Little Children and Little Quail

[navasima]

My daughter is almost three - therefore any pet she has is, in reality mine!

I have years of experience with parakeets, cockatiels and many species of large parrots and the scars to prove it - so those are out....for now

She loves to hold our chickens and I've let her pet the Cots, while I hold them....

What she really wants is a tiny thing she can realy interact with - little girl? of course!

One of her favorite activities this summer was to go in the pen with our peeps and baby bunnies and hold them and sing to them...

Would a pair of Buttons make a good indoor pet that, if hatched by us, could get used to being held and still be happy quail? Do you understand what I mean? I wouldn't want to subject them to holding if they would just never enjoy it.... at the least I would want them to not hate it.... Ack! I'm having a hard time expressing this.... Don't want to subject anything to perpetual stress....
My thought is to hatch some, keep the pair that have the sweetest personality and give/sell the rest locally.


For DH - quiet, no smell (which is almost anything that I keep very clean) - he's already declared no Cots in the house

For DD - can be held and petted
For me: the joy of seeing animals thrive and a great reason to hatch!

As always, advice and guidance appreciated....

 

[The Critter Place]

No..I'm afraid Button Quail would not be a good choice.

It's Rare they can be held. They just don't tame to that point, and really don't like to be held.
They are mainly an ornamental bird.

 

[navasima]

That's what I feared. {sigh}

Any suggestions?

 

[The Critter Place]

For Quail my only suggestion would be a Coturnix.
There is one type called the African Harliquin (Coturnix)(? Actually would have to check, It may not be Coturnix, but similar and has the temperament of one ) that is sweet, beautiful, and about 1/2 the size of a Coturnix.
I have 8 Coturnix in the house as pets right now, adults. They really aren't that bad for noise or smell. I clean the cage every other day.
You can find some info about them at Quaillady's site.

For birds in general...
Ring neck doves if you can find a young one and tame are wonderful loving birds.
and English Budgies. They are larger and calmer than your average parakeet. I have a pair in my living room.

For Chickens,
The Serama's are said to be sweet hearts, and are the worlds smallest chicken. Many keep them as a house pet. But are very hard to hatch and the babies for the first week can be tricky and die for no apparent reason.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I think Doves would be a great option Strombergs sells them, and has some awfully pretty ones, too.

 

[Stellar]

I started with parrotlets as a kid. I got to handfeed my first baby at age 6

started breeding at 9
with sun conures, parrotlets, gouldian finches. I was promised button quail but didn't get into them until later in life. First coturnix and then cbbq. And now look at me

anything is possible for your daughter!

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
Parrotlets! How cool! I have a pair of those I'm stetting up to breed this weekend! (blue female, green male) Yes, great bird but a little tricky to find around here!
True anything is possible! My son hand raised a pigeon from egg at the age of 7.

But she is asking if Buttons would be tame? would they? And be able to be held.?

I can't get in their cage without a panic frenzy. And i'm here all the time and try and tame them , just to the point I can get in to feed and water. But not alot of luck. I can't even pet one in the cage let alone hold one.

 

[Stellar]

Button quail are look at birds. No touchy. More harm done with touching. I was just saying there are many small birds that her daughter can handle (with supervision of course) other than buttons. Coturnix from hatch would be an idea too.

 

[navasima]

Thanks for the feedback!

I googled African Harlequins and - sure enough - there's a BYC member with a page on them!

{BYC seems to fit the 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon scenario.....all roads lead back}

I agree quaillady - the possibilities are endless!

When she is a bit older - the fun will really start!

After a couple of decades working with animals - the one thing I believe is that if the child is under 40 - it's the parents' pet!
Of course there are exceptions - sounds like you were one, as was I

Nava ( my daughter - Nava's Ima means Nava's mom) has actually been phenomenal as far as retaining interest and helping to care for our current pets. I really expected her to lose interest in a week or so, but she still thinks they are awesome after a few months, so I definitely want to nurture that. Once I've made up my mind about what I'd like to take on next, we'll go and pick out "her new pet".

Right now, I'm somewhere between some types of birds ( no hooked beaks ), a reptile or a tarantula. Reptiles or a spider would mean bringing in a new food source, so I'm leaning toward avian. ...and I do love my little Goober Squad so..... maybe a couple girlies ...?

Sorry to ramble ......

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
True!
I think something from hatch, a Coturnix would be a great choice. Are the African a Coturnix? I haven't had all my

yet.