Oh no, they got lose!

[MoodyChicken]

But fortunately I caught them again. They're still young and kinda dumb... so their escape plan "if I don't move, they won't see me" strategy didn't really work on the bright green grass.

I love them, they're so silly. They keep digging war trenches so they can hide themselves and whenever I walk by they all squat in their holes and stand completely still, cause, clearly, I can't see them when they're not moving.

Silly quail.

 

[gabrielle1976]

That sounds too funny , what kind are they , how many got escaped and how ?

 

[emilyweck]

Sounds like you caught them just in time......well, maybe not just in time since they were stealthy but S L O W! Gotta love them! When one figures out their thoughts....don't let us know! It's too fun just watching!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Little Japanese. Two of my four (my two females of course) got lose when I moved their cage into the sun. The two males remained inside but the girls took off first chance they got. When I put them back the males crowed for the first time too. Silly silly quail.

 

[gabrielle1976]

 

[Kennicuttfarms]

I had some Mexican Speckled quail get loose the other day. I WISH they had tried the "don't move they won't see us" method. Instead they used the " let's head for the border!" method. I got my exercise for the day. I had to employ the neighbor to help me catch them.

 

[gabrielle1976]

My button quail thats almost 4 weeks old now I think , is a huge escape artest , that bird drives me to distraction. exactly what does she think she is escapeing too, besides the jaws of my cat

She is slippery to hold I have a hard time holding her snug enough that she dosnt get away but not to snug to hurt her.
Japense are buttons right . any advice?

 

[farmertank]

I'm glad you were able to catch them. I have noticed that unlike chickens or ducks, they will come towards you hand and the open cage door. Chickens run to the far end.

This does make it easier to catch them. With my chicken, sometimes the whole top half of me is in the cage before I can catch one and I'm swearing that I'll never have this deep of a cage again lol

When my quail see me coming they all stand almost on their tippy toes and their heads are up like they are going to attack me, but as soon as I open the cage door, they all come running for their treats.

Julie

 

[MoodyChicken]

Gabrielle, Japanese are the same thing Coturnix quail. The buttons are sometimes called Chinese Painted Quail, so I can see why it's easy to mix them up... they both have Asian type names. I think the Japs come in two sizes, and if they do I have the smaller size which is slightly larger than a Button. Just hang on bloody tight when you catch em! lol I usually hold them stretched out in my hand so their backs are in my palm, their chests are pinned by my pointer finger and they're legs are secured by my pinky. They can wiggle all they want but they can't get lose. I can hold two in one hand that way, and I have abnormally small hands. lol

farmertank, I've handled my quail since they were little fuzz balls but they're still crazy! They will happily accept food from my hand, but they won't come near me if I don't have anything edible. They may be crazy, but at least they're easy to catch. If I put a net into their cage they all run staight inside it.

Silly birds.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
LOL! Good job catching em though. I once had several neighbors help me catch a lose BBR OE before... that was an ordeal for a single chicken.