Quail Toys [Light-hearted Thread]

[Quailsong]

Perhaps this is a bit silly but I figured I'd go ahead & try it. I've read about people having chicken toys to keep their hens entertained & not prone to destructive behavior. (Please don't bring up vitamin deficiencies, I know it's a valid topic but let's just go on quail boredom here).

What do you personally use for quail toys? Do you re-purpose toys from other animals (say parrots, rabbits, etc) or make your own from scratch? Indoor or outdoor pets/cage-keepers welcome.

 

[TehLizardKing]

Hey Quailsong,

Rabbit toys and lots of cuttlefish work ok, and they wear down the beak too. The only problem is the birds'll get bored not long after they first try them. Millet works great, mine LOVE it! Try hanging a cabbage or some salad leaves from the top of their run/coop/cage, that works well too. Also, i hang a mirror with a bell in each pen. The girls admire themselves and the boys beat up thier reflections, it's fun to watch lol.

 

[SavageChick]

Here are the two toys my buttons seem to enjoy rolling around. They particularly like the little bell inside the plastic ball....

 

[Quailsong]

Thank you both for the ideas!

Millet, seems to be a bird favorite. Will definitely try the mirror idea for sure! Thanks a bunch TehLizardKing!

I had a rabbit who loved that ball within a bell set-up. She used to fling it across the carpet like it was nobody's business. Savage, I especially love how natural your cage looks. Is that just regular wood chips from the yard or do you buy them from somewhere? How hard is it to clean? (I don't want to go w/ a wire mesh bottom so def looking for ideas)

 

[Quailsong]

Has anyone tried using an automatic laser pointer for their quail for fun? Do they take the bait or are they easily bored?

 

[SavageChick]

They are fir wood chips. I settled with the fir chips a while ago, as the pine was a mess and stayed damp. I don't know if anyone else here has button quail who like to take baths in water, but I have a male button who loves his water baths. What's odd, though, is that he jumps in the water, but then jumps in the sand afterwards (you'd think it would be the other way around.) I had to find something that wouldn't stay soggy, so the fir chips work pretty well for this. It's a large flight aviary, as I keep other birds as well as the buttons.

 

[SavageChick]

Love the idea of the laser pointer. I'll have to try this!

 

[Quailsong]

Quote: I have a hermit crab that does this, although the reverse (takes a bunch of dirt with him into the water)

My plan is [when I move to the new house in the summer], to convert an old large shed into a greenhouse & coop for the quail. The quail will be able to roam inside the greenhouse at certain times of the year & I will have an outdoor/open-air (covered) run for them (attached) that'll be at least half the size of the whole shed. They can use the run during warmer weather.

They won't be pets per-se. I'll keep them fairly tame & have them as egg (+ possibly sell extras for meat), but I want them to feel as happy and safe as possible w/ a ton of fun toys. The more, the merrier.

 

[SavageChick]

The greenhouse sounds wonderful. We really don't have the space for an additional outdoor structure quite as lavish as your birds will have. My father-in-law is currently building a small coop/run for us so that we can have the buttons run around outside during the day when weather permits. I'm planning on placing it in the garden so that they can help me control the insects there. I've read where they love to eat Japanese Beetles, and we have a lot of them on our apple trees during the summer.

 

[Quailsong]

Japanese Beetles, eh? I was thinking to have an area to grow mealworm/bettles & another for red wiggler worms. If they escape at all then it's up to the quail to catch 'em!

Yeah, I'm moving out to a large home with a 1/4 acre lot. This is our first home (dreamy) & I always talked about raising chickens but when I found out how wonderful quail eggs were I knew I had to adjust my 'Master Plan'. My partner suffers from hay fever & I have Vitamin B + Iron issues so we're hoping they'll help us out. In turn, we'll be repaying the little critters with large runs, great feed & as many toys as it makes them happy.^^

Best of luck with your coop/run!