Interested in Button Quail

[Fluffypuffy587]

Hello I just joined BYC. My name is Steph and I currently live in NY.

I just decided I would try and look for button quail. Just because the are cutey patooties
I saw them for the first time at an auction when I was 15. I was amazed by how stinkin cute they were! =P
.
How many should I get? and are they flock birds?

Are they extremely noisey? I want to keep them in the house. I have 2 parakeets and a cockatiel in my bedroom so Im use to the noise.

How big does their home have to be? I read on another thread 10gallon fish tank for 1 pair

Looking for a breeder south of Rochester. As I am not comfortable haveing birds/eggs shipped.

 

[Fluffypuffy587]

I did find this site helpful.
http://www.avianweb.com/buttonquails.html

But if anyone has anything to add that would be awsome.

 

[SeptemberQuail]

Hey, welcome to BYC! ^-^
Before I got my quail, I studied and researched a ton about button quail, but then I found out I was getting coturnix quail, I didn't realize how small and cute they were until after I bought my quail when I was looking in the petshop. I have no time to build another cage for another species of quail. =(
I still love my jap quails though!

Anywho;
If your looking to breed them, I'd suggest getting one male and two to five females. I suggest looking for ones who are already grouped though, they can be territorial to newcomers at times, but that's for only some quail.

Noisy? Hah, no way! I was handling my quail the other day and my neighbour said to me; "I didn't even notice you had them!" They're fairly quiet, though the male will crow at times during mating season or just to call to his friends.

But here be some links that might be of help:
http://www.buygamebirds.com/hatcheries-new-york/rochester/new-york-coturnix-quail-breeder.html < Coturnix quail in NY
http://www.cyberquail.com/directory.html#NY < Button quail in NY
http://www.cyberquail.com/homepage.html#HOUSE < All you need to know about quail (I learnt a lot from this.)

I'm sorry I can't answer all your questions due to my lack of experience in raising buttons, but I hope I helped you in some way.

 

[gorabbitgo]

I have buttons and they are AMAZING birds.
If you're just going to get them as pets, get a male and a female or two or more females. Some people have been able to keep multiple females with a single male, but i've seen it cause fights. They do best in mated pairs, but be aware that they will mate constantly and at inappropriate times (mine find my visiting best friend's voice to be especially, ahem, stimulating) and the female will lay an egg every day if she has adequate light. They often won't incubate their eggs and if you plan on breeding you'll need to use an incubator. I personally just put the eggs into the fridge for eating. Their eggs are small, about five equals one chicken egg, but they are extremely delicious. I've used them for baking very tasty cupcakes and made teeny tiny deviled eggs for a party that were a MAJOR hit!

You'll need about a square foot of floor space per bird. I have six quail, two of whom are a mated pair and live in a large guinea pig cage with a deep pan and the other four females live together in a separate pen, all with corn cob litter. You can keep them in a fish tank but more air flow is healthier as birds do have delicate respiratory systems. When they're frightened, which is often, they will "boink" straight up several feet and can hurt themselves, so it's vital to pad the top of their enclosure padded with foam or a suspended stretched piece of springy fabric at least until you can keep them from boinking. I keep one wing on each bird closely clipped, and that reduces boinks after they realize they're not getting any lift when they jump. Even clipped, though, they can still clear twelve inches just by jumping.
They also like to stand in high places but can't perch, so a smallish cardboard box with a few holes cut in the side makes a fun hide as well as a lookout. They'll also appreciate regular access to a sand bath, but be aware that they will throw sand EVERYWHERE.

They're not generally noisy, but their flock call can be quite loud if they want it to be. One of my single ladies decided she wanted a mate and called every few minutes for four days. I could hear her from outside of my house. It's about as loud as a cockatiel's call. My mated female makes a weird Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch! call (usually a threat call) when she lays an egg to let me know to come get it and bring her a treat while i'm at it. The males crow, but it's very quiet compared to the female noises!

Something i've found with indoor buttons is that the recommended high-protein game bird crumble makes their poo stink something fierce. I feed mine Harrison's organic high potency pellets mixed 60/40 with a good finch seed blend. I also offer freeze-dried bugs mixed into store-bought egg food every day, daily veggies and fruits like kale, broccoli, clover, spring greens, apple, etc., and live feeder cockroaches and decapitated mealworms about twice a week. I'll occasionally throw a mashed-up hard-boiled egg into their treat dish. Their diet needs to be about 25% protein. They also need a lot of calcium, especially females, which you can give with ground oyster shell.

