!!
Thanks heaps for the advise. I have done a letter box drop in the street to see if someone owns him. If no one comes forward, I guess he or she is my responsibility to keep him safe.
He is a lot more active today... but still doesn't run around cheeping like the Utube videos.

 

[Brendan Slater]

Wow 2 responses, how cool is this site!!
Thanks heaps for the advise. I have done a letter box drop in the street to see if someone owns him. If no one comes forward, I guess he or she is my responsibility to keep him safe.
He is a lot more active today... but still doesn't run around cheeping like the Utube videos.

 

[Nyla]

First Off!
That quail is indeed a coturnix quail. Your quail is well known as a Texas A&M. I use to breed and sell Coturnix's. I had many of them come out like this. Also if it crows, its a male. You could also try vent sexing it.
As for how you found it, someone must have dropped it off or it escaped.

 

[cottontail farm]

There is a lot of good info on here about keeping coturnix quail but don't let it intimidate you. I find they're pretty much bomb-proof you just need to find a poultry feed in small enough crumbles that it can eat. If you can't find crumbles you can grind up normal feed.
Thought: if the quail is just kinda sitting around like that - they really need some kind of cover to feel confortable. Put some brush in the cage or just a cardboarx box with holes cut in the side that it can hide under.
If it lays an egg, it's a female. Mine lay every day and the eggs are really good.