Keeping Quail as indoor pets??

[birdmandan]

The quails are looking good. Very sad to hear that the local quail seller is such a nasty man. Even worse that he actually has clients. I just hatched a batch of eggs and planned to keep them in the laundry for 2 weeks before transferring outside. However, after 5 days, the smell was too much and out they went.

 

[kwhites634]

It's an interesting journey you've embarked on; I hope it works out well for you and your little "friends".
It's been a lot of years, but I once kept quail to train my bird dogs on, although mine were Bobwhites. I'm betting your's are Coturnix. I had a few of them once, but they didn't work for my purposes and I don't remember exactly how they look.

 

[nikirushka]

They look like japanese to me, definitely.

 

[DK newbie]

What adorable little babies you got there!
I keep button quail (aka chinese painted quail) - that's definitely not what you've got by the way - but from reading this forum for a couple of years I should be somewhat able to answer questions about coturnix as well..

1 - sand: Someone on here had a cot hatch chicks in an aviary and as I recall they started dust bathing at 5 days old. So they could potentially benefit from sand already. Others worry that the chicks might think sand and other small particles are food and eat too much of it. If I were you, I'd wait a week or so, then give them sand.

2 - heat: adult coturnix are very cold hardy. Frost is no issue at all, as long as they are dry and sheltered.

3 - flying: yes, they can fly. They might start before they are 2 weeks old, so keep them covered in their tank if you have any windows open or ceiling fans on. Once grown, they most likely won't fly much, usually only when scared, but you should still be aware of ceiling fans and windows. You could clip them, don't think it would bother them much. But it could give you a false sense of security - the feathers could regrow without you noticing and one day the bird flies off in the wrong direction.

4 - maturity: They might look nearly like adults at 4 weeks, but will rarely start laying before they are 6. They will benefit from more room even before they mature fully though.

5 - hay: yes, I guess both should be fine.

With regards to their feed, millet, finch seed and corn scratch will lower the protein content without adding something the chicken feed can't so I'd get rid of those 3. The birds do look healthy though, so the diet might be sufficient.
You could try hard boiled eggs too. That's very healthy for them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[JaeG]

They look to be Pharaoh/wild coloured Japanese/Coturnix quail. They are adorable! You'll be amazed how fast they grow. I'm so glad you rescued them!

We've had ours inside for quite some time and they make great pets. Our kids just love them. They produce no more dander than if you were keeping a cockatiel as a pet.

You can supplement a less than ideal diet with things that are high in protein such as alfalfa sprouts (if you can find seeds to sprout it's cheaper plus you know they haven't been sprayed), scrambled egg and mealworms (not too many though as they are high in fat). They love sunflower sprouts too.

Indoor rabbit cages are great for quail. If they seem cold (cuddled up together) they may need a bit of extra heat and just a lightbulb in a desk lamp would be sufficient. They don't need heat for long - 3 weeks at the most indoors.

They do have distinct personalities and some are naturally friendly.

If you end up with a pair you will need some more females as, unless they have a very big, well planted cage where the female can get away from the male's attentions he will over breed her. Or you could put a divider in and keep them separated that way.

This colour is easy to sex at about 3 weeks. They start off all looking like girls (I've got my hopes up before!) then the boys start to get a rusty colour coming through.

A young male with colour just starting to come through:

A young male:

A young female:

Keep us updated!

 

[birdmandan]

Good job growing them. Now just eat them already!

 

[cornsmack]

Hello,
First of all wanted to thank everyone once again for you help and suggestions
The quails are not over three weeks old, healthy, and overall tame (they like sitting on my arm)

Here is a few pictures as updates: Currently, they live in an aquarium, I plant bird seed and give them grass patches to play in that kill within 48 hrs, but at least they get some "natural fun" and they love it
They also roam in the room for about an hr a day which they love, and then afterwards I am slightly annoyed because they poop everywhere

I do have a follow up question. It's not clear in these pictures, as they are couple days old. But both of my quails now have BRIGHT CHESTNUT CHEST feathers, which based on my understanding means two boys. One of them also appears to be crowing, and they are both very vocal birds

They appear to get along fine, I wouldn't say they are loving to each other (they dont sleep together and when i take them to roam they go their own ways) , but they dont appear to be fighting.
They like to stay close when its just the two of them, but when i am there, one of them will usually choose to follow me, and the other one sort of does his own thing and then they switch.
I know some people have said its dangerous to keep males together. Since I only have a pair of them, and i have no females. Do you think it will be safe to keep them together?

Also I am keeping them as pets and I dont really want to get more quails (so no culling or new birds)

I am preparing to upgrade their home, and want know should i provide two cages "just in case"

Thank you all for all your advice so far

 

[Kenekeo]

Hi cornsmack,
Nice work so far.
From your pictures, they both look like females to me. My males red chest really come in by three weeks. I would recommend google coturnix roo call, to hear the sound different.

If they do happen to be two males, leave them together until they fight. When they do, use a cardboard to divide the tank in half. But I really doubt two males. Get a divider ready just in case. If either one of them is a male, he will over breed the female to death, so either a bigger tank with hiding space will be needed. Or just limited their alone time together. Dont leave the male unsupervised.

Since they are three weeks old and in a fish, dont worry about heat source.

China is big on fish, so using fish tanks should be easier to find. Since its only two pets, that current tank is fine. And if you want use cardboard, shredded paper or paper towel for bedding as an alternative.

Crickets (for protein), and find grains for fodders. Grains could be soy bean, bean sprouts, and grain flour if you want. Just make sure to add crickets/worm for proteins.

Water bottles can be converted in to bird water feeds if you google that. otherwise
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/03/homemade-chick-waterers.html

Hope that helps