- Thread starter
- #11
I swear it sounded like a cat with a really bad case of bronchitis, either that or it was being drowned!! But we don't have a cat, so it had to be the quail!
My quail...
- Thread starter shelleyd2008
- Start date
- Jul 20, 2008
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Quote:
Silly quail! He's no Pavarotti, I'm sure...
Shelley, can you post a picture of the Button?
Also, 5 weeks is not too early for coturnix to be mating. I've had some girls start laying as early as 5.5 weeks, and the males had been mating them for at least a week because the eggs were fertile.
Flip your birds over and see if the vent is bulging... therealsilkiechick already mentioned it, but if you gently squeeze on either side of the vent, the males will secrete foam. The females will not.
The button males also crow, and make growling noises where they puff up their necks like a bullfrog.
Also, 5 weeks is not too early for coturnix to be mating. I've had some girls start laying as early as 5.5 weeks, and the males had been mating them for at least a week because the eggs were fertile.
Flip your birds over and see if the vent is bulging... therealsilkiechick already mentioned it, but if you gently squeeze on either side of the vent, the males will secrete foam. The females will not.
The button males also crow, and make growling noises where they puff up their necks like a bullfrog.
yes girls make calls too mine always sounded mostly like wild peeper frogs or crickets,lol. they actually have a few different calls for both sexes. we used to raise hundreds of them of both breeds, they can be lots of fun to raise. i always loved the colors and varieties of both but my favs was the golden manchurians and the pied a & m's.
if i remember right my blue buttons all had the bibs from little no matter what blue color they were but females was thinner males were thicker bibed. it has been awhile but i only remember the blue colorations haveing that and other colors were one or the other either had or didn't have to tell.
i have never had them mate for me under 6 weeks for coturnix and buttons i can't remember how old they r when they do but it is close enough could have a early beginner that is true. i agree with mrs. on the buttons.
coturnix r kinda weird in my flight pens i've had many boys in one pen but they had enough girls they didn't really care so it was a huge colony, only ever had 1 male attacked in there but none of the pens excepted him he had to be raised seperated. the lower the # of them ya have the easier it is to pick out the weeker ones or males. i had more pobs with my smaller pens than the coloney ones. all small pens except 1 had only 1 male to it or there was problems. i think they would still know a male even if no female and yes i think they would still fight.
males for some reason r very aggresive especially breeding season. i've seen them even with more than enough space and ladies and only 2 males to a pen and still know who top dog is to kill a weaker male. then take over all the ladies wich should have been plenty for 3 males. the herim will even turn too with their dominant male and be followers also in aiding injury or death.
if i remember right my blue buttons all had the bibs from little no matter what blue color they were but females was thinner males were thicker bibed. it has been awhile but i only remember the blue colorations haveing that and other colors were one or the other either had or didn't have to tell.
i have never had them mate for me under 6 weeks for coturnix and buttons i can't remember how old they r when they do but it is close enough could have a early beginner that is true. i agree with mrs. on the buttons.
coturnix r kinda weird in my flight pens i've had many boys in one pen but they had enough girls they didn't really care so it was a huge colony, only ever had 1 male attacked in there but none of the pens excepted him he had to be raised seperated. the lower the # of them ya have the easier it is to pick out the weeker ones or males. i had more pobs with my smaller pens than the coloney ones. all small pens except 1 had only 1 male to it or there was problems. i think they would still know a male even if no female and yes i think they would still fight.
males for some reason r very aggresive especially breeding season. i've seen them even with more than enough space and ladies and only 2 males to a pen and still know who top dog is to kill a weaker male. then take over all the ladies wich should have been plenty for 3 males. the herim will even turn too with their dominant male and be followers also in aiding injury or death.
Has there been any changes in your house that could have made them nervous? A new sound or change in lighting... I noticed that about 4.5 to 5 weeks old I started turning the light off on my A&M's (I had them under a constant brooder light up to that point) and when I would check on them in the Morning one male would peek everyone else half to death!!! So I got them a night light and gave them a time out for a while and they do fine now!
They are very nervous at that age in about another month they grow up some more and are more docile but this is the teenage stag and they are hormone crazy...
All of mine are always really hard to handle at that age because they are so skidish... But I have a hen now that will sit on my shoulder while I sit and watch tv... She is so lovable!
So if something could have startled them or if you have made any recent changes to their routine they may just peck because they are nervous. Some times getting them a few new toys to peck at distracts them enough so they aren't pecking their buddies...
