Tell me everything I need to know about raising button quail!

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Welcome aboard!

The link that @Debbie292d provides is specific to bobwhite (or else something went wrong when I clicked on it! ) and is excellent.

I find button quail are a little more like coturnix, though smaller than either.

Here's a guide on this site that is specific to button quail.

BYC Button Quail

I've had a lot of mixed results with button quail. Some hatches have been very, very flighty, to the point where handling them carelessly seemed to risk triggering fatal heart attacks. Others have been remarkably docile.

Usually they reproduce very easily, sometimes it has taken some coaxing.

I've attributed this to the source, as every time I did to raise them again, I'm usually buying from a different source.

All the best!
 
Zenmonkey said:
Welcome aboard!

The link that @Debbie292d provides is specific to bobwhite (or else something went wrong when I clicked on it! ) and is excellent.

I find button quail are a little more like coturnix, though smaller than either.

Here's a guide on this site that is specific to button quail.

BYC Button Quail

I've had a lot of mixed results with button quail. Some hatches have been very, very flighty, to the point where handling them carelessly seemed to risk triggering fatal heart attacks. Others have been remarkably docile.

Usually they reproduce very easily, sometimes it has taken some coaxing.

I've attributed this to the source, as every time I did to raise them again, I'm usually buying from a different source.

All the best!
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Oh heck, I bet I did grab the wrong quail one! It's such a great article though so would still be relevant for most of it. Thanks for finding one for specifically for Buttons.
 
WildNectarine said:
As you should! For starters, no cages or hutches for housing if you’re keeping them indoors! Many will say they’re fine, but I have lost birds to bonking their heads on the hard tops! And they’re so small, space is everything to ground birds, they love to run; I discovered the absolute beauty of using mosquito nets meant for beds as enclosures, I raise Coturnix, who are quite a fair bit bigger, and they work to perfection, no bonks, very cheap, and wonderfully spacious; I made a post about it on the quail section the others above referred to, but I am about to update with a new post soon about my new findings on bedding for pet quail, so ignore the section of that post where I say to get one with a raised fabric bottom, because I discovered that they hate that, do mesh all the way around, they love to see and be a part of things; please, please don’t use pine shavings, even though people say they are safe, too, as not only are they are bad for their little lungs with the natural scent oils they contain, but ground birds are meant to walk on flat, steady surfaces, not puffy fluffy stuff all of the time! So no paper bedding either, no bedding at all, it gets stuck to their feet when they poop, too! They’re just so valiant and resilient that they survive the abuse, then people think it’s okay just because they’re alive; I’ve currently discovered waterproof paper massage table covers to put in the bottom of the bed mosquito nets as the best option, with a layer of thick exercise foam puzzle padding beneath, they are large, cheap, but you will need items to weigh it down in there so they don’t kick it around, but they should have plenty to play with anyways! Sand boxes, pop-up ferret tunnels, hay beds, foraging toys, which I also have a post about in a comment on someone else’s post, but I’m happy to reiterate, etc, and make sure to trim nails weekly to keep them from being sharp enough to cut the paper! Pet quail are such a new area of the pet world, so I’m sure you’ll make your own care discoveries, too, which I hope you share here with us! You’re going to have an amazing time, I promise you, thank you for coming here and asking questions, please feel free to reach out to me any time, I’m happy to help where I can!
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I am going to be keeping them indoors I am getting 2/3 of them. What would you recommend housing them in? I’ve seen other say a small hamster cage? The “pet” store I am saving them from has them in a clear fish tank…
 
Hcalkins said:
I am going to be keeping them indoors I am getting 2/3 of them. What would you recommend housing them in? I’ve seen other say a small hamster cage? The “pet” store I am saving them from has them in a clear fish tank…
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Oh, that’s awful! In a fishtank, all the ammonia will build up and eventually kill the birds; and a small hamster cage is definitely a no, no, not only could they hit their heads, but they could hit their wings on the bars, and it’s definitely not enough space; I would do a bed mosquito net as I said before, make sure it’s mesh all the way around and has a floor to it, and put exercise foam puzzle mats beneath for support from the floor, and paper massage table covers as “bedding”, you can usually get all this off of amazon in only a couple of days, but I don’t know where you might live and if amazon’s available to you, they might be available in some local stores, like camping stores, and I don’t know how much space you have, but they do make smaller “bivy” ones for camping, if you need it; in a jiffy, or if you need to get the birds before the setup is ready, some pop up clothes hampers and puppy pee pads can work temporarily.
 
Hcalkins said:
I am going to be keeping them indoors I am getting 2/3 of them. What would you recommend housing them in? I’ve seen other say a small hamster cage? The “pet” store I am saving them from has them in a clear fish tank…
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WildNectarine said:
Oh, that’s awful! In a fishtank, all the ammonia will build up and eventually kill the birds; and a small hamster cage is definitely a no, no, not only could they hit their heads, but they could hit their wings on the bars, and it’s definitely not enough space; I would do a bed mosquito net as I said before, make sure it’s mesh all the way around and has a floor to it, and put exercise foam puzzle mats beneath for support from the floor, and paper massage table covers as “bedding”, you can usually get all this off of amazon in only a couple of days, but I don’t know where you might live and if amazon’s available to you, they might be available in some local stores, like camping stores, and I don’t know how much space you have, but they do make smaller “bivy” ones for camping, if you need it; in a jiffy, or if you need to get the birds before the setup is ready, some pop up clothes hampers and puppy pee pads can work temporarily.
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I thought the same thing and they look like they literally just hatched from the eggs! Do you think I could use a cardboard box with the netting? I can’t have them free range unfortunately! What about a heat source?
 

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