Keeping Button Quail as pets?

[mudmonkey]

I have 10 button quail. I have several offers from people to take them - some hunters - some farmers.
I've been thinking about keeping one. If I wanted to keep it as a pet how could I do that?
Would a guinea pig cage be a good home?
I've seen some articles that mention keeping them in a tank - but that seems both small and like the air flow wouldn't be very good.
Anyone keep these indoors? What do you house them in?

 

[Chicksdigit]

I have 4 adults in a 30 gallon aquarium with a waterer on one end and a chick feeder on the other I use pine shavings in the bottom and try to change it every week. they do great but you have to fashion a lid or top of some sort I used some hardware cloth so they would get good ventilation

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Button Quail for Hunters and Farmers? What is their reasoning for wanting them? You cannot eat them, well I guess you could but it would take 3 or 4 to make a meal for one person. Hunt them? One shot and all you would have is feathers...

Are you sure they want Button Quail? Or do they think you have Bob White Quail?

If you are keeping any, Button Quail are monogamous and should be kept in M/F pairs. They do not do well alone.
You would have a lonely Quail that would call constantly for a mate and eventually die.

David

 

[mudmonkey]

Okay...So if you want to have one, you have to have two?
Do they develop a fear of people?
I found several YouTube videos of people's pet Chinese Painted Quail (Button Quail).
Is there anyone on here that's actually kept any of these indoors?

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

I have button quail indoors. As for pets. They are sort of like pet fish. You just look at them. They dont like to be handled. Even if you start when they are young. They are flighty. I have some that will talk back to me when I talk to them. But none that will let me hold them. I keep mine in tanks with wire lids. A (rabbit) water bottle and a dish of food. But they are very interesting pets. I love it when the male dances and shows off to the female.. It is better to keep them in pairs. I had one pair even raise their own young. But had to remove the male when the babys hatched. I guess its a bit rare for them to raise their own young.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I have 60 of them indoors. ( I went nutz last year hatching after I saw how cute the chicks are)
Unfortunately I don't have them all in pairs, most are quads 2 M 2 F but I'm working them down to pairs as soon as I can.

David

 

[mudmonkey]

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What size tank do you use for them? This sounds like a pretty good setup.
I'm considering going this rout.

 

[mudmonkey]

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So people don't eat button quail?
I've had a hard time finding articles written specifically about Button Quail as opposed to Coturnix which I gather are much larger.
What I've read led me to believe that the males were often used for meat while the females were used for egg laying...but that may not be true for Button Quail.
If it isn't true...what do people use these birds for?

 

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
So people don't eat button quail?
I've had a hard time finding articles written specifically about Button Quail as opposed to Coturnix which I gather are much larger.
What I've read led me to believe that the males were often used for meat while the females were used for egg laying...but that may not be true for Button Quail.
If it isn't true...what do people use these birds for?

Pets .. thats the only use they have... I cant even imagine trying to process a Button you would have to have teeny tiny lil scissors or something.... Trust me not worth it ... They are not good for flushing birds as they are sooo small they would be a terrible target and there would be nothing left at all... As far as eggs they are soo small and fragile that i have always fed them back to the girls or incubated them ...

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Coop is right they are basically Pets only... There eggs, while tasty, are not worth the trouble of hard boiling and peeling.
Very hard to peel.... They make cute calls to one another and their mating antics are fun to watch.
But they are pet birds to be kept indoors in colder climates.

David