Tips on Button Quail Care?

[Coastal Quails]

Hello! I am planning on making an incubator and attempting to incubate some button quail eggs soon. I just had a few questions that have always been on my mind. 1. Should I give my button quails a sand bath? If so what sand should I use?
2. Will my buttons be fine in the winter if I kept them in the garage with a ceramic heat lamp where the temps won't drop below 10o C?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated
Thanks!

 

[JaeG]

We have some Buttons outside in a sheltered aviary. They've survived the frequent frosty mornings we've had this winter. So your garage will be fine. They will need sufficient light though.

Buttons love a dust bath and kids play sand should be fine I think. I've given mine peat moss which they enjoyed.

Buttons are happiest in pairs or trio's, one male to two females, and one male per cage. They'll also be happy in same sex groups and need less space if kept that way. They need something soft on the ceiling of their cage, even fake vines if you want it to look pretty, as they can flush straight up if startled and hurt themselves.

Any other questions just ask.

 

[Coastal Quails]

We have some Buttons outside in a sheltered aviary. They've survived the frequent frosty mornings we've had this winter. So your garage will be fine. They will need sufficient light though.

Buttons love a dust bath and kids play sand should be fine I think. I've given mine peat moss which they enjoyed.

Buttons are happiest in pairs or trio's, one male to two females, and one male per cage. They'll also be happy in same sex groups and need less space if kept that way. They need something soft on the ceiling of their cage, even fake vines if you want it to look pretty, as they can flush straight up if startled and hurt themselves.

Any other questions just ask.

Thanks! Should they have sunlight or is artificial lighting ok?
If the cage is low, will that prevent them from bonking their heads?

 

[JaeG]

You can get vitamin D supplements for birds to replace a lack of direct sunlight but we have a few inside and they seem fine so far. I do give them the odd dose though. You can get special bird bulbs that replicate sunlight but they are expensive and apparently, unless the birds are very close to them they actually don't do any good. So artificial is fine.

Buttons seem more prone to boinking especially when they are juveniles, so even with a low roof its still a good idea to have a layer of bubble wrap or similar up there. Craft foam would work too. Just something soft to cushion the blow as they can do a bit of damage to their heads hitting wood or wire. Someone said they used vines as it seems to make them feel safer and less prone to flushing upwards.

 

[DK newbie]

I second everything JaeG said and would like to add that you should feed them a game bird starer crumble with AT LEAST 19% protein in - and such a feed should already have vitamin D in it, so supplementing more of it shouldn't be required.
One thing a game bird starter lacks though, is calcium. Once the hens mature at around 6-8 weeks, you should give them a bowl of finely ground oyster shell or a different calcium supplement so they can take what they need to lay their eggs. This should be available at all times.

Other than that - my preferred cage size for a pair or trio of adult buttons is 4x2x2 ft. 2 ft high to allow them to fly a little - they seem to like stretching their wings in the morning. I pad the top of the cage to prevent injuries. 2 ft deep because I can't reach any further in than that. And 4 ft long because that gives me room to add tunnels, fake plants, blocks of wood, a sand bath, feeders and water while still allowing them plenty of room to move around and room to get away from me if I'm rummaging around in one end of the cage.
Many keep them in smaller cages and mostly that works as well, the ideal way to keep them is of course in aviaries, green houses and such.
Mine get broody and hatch their own chicks. While 2x4 ft might seem large for 2 birds, it's a different story when there are suddenly 10 ^^

As chicks they are prone to drowning or getting wet and cold, so make sure you have a shallow water dish and preferably add marbles, pebbles or similar to it so they can't get wet.
As adults they are VERY prone to getting their bedding into the water, causing it to become a nasty, smelling soup within hours - placing their water on a brick or similar helps. They can also learn to drink from rodent water bottles.

 

[El Rancherito]

Hello I recently bought a pair of button quails and was wondering if it is safe to buy a second fenale because having one female is not working out so good. I read that they like to live in trios? So is it safe to add a female? They've been together since the 15th of this month.

 

[DK newbie]

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Personally I have on several occasions seen one female pecking the other if I kept two with a roo - even if the females were mother/daughter or sisters.
If they have lots of space - like an aviary - it's fine, but in a cage - I assume, since there are problems with just one hen? - you might just add more problems by adding another hen.
The chance of actually solving any problems - over breeding, aggression, whatever the issue is - by adding another hen are quite slim. Been there, tried that ^^
Giving them more space, more hiding places, separating them (but keeping them right beside each other while separated, otherwise they'll call constantly) for a while and then reintroducing the aggressive one might work. Although sometimes the birds just aren't compatible or one of them is a jerk no matter what you do.