New To Raising Button Quail

[Sunshineagh]

Hi!! My husband and I are just getting into raising Button Quail. We've have eggs in the incubator now and are really hoping for good results. We're hoping to raise them as pets!!! I need all the advice and helpful hints we can get on everything button quail. We are raising bobwhite and coturnix quail right now and doing quite well with them! Anything you have would be appreciated! Thank you in advance!

 

[DK newbie]

If you are doing well with bobwhites and coturnix, I don't think buttons will be a problem. Pretty much the same advice for buttons. Like, put marbles in the water so they can't get wet, grind the feed so they can eat it, make sure it has lots of protein.. You might need to grind the feed more and keep grinding it till they are quite old, depending on the feed though, they really are tiny

 

[Sunshineagh]

Thank you so much for replying. We're still trying to get everything straight for the button. Do you know how many can live in a 10 gallon aquarium? I was thinking 3 or 4. Is that too many?

 

[DK newbie]

Well.. I've heard of professional breeders keeping a pair in as little as 1 square foot. Personally, I wouldn't even keep a single bird in less than 2x2 ft unless it was a very temporary thing. 2x4 ft seems to be a reasonable cage size for 1-4 birds (that get along well) to me, but more room is always better.
I really think they should be allowed to move about, there should be room for artificial plants for them to hide behind, room for a dust bath, room for a dark corner to nest in, room to get away from bullies and scary humans and room to stretch their wings.
If you really want to use the aquarium, I certainly wouldn't put more than a pair in there. There is a higher risk of fighting if you keep more than that and with so little room, they don't stand a chance of getting away from each other.
I kept 2 sisters that were raised together, with a roo in a 2x5 ft cage this winter and one sister actually started chasing the other when spring came. I then relocated them to a 3x10 ft aviary, hoping that would stop the chasing or at least give the one being chased a better chance. I haven't seen any chasing since, but haven't been watching much either. But don't expect to be able to keep trios or groups in small cages.
I have a group with a roo and 3 hens in a 4x7 ft-ish budgie aviary and they do so well they even hatch out their own chicks on a regular basis. They even help raising each others chicks. There are 6 chicks in there now and I think one of the hens is already broody again. The ones I keep in smaller cages(2x5 ft & 2½x2½ ft), haven't had any luck with the incubation yet, they've been broody a few times but left the nest within a week. I interpret this as stress caused but too small living quarters. But there are people who have buttons that get broody and hatch their own eggs in small cages as well, though it seems to be a less regular occurrence than in my aviary.
You might not care for having parent raised chicks, but I think it tells something about how happy the birds are with their living quarters and my conclusion is that whereas ~2x4 ft might be the best I can reasonably do for the birds I keep inside, 4x7 ft is better

 

[Sunshineagh]

Thank you very much! I'm thinking that as well. I'm seeing so many cages that have all of that for the buttons. I would really love to have some that raise and hatch their own chicks. My husband is really good at building things. I'm thinking I may talk him into building me something. I need to think about their food as well. I already grind up the chicken starter for my bobwhite and cortunix quail babies. Still doing the research on when they're grown. Thanks for the advice on housing and cages.

 

[DK newbie]

Ohh, nice husband! I build my cages myself. Had my father help with the aviary, but he wants to make the decisions if he's helping, so I had to learn how to do it myself as I tend to disagree with his decisions Keep in mind that they tend to boink into the top of their cages if something scares them. This can cause issues (from loss of feathers to immediate death) if the cage height is between ~15 inches and 5 feet or something like that. To prevent it, I pad the top of my cages with foam rubber or suspend a layer of tulle or similar 1-2 inches below the cage top.
In general, chicken starter is a little low in protein for quail. Most use game bird or turkey starters. I use a game bird starter with 24.4% protein for my buttons - both chicks and adults. The adults have a small bowl of finely grinded oyster shell as well. If the coturnix survive on the chicken starter, the buttons probably will as well, but if you see any issues, the feed would be my first suspect. On a couple of occasions, I've been unable to get the starter feed and have fed them a game bird grower with just 19% protein. I haven't had any chicks during this time, but the adults survived on it without any apparent issues.

 

[Sunshineagh]

Thank you for the information. Where r u from? I'm from South Carolina.

 

[DK newbie]

Denmark ^^

 

[Sunshineagh]

Wow! Well, it's good talking to you.