And yeah when they crow you will know!!! LMBO I think it sounds like someone trying to drowned a turkey... ha ha ha
We had bob whites when I was little and loved their call so I thought couturnix would be similar... HA! I about died the first time one called to me...
They are very nervous at that age in about another month they grow up some more and are more docile but this is the teenage stag and they are hormone crazy...
So if something could have startled them or if you have made any recent changes to their routine they may just peck because they are nervous. Some times getting them a few new toys to peck at distracts them enough so they aren't pecking their buddies...
And yeah when they crow you will know!!! LMBO I think it sounds like someone trying to drowned a turkey... ha ha ha
We had bob whites when I was little and loved their call so I thought couturnix would be similar... HA! I about died the first time one called to me...
- Thread starter
- #16
Whew!! I'm gone for just a few hours and look at all these posts!
Here are the pics I have of the button atm. The first one is about 3 days old, and the other two are almost 3 weeks old, for all quail pictured for that matter. I will try to get one of the breast feathers tomorrow when I have better light. You can see the 'bib' right under the buttons neck.
I know this was the A&M chick that did it because I caught it in the act.(It's the one in the front actually!) The button just makes like a 'cooing' sound so far, and the other A&M still peeps like a baby for the most part. Before I heard it crow today it had been chattering at me(today).
There hasn't really been any changes, but this did happen right after I cleaned out their tank. They love to make a mess with their water, so I have to clean it out weekly. I put them back in the tank, and normally they are fine. The one that started crowing almost immediately started chattering at me. I then heard it crow, pretty funny for sure. I kept hearing a knocking sound. I was thinking it was my dad doing something, but he was outside or something. I went in there and saw the pecker chasing the other from one end to the next, with the button hiding in the box. I was going to put both A&M's in a different cage to protect the button, but decided not to when I saw the one that had been getting pecked had a few bloody spots on it's head. The button and that A&M are now snuggling together while the meanie gets to watch
Oh and as for the lighting, I have been turning their lamp off at night and leaving their nightlight on, but sometimes I forget and keep it on all the time. They haven't had a heat light for at least a week. But they are in the spare bedroom.
If the other A&M that was getting pecked on is a female, how can I reintroduce them together without the male killing it??
What kind of toys would you give to quail??
Here are the pics I have of the button atm. The first one is about 3 days old, and the other two are almost 3 weeks old, for all quail pictured for that matter. I will try to get one of the breast feathers tomorrow when I have better light. You can see the 'bib' right under the buttons neck.
I know this was the A&M chick that did it because I caught it in the act.(It's the one in the front actually!) The button just makes like a 'cooing' sound so far, and the other A&M still peeps like a baby for the most part. Before I heard it crow today it had been chattering at me(today).
There hasn't really been any changes, but this did happen right after I cleaned out their tank. They love to make a mess with their water, so I have to clean it out weekly. I put them back in the tank, and normally they are fine. The one that started crowing almost immediately started chattering at me. I then heard it crow, pretty funny for sure. I kept hearing a knocking sound. I was thinking it was my dad doing something, but he was outside or something. I went in there and saw the pecker chasing the other from one end to the next, with the button hiding in the box. I was going to put both A&M's in a different cage to protect the button, but decided not to when I saw the one that had been getting pecked had a few bloody spots on it's head. The button and that A&M are now snuggling together while the meanie gets to watch
Oh and as for the lighting, I have been turning their lamp off at night and leaving their nightlight on, but sometimes I forget and keep it on all the time. They haven't had a heat light for at least a week. But they are in the spare bedroom.
If the other A&M that was getting pecked on is a female, how can I reintroduce them together without the male killing it??
What kind of toys would you give to quail??
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I always kept them close (where they could still see and hear each other) but just kept them in a time out cage... I picked up a small canary cage from walmart for 15 bucks it works wonders for a time out cage... LOL They stay there for a few days then I just put them back together and they do well... Lots of times it's something that made them nervous or just boredom so a few days in solitary and they are itching to get to be back with their buddies!!!
Keep an eye out though some are just more nervous and tend to peck more than others so he may try it again...
As for toys... any squeaky toy or plastic toy can occupy them... plus being plastic it's easy to wash! I see you had a small stuffed animal in with them as chicks those work well too... But my quails all time favorite is shinny things like jewelry... get some cheap plastic beads and string them up they will go nuts! My gal tries to get my earrings when she is on my shoulder... Maybe even put in a small mirror? Try a shiny hotwheel car!!! Change out the toys every few days and it will take care of the boredom and give them plenty of things to peck at... and just make sure they can't peck any small pieces off the toy and get choked.
