Interested in Button Quail

[Fluffypuffy587]

Hey, I might be getting buttons too!
We can be quail buddies!

But do do your research. There's nothing that annoys me more than someone getting an animal uneducated.

It bothers me too. But I am going to be smart and learn as much as I can before I jump into this. Thats why Im waiting for spring to get my new lil chickays =P
I actually wanted these 5 years ago but at the time couldnt find anyone near me that had any. I bought a cage. dishes, food. bedding. yet no one had any.

No actually you made them sound more entertaining.

And I cant wait to get some this spring.. The only thing I worry about if i get only 2 then If one dies I have one lonely birdy. And I know how that works especially with my silkies. They grow very fond of each other. If I get 2 chicks and they both are boys or both are girls. will they fight because they would rather have a mate?

 

[gorabbitgo]

Girls are fine together. They'll establish a pecking order and snuggle and preen each other. If males are raised together from chicks they should get along okay, as long as there are NO females around. Males can be territorial, though, so you're best off with a male and a female or two-to-three females. If you only get two and one dies, hopefully you'll be able to contact a breeder and get another bird. You can keep them in separate cages for a few days to see and get to know each other, and rearrange the cage you're going to keep them in just before introducing the new bird to reduce territorial behavior.

 

[Fluffypuffy587]

Yeah the problem would be if one dies finding a breeder near me. Becuase with my luck the lst person I bought from dont have anymore. Thats what happened when I got the ducks....
Matter of Fact I was talking to my Mother and she told me I was more interested in the ducks and the lady had button quail in the room next door. ughhh.. So I could have had them 10 years ago =( Now that woman got rid of everything and lives in Alaska.

So you know I really dont want to have to separate if I get 3 and 2 are boys (I dont have the space for a bunch of cages). but again dont want a lonely bird if one dies becuase I only got 2. again if they die from old age I will most likely end up with 1 lonely bird anyways =(
I would probably hug them so much that they will be really tame. so if that happens it wouldnt really matter? More of an attachment to its Momma? I would think they would become depressed without a friend of their species.
Are they more flock critters or arnt they?

I dont want to breed them. I really dont. these are something that will be living in my house and in my bedroom.
I dont want to have a half dozen birds in my house.

 

[jak2002003]

Everyone keeps saying keep a male and a few females. Trust me it will not work in the long run. They need to be in pairs only.

 

[Marty1876]

I have kept up to 4 buttons togather, but ALWAYS from the same hatching, so they are ok togather. If you buy live birds, and non new hatches, I would seperate them into pairs as well, unless they're raised all togather. They can be rather fight like with each other.

I've kept ours in large cages indoors, with floors about 2 x 2.5 feet.

 

[gorabbitgo]

You don't have to breed them if you get a male and a female. She probably won't sit on her eggs unless conditions are just right so you can just take them as she lays them and eat them or hollow them out and use them for art projects or hard boil them and mash them up and feed them back to her (and your other birds, too!) for extra protein. Or you can get three girls and they'll cohabitate happily. They're not as colorful as the boys, but they're still very pretty birds. I went to a breeder and hand picked mine so i have a golden pearl, a double-factor blue face, two tuxedos (pearl and blue), and a wild type and they are all just beautiful. My male is red-breasted and he is super gorgeous.

In the wild they live in mated pairs that are VERY territorial, so they're not flock birds at all. The pair mates for life and will raise chicks together, chasing them off when they get old enough.
They'll become accustomed to frequent handling, but it's very rare that you get a button that actually enjoys it or seeks it out, and usually those birds are females that have been hand-raised from hatching. If you're getting chicks instead of eggs, you'll be able to choose the gender and color of your birds but you'll lose the ability to imprint them on you.

 

[GrandmaBird]

Yeah the problem would be if one dies finding a breeder near me. Becuase with my luck the lst person I bought from dont have anymore. Thats what happened when I got the ducks....
Matter of Fact I was talking to my Mother and she told me I was more interested in the ducks and the lady had button quail in the room next door. ughhh.. So I could have had them 10 years ago =( Now that woman got rid of everything and lives in Alaska.

So you know I really dont want to have to separate if I get 3 and 2 are boys (I dont have the space for a bunch of cages). but again dont want a lonely bird if one dies becuase I only got 2. again if they die from old age I will most likely end up with 1 lonely bird anyways =(
I would probably hug them so much that they will be really tame. You can try but they will shed feathers every time you pick them up it is normal ,so if that happens it wouldnt really matter? yes they would still need someone to talk to that can speak quail.More of an attachment to its Momma? I would think they would become depressed without a friend of their species. Another yes they do.
Are they more flock critters or arnt they? They are not flock birds they do best in single pairs or 2 females.

I dont want to breed them. I really dont. these are something that will be living in my house and in my bedroom. They will lay eggs weather you breed them or not just remove them and cook them and fed back to the quail or eat them yourself. if you fed them to the birds just run in the blender/chopper shell and all after boiling for 3 minutes.
I dont want to have a half dozen birds in my house.

Good Luck....

 

[Magic Birdie]

      It bothers me too. But I am going to be smart and learn as much as I can before I jump into this. Thats why Im waiting for spring to get my new lil chickays =P
      I actually wanted these 5 years ago but at the time couldnt find anyone near me that had any. I bought a cage. dishes, food. bedding. yet no one had any.
     

That's why I'm planning to hatch mine. Or I can see if anyone else has any near me.

 

[Fluffypuffy587]

Yeah no I dont want to go down the road of buying an incubator. I did that with my chickens and with that came hatching their young. Its allot of work and time and Id rather just go buy some.

The thing is with imprinting even if its a chick that is a few days old it still can be quite attached to the first person that actually takes the time to hold them.
People told me when I first got my ducks "they wont be very friendly". Well you know what they were so frendly I could walk right up to them and pick them up. They would walk behind me and I would pick up rocks and we would search for worms. they ate right out of my hand. I open the door and they come in the house.

My second polish I bought was 1month old and wild. I had it 1 day. Litteraly 1 day and when I put her down she actually screamed and cried for me to pick her back up. My sister was really seriouse and told me "you made a fool out of that chicken". Haha its not my fault Im that good.I loved that little thing from the moment I got a hold of her and she new it. I was from that forth her new gaulible Mother henny.


So you can really tell what if its a male or female as chicks?? Becuase thats what it sounds like
Or are you just talking about buying adult birds?
I just want to make that clear. Because If I can possibly choose like eastindie ducks then that would be awsome
Then I wouldnt mind buying more then 2
That is probably kind of a dumb question but I figured Id give it a go for my own curiosity

 

[Marty1876]

I bought some adult and juvenile button quilt from here at BYC. I found them in buy-sell-trade. I bought 3 adults and 5 juvenile, and had them shipped. It worked great!