Sneaky buttons!!

[shelleyd2008]

I posted a few days ago about the drop in eggs from my buttons. I believe I have figured out why I have had a drop in production.

Yesterday, over the course of the afternoon, I found 6 eggs scattered throughout the cage. Today when I checked, I only saw one. They used to lay in their dust bathing bowl, now it's just wherever they drop apparently.

Except for one, at least.

When I went to get that one egg out of the cage, in the process of getting it, I uncovered another one that was buried in the shavings. I decided to 'press on' and dig through the shavings. Nothing else....Until......


I picked up one of their 'houses', and lo and behold, 3 eggs in there!! Buried under the shavings!! Someone is trying to start themselves a nest!! I wish I knew which one it was, so I could seperate her! I would so love to have a broody button!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Well, evidently they are all doing it! I found yet another egg in their 'house' after I got those 5!! I would so love to see if they would set their own eggs!

 

[austinhart123]

ive seen peoples buttons go broody in the aviaries, just give them some secluded nests and let them do the rest

 

[redhen]

thats pretty cool!...isnt it rare for them to go broody?

 

[austinhart123]

Quote:
no i dont think it rare i think you are thinking of something else cuase that does sound familiar

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Apparently not, there are a lot of people on here that have broody button quail.

I'm afraid to try it though, since I have all mine in one cage. That's 16 total, at least 6 girls and 9 boys. There's 1 I'm not sure about, and whenever I try to check them, I swear I keep grabbing the same one!

 

[redhen]

oops! i thought it was the buttons..i must be thinking of another kind or something...

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't think it is really all that common, but with the concentration of people on this site it makes it a bit more common sounding. Though, if we were to leave the eggs in there, who knows? I don't think I could find any ceramic or wooden button eggs, or I would give them a try! Maybe I'll get a bag of marbles next time I'm at wally-world, and see if those will work. That is, if I can keep my son away from them!

 

[shmooborp]

can you keep buttons outside?? like cortunix.. or even with cortunix?? sorry for the random random random ness

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have heard mixed opinions on that. I would say, for mine, that they might go outside once it warms up, but I don't know. The day and night temps here, even in the summer, vary a lot, and I would worry about them getting chilled. I'm sure someone else would know. monarc23 had hers outside with her coturnix, but the buttons got 'kicked out' of the 'house' she had them in, and they got too cold.

I wouldn't keep them with coturnix, just because they are so much smaller!