Oh, shut UP, Quail!

[spookyevilone]

Last time I bought birds, I came home with what was supposed to be a Tibetan Cortunix hen and a "mutt" subsequently named Bumbles - mix of bobwhite, English, and Tuxedo Cortunix. BEAUTIFUL bird, gorgeous markings. The Tibetan got picked on quite badly, and then got an infected head, so into the hospital tank he went, with my baby button quail, Cricket.

Tibe has recovered.. and turned out to be a roo.

I caught him mating with Cricket - who is also a roo and a button quail to boot, so I separated them. I had the extra hen, my little mutt, Bumbles. I put her in with him, thinking the eggs and resulting chicks would be goooorrrrgeous.

Tibe has started doing the "Hens! Look at me! I'm a pimp-stylin' stud of a quail! Come here and get some lovin'!" crow. He doesn't acknowledge Bumbles at all. Doesn't peck her, doesn't mount her. Occasionally steals mealworms from her, but that's it.

The Red Tux male she was in with before also ignored her, but I figured that was because he'd bonded pretty hard to the Red Tux female also in that cage. They preen each other and coo and share mealworms and sleep cuddled together. Hence why I took out the "spare" female.

Bumbles is the same age as my other two "new" hens - she hatched the same day and was a brooder mate to them, and they're about four months old now. She's not laying, the boys don't seem to know she exists... Is it possible they don't know what she is, or that she's some sort of mute? 16+ weeks, she should be matured by now, right? She's 3/4 Coturnix and 1/4 Bobwhite.

Blah! Tibe won't shut up. I think he misses Cricket, but I don't want Cricket to get hurt. I hope some of the eggs in the 'bator hatch.. earliest is due 12/23 and the rest are due 12/27. I'm hoping to hatch a mate for Cricket and .. I have no idea what to do with Tibe and Bumbles. I'll probably see if I can chuck another hen in there with them if those two don't start gettin' on with the gettin' on soon. But darnit! She's so pretty, and crossed with the Tibetan to add the dark red to the feathers would be so very pretty!

-Spooky

(tried to get pics, Bumbles will NOT sit still even when I hold her.)

 

[shelleyd2008]

Oh, I know exactly what you mean!! I have 2 A&M quail from some eggs I got off ebay. These were the only ones to hatch out of the bunch...my first time incubating quail. I was hoping they would at least be a pair...nope! Both males! Evidently these guys have been fed pretty good (by MOI) cause they started crowing and fighting at barely 5 weeks old!! So now I have a small cage with one A&M in it, and a 10 gallon tank with one A&M and one male button in it. I have some jumbo quail eggs in the bator, due in about 2 weeks, so maybe I'll get some girls this time! If I get enough, these 2 boys will go in with them. If not, these 2 boys will go in someone's belly! The one with the button hasn't tried mating yet, but they sure do crow!! And people say they aren't loud?? Then I must have some freak quail!! I have gotten to where I cover them at night with a towel just so they'll shut up! I have only 2 girls, and they're regular pharoahs. Plus they are outside, not laying, and they already have a boyfriend!
I'm not sure how old bobwhites mature, but I would think she should soon. My advice is to get those noisy things out of your house!

Mine are stuck inside till spring, since they were hatched about 2 months ago.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Oh, and I agree, their crow does sound like 'look at MEEEEE!' My 4-year-old son tells them 'NO!! Look at you-self!'

 

[spookyevilone]

Quote:
All the other roos are now quiet and happy with their mates. It's just Tibe who suddenly started with the crowing and hollering

If he was by himself, I'd cut him some slack, but I gave him a very pretty girlfriend and all he does is ignore her and steal her mealworms. HMPH!

I think that when people say they aren't loud, they're comparing them to chickens or peacocks. Comparatively, quail aren't loud, but by themselves, that little velociraptor noise they make is startling. My button quail laugh like evil little dolls. They'd all gotten quiet over the past few weeks, but now with Tibe crowing, they all gang up and crow back at him, so I have evil little dolls in surround sound in my living room.

