Least stinky way to keep button quail???

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Run to wally world and get a parakeet waterer/feeder thingy. You can use tape or anything to hold it in there, and put a rock or small block of wood under it to keep it above shaving level. That would be about the only way they would get the bedding wet, by getting their shavings in the water. I haven't tried the water bottles with mine, but the guinea pig and rabbit bottles that I have had always seem to leak...

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

I was having trouble with the bedding in my button quail getting wet and stinking.. And if the food gets wet, it smells sour and stinks real bad.. Try putting food at one end of cage and water on the other.. That helps some.. Also, I trained all my buttons to drink from 8 ounce rabbit/hamster bottle.. At first you just have to squeze the bottle so they can see a drip come out.. They play around with it for awhile. One will learn how to use it. Then before the day is over.. Retrained button quail.. Then I took out their other water dish.. Now no wet cages.. Way way less smell.. I have to clean them once or twice a week. The brooder 3 times a week, cause there is so many in there..

 

[blasto]

Thanks! Might be the spilled food getting a bit damp too--they do fling it all around! I*ll try the parakeet waterer and do food and water on opposite sides.

Hey Shelley--I ended up with a pretty male cinnamon, what I think are a male and a female slate blue colored ones, two normals (not sure on their sex. They both have a little white lining around their cheeks and chins but nothing as boldly obvious as the cinnamon cock), a pretty one that has what looks like jaguar markings (like the chest and under-wing feathers of the normals, but all over her back and wings as well--maybe some sort of pearl?) and a dark blueface.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
A male cinnamon! Oh how nice! The only males I have with cinnamon are just about all of them actually, but they are mixed with silver or blueface. How old are they now? (duh, you said that already, didn't you

) Let me see if I can figure it out.

Male cinnamon...check
male and female slate...check
normals with white markings on their cheeks and chins...Probably red breasted and not normals, they look very similar, but they don't have as much of a bib as the normals do. I can't tell my redbreast from my normals most times, but there is a difference.
The one with jaguar markings sounds like it might be a redbreasted pearl. I have one hen that looks like what I think you are describing. I'll see if I can find a pic of her.
The dark blueface, what color was it when it hatched? If it was very dark, almost black, then it is a blue face. If it was more reddish looking then it is probably a cinnamon blue face. They look very similar, at least in my birds! Either way, you should be able to tell if it is male or female. The males get a irridescent blue head and breast, I know I have pics of those!! I'll brb with the pics

 

[shelleyd2008]

Okay, finally found them...I really need to clean up my photobucket!

Anyway, this is the red breasted hen (middle) that I was told looked like she has pearl in her as well. You can also see the head of a cinnamon blue face male in this one.

cinnamon hen, who may also have pearl in her...

Now, here are some pics of the normal ones. I don't think any of these pics are of the redbreasted? It seems his face has much more black on it than these guys do. They looked very different when they were babies. The normals were like baby coturnix, brown with orange stripes. The red breasted was black with dark red stripes. It is easier to tell them apart as babies!

 

[blasto]

Yup, she looks a lot like that redbreasted hen in your photo. The one I think is a blueface hen was very, very dark at hatching. She even had black legs, though they have lightened up.

At what point do they get their final adult plumage?

 

[SandraMort]

What about setting up cages with wire mesh on the bottom and a poop catching tray underneath. Then put bsf larvae in the tray to eat the poop and any dropped grain. If any of the grubs work their way up and out of the tray, they'd likely get munched by the birds, though a few may escape to turn to adult. Those, in turn, would fly back and lay eggs in the stuff under the pens.

 

[Beth Miller]

I want to hatch some button quail this year. I have never owned quail. Are they easy to take care of? Is it better to keep them in a wooden brooder or in a glass aquarium?

 

[Kiki]

I want to hatch some button quail this year. I have never owned quail. Are they easy to take care of? Is it better to keep them in a wooden brooder or in a glass aquarium?

I am not a button quail keeper, yet, but I just wanted to let you know that this OP hasn't been online since 2014 so they may not respond.

It might be a a good idea if you start a new thread here:
Post New Thread
More button quail keepers will see you question that way.

 

[JaeG]

I want to hatch some button quail this year. I have never owned quail. Are they easy to take care of? Is it better to keep them in a wooden brooder or in a glass aquarium?

Button quail are very cute and do best as one pair per enclosure. They are very active and need around 5 sq/ft per pair. Same sex pairs or even trios are just fine but they can die of loneliness if kept alone. The chicks are very sweet but tend to be rather wild from day 4 onwards. They are also little escape artists who can jump out of a really deep brooder box from around a week old. The adults too are very good at escaping and they are slippery little things to catch. If you want a quail you can handle and interact with then the Japanese/Coturnix are the best but if you are happy to just watch them doing their thing then the Buttons do come in gorgeous colours and are interesting little pets.

I've used a cardboard box with a wire top to brood them in before. I give them a fluffy cloth to snuggle under and they push up into it as they would their parents. They need a small space initially to prevent them chilling too much before they can make it back to the heat lamp (and they need it toasty). Being so tiny they chill very quickly, even in a warm room. Non slip mats are essential as they are very prone to slipping a tendon (slipped hock). Paper towels don't provide enough grip. I found out the hard way - I had a hen incubate her eggs but abandon them when they started pipping so I had to take over (and I had nothing ready for that eventuality) and one of the chicks did end up with a slipped tendon. I didn't think she'd survive (everything I read said she wouldn't) but she did and she gets around and loves raising babies, though she can't look after too many as them pushing against her when her balance isn't fantastic (having only one good leg) makes it very difficult for her.

I wouldn't keep adults in a glass aquarium because they do poop a lot so they need good ventilation. They are quite dusty birds but no more than a budgie or cockatiel (in fact they'd produce less dander than a cockatiel). I use indoor rabbit cages with extra, finer wire or fabric wrapped around them as even the adults can squeeze out the gap between the bars.

I am not a button quail keeper, yet, but I just wanted to let you know that this OP hasn't been online since 2014 so they may not respond.

It might be a a good idea if you start a new thread here:
Post New Thread
More button quail keepers will see you question that way.

I found her.