As a last resort some say to debeak your birds but I never could bring myself to do this but I have taken a nail file and dulled the beak a tad so if they did peck it wasn't so sharp and didn't make the others bleed... if you just dull the end it will grow back so you may need to repeat this every couple of weeks...
They don't seem to be bothered by this either... just a couple of swipes with the file and voilà! This is much better than debeaking as it doesn't even get sore but it just rounds off the sharp tip... They can still peck but it won't do quite as much damage...
As for toys... any squeaky toy or plastic toy can occupy them... plus being plastic it's easy to wash! I see you had a small stuffed animal in with them as chicks those work well too... But my quails all time favorite is shinny things like jewelry... get some cheap plastic beads and string them up they will go nuts! My gal tries to get my earrings when she is on my shoulder... Maybe even put in a small mirror? Try a shiny hotwheel car!!! Change out the toys every few days and it will take care of the boredom and give them plenty of things to peck at... and just make sure they can't peck any small pieces off the toy and get choked.
As a last resort some say to debeak your birds but I never could bring myself to do this but I have taken a nail file and dulled the beak a tad so if they did peck it wasn't so sharp and didn't make the others bleed... if you just dull the end it will grow back so you may need to repeat this every couple of weeks...
They don't seem to be bothered by this either... just a couple of swipes with the file and voilà! This is much better than debeaking as it doesn't even get sore but it just rounds off the sharp tip... They can still peck but it won't do quite as much damage...
Cute buttons!!!! My jumbo coturnix started laying eggs at FIVE WEEKS. Yes, 5. I was shocked too. Started the mating dance around 4 weeks.
My buttons were later - first egg was 9 weeks.
I have to tell you - DD and I played scientist last night; she likes to open all the unhatched eggs. I like to watch, but I just can't do. We found three sets of jumbo twins! The chicks were small and in one egg, one chick was big and one was really tiny. There was only one egg where the chicks looked far enough along that they might have hatched, or tried anyway, if they had made it just a little longer. After finding the third, I told DD that I should get my camera, but we didn't find anymore. Couldn't take a pic because everything was jumbled in a bowl and nobody would have believed it wasn't staged anyway. But I was really surprised to find that many. Alot weren't fertile; somebody's not doing their job...
My buttons were later - first egg was 9 weeks.
I have to tell you - DD and I played scientist last night; she likes to open all the unhatched eggs. I like to watch, but I just can't do. We found three sets of jumbo twins! The chicks were small and in one egg, one chick was big and one was really tiny. There was only one egg where the chicks looked far enough along that they might have hatched, or tried anyway, if they had made it just a little longer. After finding the third, I told DD that I should get my camera, but we didn't find anymore. Couldn't take a pic because everything was jumbled in a bowl and nobody would have believed it wasn't staged anyway. But I was really surprised to find that many. Alot weren't fertile; somebody's not doing their job...
Quote:
that is awesome about the twins!!! I believe ya!
Also to anyone who is interested blue faced button quail (i know you already know this shelley lol) can be double factored or single factored, if single factored they are born without bibs, if double factored they all (even hens) have bibs. If youre a big fan of blue faced bqs likei am, double factor is the way to go!
My male button quail is going on 10 weeks and still has not crowed, but IS producing sperm (I did an AI test i finnally know how to do it and it's not gross at all yay)! So i inseminated my one hen with his sperm so hopefully the egg i get today is fertile we'll see! Ican't wait until he does start crowing though as it's a neat noise...different from the male coturnix call but still neat none the less some call it "the darth vadar noise" LOL!
that is awesome about the twins!!! I believe ya!
Also to anyone who is interested blue faced button quail (i know you already know this shelley lol) can be double factored or single factored, if single factored they are born without bibs, if double factored they all (even hens) have bibs. If youre a big fan of blue faced bqs likei am, double factor is the way to go!
My male button quail is going on 10 weeks and still has not crowed, but IS producing sperm (I did an AI test i finnally know how to do it and it's not gross at all yay)! So i inseminated my one hen with his sperm so hopefully the egg i get today is fertile we'll see! Ican't wait until he does start crowing though as it's a neat noise...different from the male coturnix call but still neat none the less some call it "the darth vadar noise" LOL!
Niki, you are something else...
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