Kentucky people

[Elinor's chicks]

I'm going to ask this here, where my fellow Kentuckians might give me a break, instead of on the Quail thread where I might lose my life.

What can you actually DO with quail - button quail specifically? They seem too small to eat (?) and how teeny their eggs must be (?)

 

[shelleyd2008]

Button quail are mainly pets. Some people keep them in the bottoms of aviaries or bird cages (finch, cockatiel, parakeet, budgie, etc) to clean up the spilled seed. They have to be kept indoors, they can't handle temps much below 70 degrees. You can eat their eggs if you like M&M sized eggs. My son likes to peel them when I boil but he won't eat them. Basically, think of them like finches. Can't really hold them and they're too small to do anything with, but they sure are cute

 

[Zonoma]

Elinor's chicks :

I'm going to ask this here, where my fellow Kentuckians might give me a break, instead of on the Quail thread where I might lose my life.

What can you actually DO with quail - button quail specifically? They seem too small to eat (?) and how teeny their eggs must be (?)

Thank you for asking. I wasn't brave enough.

 

[dawnwinds58]

I recommend this link for quail of any size. Checkout the fried quail and mushrooms.

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=166032

 

[shelleyd2008]

You would be wasting your time if you planned to eat a button quail...they are about the size of a canary.

Also, that thread is loaded with misinformation, I recommend checking out the stickies in the quail forum regarding button quail.

Sticky about 'Chinese Blue Breasted Quail' (proper name for buttons): https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5137331#p5137331

Sticky about Button quail (common name): https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=424352

 

[dawnwinds58]

Quote:
Never saw one so all I could go on was what we did with what I knew as a quail. Now I'm curious too. What the heck do you do with them? Read they could have a 14 egg clutch. That's alot of birds to have no purpose for them.

 

[shelleyd2008]

They don't normally hatch their own eggs, like most domesticated gamebirds. They are primarily pets, that's about it. You can't keep them outside in your garden as one person said on that thread you posted. First off, they'd probably run away, and if they didn't they'd be eaten by a cat or something. Second, they'd freeze to death the first time the temps dropped below 60 degrees. They are very easy to raise but they have very specific needs. Another thing I saw on that thread was a comment to keep '1 male with 5 females that I'm sure he could handle servicing'. I'm sure he could, but he'd probably kill them instead. They are a 1-mate type of bird and don't like any outsiders in their pen.

I originally got mine because they were small and cute. Their bodies are about as long as your middle finger or you could compare them to chickens. Does anyone know how big a coturnix is? Or a serama? I have a few pics I'll post of button chicks with serama chicks and coturnix, and any others I find.

 

[shelleyd2008]

If it gives you any better idea of their size, most all of my breeders are in 'cages' made out of a cubby shelf. Each cubby is 11" by 11". They have plenty of room. Baby buttons can get through 1/2" wire, they don't even have to struggle, just waltz right through.

Button 'cages':

3-day old button chick next to a 1-day old coturnix chick:

4-day old Button baby heading into their hidey hut (intended for use in hamsters or mice)

In my grasp at 1-week old:

Button eggs on 1/4" wire:

Buttons in a fish tank (10-gal. tank with 12 buttons):

I think this one probably shows the size of a serama better than a button, they are pretty small

3-week old serama with 5-week old button (black chick on left is a LF, about 1 week old):

Oh, this might help. Serama chicks next to a silkie bantam chick (white) and a LF chick (brown in center of pile). The serama are 3 weeks old, the silkie and LF are about 1 week.

I'm sure I have more pics, but I think that's enough for now

 

[shelleyd2008]

This might help. From left to right:
Normal button quail egg, double-yolk button quail egg, 3 coturnix quail eggs.

For comparison, here is a photo of a coturnix egg in a universal auto-turner egg rack.

And a button egg next to a LF 'fart' egg (picture was taken to show how small the chicken egg was):

Okay, I'll stop now

 

[Jen4]

Great pics shelley... they are tiny & cute.