Just got a new quail!

[Gracie Brownie]

Hello Everyone, I just got a new quail this weekend. She is Texas A&M, and her name is Snowy. I need some help with deciding what to do. She is a pet and very friendly! Right now she is in with my sisters quail. I am trying do decide on what cage I should use. I have three choices
1: Fish tank
2: Build a wire/wooden cage
3: Buy a indoor Rabbit cage
Also what should I put in her cage besides sand tub, feeder/water, and hide away( what kind??). I made a food for her already. It contains- cat food, corn, sunflower seed, carrots, layers crumble, oats. I will be putting other foods in it once I get them. And should have any other supplies such as a play pen for training. Do I need any type of toys or entertainment? I am also looking to get one more quail to keep her company. What breed/age/gender should I get, Snowy would probley get along with a very young quail. If any one has any suggestions please let me know! Thank you!

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Follow your sisters lead and advice, quick simple and proven (hopefully). Good luck

 

[Binki]

Hey grats on your first quail ^^

First, are you sure she's female? If so, she would likely appreciate another female or two for company or maybe you can keep her with your sisters quail as you have been?

If you get her a friend, make sure it's the same breed - coturnix quail - doesn't matter what color then they will be the same size and can understand each other and have a higher chance of being friends

I would go with a rabbit cage - this is a Living World brand and it's the XL so it has a deeper plastic tray and it's longer with two lids compared to the regular sized one.

I zip tied bird netting below the dome top So if they hit it, it won't hurt them.

I line the bottom of the cage with newspaper overlapping with wood shavings on top (helps absorb/dry out the poo, smells nice and they dust bathe in it too sometimes hehe) then I can roll the newspaper up to clean it. You can get a huuuge bag of shavings that would last you months for like five bucks at TSC (don't get the little bags from the pet store - so little and way more expensive). I also put places of hay where they make beats and lay their eggs sometimes

I do the same method with my hutch

You can find the cage used for 40-50$ at a garage sale/online buy n sell app like Kijiji or I think it's about 100$ brand new

 

[Binki]

Oh and about the food - unless you have knowledge of the optimal nutrition for a laying coturnix quail, I wouldn't risk making your own feed. A lot of cat food has filler like ash and the feed needs to have at least 20% protein while watching out for things like fat, etc.

A non pelleted feed can be bad if the quail decides to pick and choose what it wants to eat and leaves other stuff intended to replace some nutrition.

A big bag of non medicated game bird layer feed is 15$ and would last her close to a year! I would go with that option if I were you

 

[Gracie Brownie]

My sister is younger than me and dosent no as much as I do. But I do know a bit about quail as I have raised them in the past as egg layers but they were japenese quail.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

sorry, I didnt know the sister was younger, to me the question/statement kind of conveyed otherwise.

I vote for binkis post. Glass/plastic fish tank is not a good idea as it cannot breathe and will be very messy as well as harbor germs, and unless you are a handy gal with the tools and DIY, building a cage might not be your best call even though it may be fun. A pre-built cage seems to be the quickest route. But one thing I think is worth mentioning, you will probably want the cage not to be too large as you may want to set the bird outside on some days so that it can get some sun.

Food wise, Binki pretty much covered that.

 

[DK newbie]

My sister is younger than me and dosent no as much as I do. But I do know a bit about quail as I have raised them in the past as egg layers but they were japenese quail.

Texas A&M are japanese quail as well - just bred for a specific color as well as good egg laying and weight. So most likely you can use what you already know. I have button quail and I went for the 'build it yourself' option and built a 2x4 ft. cage with a wire front, but that's as much because I have a huge budgie cage that I wanted to put on top of it, as it is because it's the best way to keep them. A big rabbit cage would be easier, much more mobile (my cage weighs a ton) and about as suitable for quail. Fish tanks have some advantages over the other two, but their big disadvantage is that they are bloody expensive compared to a similarly sized rabbit cage or home built cage. Another disadvantage is that they only open from the top, meaning you will always be approaching your quail from above which it might perceive as scary, and you won't be able to let it wander out of the cage as it pleases - you'll have to handle it to get it out (which might or might not be a problem)