New to "Button Quail"

[mochicken]

I was given some chickens by my uncle and when I went to pick them up I got the ol " have I got a deal for you" lol. His "deal" was that I should take 14 button quail that he hatched lol. They are mixed colors and sexes, not sure what sex they are as I have trouble with the whole vent sexing thing but they are still pretty young.

If anyone is in Northwest Missouri I would be glad to give you a pair or trio of them, I am going to keep a few of them for my son but I do not want to keep all 14, I am not interested in shipping them, only locals.

I built an outdoor hutch type enclosure with a solid floor and good ventilation but warm with a built in heat light and thermostat for the cold nights. They are neat little guys and gals and all of them seem to have a unique or funny personality from ornery to lazy lol. The reason he wanted to get rid of them was that he did not know much about them and they started plucking BAD and he was tired of trying to get them to get along, he did not realize the space needed for so many of them. I built my cage on a 4ftx8ft base and it is 30 inches high with a divider down the center so each of the two sides has 2ftx8ft of floor space, my intention is to separate them in half until they are a little older to sex them for sure. Apparently they have already laid some eggs, but he did not know which one or ones laid them and they have not laid in the 2 days I have had them.

If you have any questions or comments please comment here or send me a message, if you are in NW MO and are interested in a couple or 3 let me know

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

They need to be kept in pairs. They will get cold and may die if the temp is under 60F. They are plucking because they are in a colony.

 

[mochicken]

The temp has been getting lower than 60 but I have the heat light thermostat at 74 degrees so it will keep it at least that in the wood part of the enclosure, I currently have them in the house awaiting warm weather though, should warm up this week hopefully.

 

[thekid]

pairs only that is the law lol

 

[Riffecreek]

I know nothing about buttons, but would like to say

 

[thekid]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=424352

 

[Stellar]

Button quail are monogamous so you would need to have them in pairs to prevent mayhem later on. They are very special little birds. I have a sticky with a lot of info on them, also a lot on my website.

 

[mochicken]

I would love to pair them up but I am unable to sex them because I can not figure out the whole vent sexing thing, I looked at each of them but they look the same to me, sorry I am new to quail lol. From what I have read you have to wait until they reach sexual maturity and they start acting like males or females but the problem is I want to split them up now and not wait because they are plucking eachother. They are not plucking as bad now that I have them but when my uncle kept them they were constantly frustrated and plucking.

 

[mochicken]

Quote:
I actually found your site when looking for information on them, that site is AMAZING, you can tell you really care about your birds and are sooooo helpful to new owners. I thank you for keeping that site up because I guarantee if I found it then anyone can lol, we need all the help we can get

 

[SteveP]

Where at in NW MO are you???? I live in St Joe and would be willing to get a few from you if you're still looking to get rid of a few. I can't help you much on the vent sexing as I am not too good at it myself.

Steve