The intent is to keep the birds inside this winter and build a pen for them this spring so they can forage. Or rather, many pens, since I don't want my own version of Survivor: Quail Version going on when the roos fight.

I'm just so frustrated with this quail! I really hope Bumbles isn't some sort of neuter quail freak bird. I want baby Bumbles, darnit!

-Spooky

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't think my button (adult) is crowing yet? All I keep hearing (other than Look at MEEEEE!) is something similar to a kitten crying. It's not the babies (I have 15 2-or 3-week-old buttons as well), at least I don't think so, cause they make a 'coo-coo-coo' sound, whenever they escape their box. This is a 'coo' but only one. Kind of like a kitten "MEW".

Do you plan on putting your quail in raised cages, or on the ground? I'd like to put mine on the ground, so I don't need to fill their dirt pan constantly, but I wonder if it would be too much hassle to clean their stinkies out?

 

[spookyevilone]

Quote:
My female buttons do the single crow "Keeee!" when they're by themselves, but Cricket started out doing just one and now he's up to evil doll status. The boys seriously sound like evil little dolls or a maniacal Pillsbury Doughboy. Here's a youtube vid by someone else that is EXACTLY the noise my boys make:

The plan I have in mind is to put the quail pen directly onto the ground. I'm planning to sink the wire sides at least a foot and build predator-proof flaps kind of like the Eglus have. I really like the Eglu but like heck am I going to pay $500+ for a plastic doghouse and some wire! Not when I need to buy at least four of 'em.

The plan in mind is to start with a Dogloo/Igloo dog house off Craigslist, drill holes through the sides big enough for a 2-3' iron tent stake, drill smaller holes around the front entrance to carabiner the welded hardware cloth run to it. Make the run out of welded hardware cloth but snip the bottom horizontal wires so the bottom of he wire is basically all long, thin stakes. Push stakes into ground, attach predator flap, possibly use some more tent stakes to help ensure it won't get toppled by high wind, and I should be good to go.

Though, of course now that I've seen someone's build-a-block wire guinea pig cage idea, I'm wondering if I could build the run out of those and just stake 'em to the ground instead of having to mess with the hardware cloth.

I have just a few quail, so I figure the run can be cleaned with a good shot with the hose and moved when/if they try to turn it into a mudpit.

For the permanent one I want to build, I'm planning to use my grandfather's chicken coop idea and make the bottom a sloped box filled with pea gravel.

-Spooky

 

[spookyevilone]

Apparently my post yesterday shamed Bumbles into egg production. Today she laid two - one this morning sometime, the other just a few minutes ago in my hand when I picked her up to give her some treats. I felt this warm, moist, heavy *plop* in the hand she was standing in and just assumed she'd pooped on me .. nope. Beautiful speckled blue egg.

I have no idea if they're fertile. I put them in the 'bator anyway.
-Spooky

 

[shelleyd2008]

Go Bumbles!! I caught my little button male trying to mate his A&M coturnix (also male) tank-mate! My dad (the resident expert on EVERYTHING) decides this means the A&M is female....no dad, it crows, it can't be female!

Congrats on the eggs!

 

[spookyevilone]

Quote:
Thanks! I'm quite excited!

heh.. "No, Dad. It's more like when two guys are stuck in the same prison cell.. " But too funny, that the button started it! Heck, if Cricket would try to mount one of the Coturnix females, I'd let him just to see if they could hybrid. I've heard they can, and that someone's crossed them, but I'll believe it when I see the chicks

Good luck with your quail! I may be looking for homes for some of them this spring when I figure out how many hens I'm going to have. Now watch, all 39 will be roos!

-Spooky

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have 2 A&M quail, both males, and the one male button. They were all 3 in the same tank, until the one A&M started beating up the other. The agressor got moved to a different cage, next door, so he can still see the others, but can't hurt anyone. I think the A&M with the button is just a sissy! He got beat up by one A&M, now he's getting 'punked' by a bird half his size!
And that is funny about all them being males! That would be my luck! I have 15 baby buttons, I hope I have some females out of them! They are about 2 or 3 weeks, so I still have a while to wait and see. The only known females around here are my pharoahs, and they're outside!