Newbie Questions

[fayth]

Hey guys so im new and next week i am getting a pair of button quail! And i have some questions: So i heard that button quail cant live in a cage thatt is taller than 14" why is that? What should i feed them? (other than gamebird crumble) Do i need an incubater to hatch eggs or can they hatch them themselves? Any other stuff i need to know?
Oh and any diy toys that i can make for them?

 

[foreverlearning]

When frightened by noises they jump straight up and anything higher then 14" they can snap their necks on the top of the pen. It either needs to be less then 14" (preferably 12") or higher then 3' for safety. You will find many feed requirements but what worked best for me and the breeder I bought them from is 28% gamebird feed until they are 6 weeks then 20% either gamebird feed with oyster shell on the side or layer by itself. You will need an incubator as broodieness has mostly been bred out of them. Not sure on toys.

 

[fayth]

I

When frightened by noises they jump straight up and anything higher then 14" they can snap their necks on the top of the pen. It either needs to be less then 14" (preferably 12") or higher then 3' for safety. You will find many feed requirements but what worked best for me and the breeder I bought them from is 28% gamebird feed until they are 6 weeks then 20% either gamebird feed with oyster shell on the side or layer by itself. You will need an incubator as broodieness has mostly been bred out of them. Not sure on toys.

How would they snap their necks on something higher than 12"?

 

[Quail Jailer]

They will have more room to attain a higher velocity, which on impact with the roof, breaks their neck.

 

[fayth]

We are going to have 2 different cages: one indoor (a rabbit cage) one outdoor (its under a self treehouse type thing its 3-4 feet tall i think)

 

[sniper338]

You dont want quail inside... they tend to stink bad. They poop a lot!

 

[fayth]

But in the winter it will get way to cold (i am in canada)

 

[dc3085]

Buttons are fine inside. I bring mine in for the winter. They don't stink anything like a cot, but they do still stink if you don't keep them clean. Coturnix can survive Canadian winters on the ground, but buttons don't do well below 40 degrees F.

Buttons should be fed 28-30% starter as chicks. Adults should be on 24-28% protein. They require more protein that most types of quail. You can even just feed them 30% starter their whole lives. There is at most a $1 difference in the price of a 50lb bag.

Keep cages under 16" or over 30" and you won't have any broken necks. You should always warn them that you are approaching, especially at night. Sing a song or talk to them before they see, since they do surprise very easily. You can also staple a piece of window screen inside the cage about 3" below the ceiling, so they hit something a little softer than a solid roof.

Make their cages feel natural and they will be more likely to brood their own eggs. Make sure you give them dried grass and sticks to build a nest with. Many hens become broody at some point if you leave their eggs alone. Mark them with a pencil though so that you know how long they've been there, until she learns how to hatch them. Mostly they know when an egg is good anymore and they'll roll it out of their pile. These eggs you'll want to remove.

Sometimes their nests aren't much, they still like building them. As they get older the nests will get more elaborate.

 

[fayth]

Is there anything i can do to make it possible for them to live outside? We ae alsogoing to put in an insultated dog house

 

[dc3085]

As long as you can keep them between 40 and 90 degrees F, you can keep them anywhere you want.