I also have a parakeet, and he wanted very much to make friends with the quail. They mistook his toes for mealworms, though, and i separated them to prevent injury to either party.
They're sorta like the fancy mice of the poultry world. They're cute, easy to keep, and fun to watch, but not really cuddly. Three of mine are semi-tame and will take treats from my hand. One will let me hold her and nestle down into my hand, but she doesn't actively seek my company. The others shy away from my hands and wriggle when i have to hold them, but i can sit next to their pen and they'll come over and watch me in hopes of treats. Hand-raised birds are friendliest, but if you're buying from a local breeder you may not get a choice. Mine were from an outdoor breeder, though, and it only took a month for them to see me as a provider instead of a predator.

I hope you get as much joy and fulfillment from your future quail as i have, and if you have any other questions please ask.

 

[jensan]

I am in your general area and have some fertile button eggs. Do you have an incubator?

 

[Fluffypuffy587]

Yeah I am more in the line of looking for chicks or very young adults so I know if they are males or females. would prefer something tame. And Yes I dont plan on breeding I just want some cute pet that I can enjoy its company..TY for the Links September Quail. The one guy lives an hour and 30 minutes away. But I am not in a hurry and willing to Look and find more options.

They are really adorable and small. Thats what had drawn me to them.
I am quite fine with noise as I have parakeets and a cockatiels =P I looked them up on youtube and I think the sounds are kind of relaxing.

Gorabbitgo to me you just made them sound more intersting =P

 

[gorabbitgo]

I hope i didn't give the impression that i was trying to discourage you from getting buttons!

To the contrary, i think they're a great pet and i encourage anyone who likes them to get a pair at least. I just wanted to tell you all the stuff i found out the hard way so that you could be prepared. I think you'll find they're a bit easier to care for than your other birds and they're just SO rewarding to have around.
Recently i've taught my male to hop into the air for a treat. He never eats what i give him, though. He always offers the best stuff to his mate first and only after she's completely stuffed will he feed himself. He'll even lay down on the ground at her feet while holding something yummy for her. When i took him out for a few minutes to give him a mini health check and a wing clip, she panicked and worked herself into such a fuss that she threw up and then sat in a little fluffed ball of misery until i put him back. As soon as he was back, she was right as rain.
They're so adorable in their devotion to one another.

 

[Magic Birdie]

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.

 

[jak2002003]

Anyone getting button quail please let me advise you to only keep a PAIR.

If you have one male and several females they WILL fight eventually, perhaps when the next breeding season comes around. The male will select his mate and then they both will try to drive off the other females form the cage - and can seriously injure or even kill the other quails.

I tried to keep a group of one male and several females. At first everything was great and I was getting lots of eggs. After about 5 months I went to feed and water them in the morning. During the night the male and one female has gone of a frenzy attacking the other 4 females. One hen was dead, 2 more had the skin ripped off the top of their heads and I could see the skull. They had to be put down. The last one was covered in blood and had all her head feather ripped out. She recovered.

The pair that attacked the others had gone broody and the hen was incubating the pile off eggs. They were great parents and hatched and raised their own chicks. But now I am stuck with lots of young quail, that I will have to put into pairs and sell.

I refused to believe the advise about keeping them in pairs, and was really confident I knew what I was doing. So DO"T KEEP THEM IN GROUPS!

 

[Fluffypuffy587]

I hope i didn't give the impression that i was trying to discourage you from getting buttons!

To the contrary, i think they're a great pet and i encourage anyone who likes them to get a pair at least. I just wanted to tell you all the stuff i found out the hard way so that you could be prepared. I think you'll find they're a bit easier to care for than your other birds and they're just SO rewarding to have around.
Recently i've taught my male to hop into the air for a treat. He never eats what i give him, though. He always offers the best stuff to his mate first and only after she's completely stuffed will he feed himself. He'll even lay down on the ground at her feet while holding something yummy for her. When i took him out for a few minutes to give him a mini health check and a wing clip, she panicked and worked herself into such a fuss that she threw up and then sat in a little fluffed ball of misery until i put him back. As soon as he was back, she was right as rain.
They're so adorable in their devotion to one another.

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?