training

[tiffxtorres]

im a first time quail owner but i want to raise mine to be calm & not afraid of people but i every time i try to hold them the get scared... how can i calm them?

 

[jennifleur]

Mealworms. A number of my Coturnix quail will let me hold them, not all. I would pick them up and immediately feed them the worms. It seemed to work better if they had stable footing on my lap, with the hand I used to pick them up lightly around them. With the other hand quickly put mealworms right under their noses. The ones that kept struggling and ignoring the mealworms I would put back down or let them fly down off my lap. This is while sitting on a low stool, so its easy to scoop them up. I made the mistake of picking up my first chicks, when they pecked at my shoes. When they got older they would actually give me little bruises, nagging me for mealworms. Now I have a routine of giving them treats after I'm done cleaning out the pen and sifting the sand. They get very excited when I walk back in with my red plastic cup of worms and garden greens. Some will even trill, a sound they only make when they are about to get treats. Mine will eat out of anyones hand now, and mob anyone sitting down shaking the treat cup. The ones I can hold will let anyone hold them for worms. Mealworms are like quail crack.

 

[QuailRaiser]

lots and lots of work. and genetics.. if you have the birds and you pick the calmer ones, and breed those there will be a bigger chance of nicer birds. then the next step is talking to them as chicks, same as you would chickens.. from about 5 days old you want to be handling them gently, feeding them from your hand, making them comfortable there... just do it every day; it is important that you DO NOT MISS A DAY untill the bird will calmly sit in your hand/lap/wherever. just pick them up as much as possible,with your hand under them and middle finger between the legs and the other two on the outside of each leg... make sure the bird's head is facing into your palm.. then stroke them gently... it should do the trick. if it worked all those years in 4h it should work for you xD

 

[jennifleur]

Do your males allow you to hold them? I've only had females that didnt mind being handled.

 

[tiffxtorres]

they go on my hand to eat from it... and one of the chicks flew out the cage on to the floor and i picked it up and petted its head and said no baby... are you okay? and it didn't struggle once ... is that a good sign?

 

[Invision]

They have wild genetics so its a chore to get them tame, but like others posted mealworms do the trick, also make a sound of your own when you feed them the worms. Quail are a suckers for bugs.

 

[tiffxtorres]

ill put in the work they're my pets an i want to do everything to make sure they're socialized, healthy & happy

 

[QuailRaiser]

yes, in mine i've found that the males are actually the friendlier of the lot... never tried with mealworms to tell the truth

 

[tiffxtorres]

i went out and got them freeze dried mealworms and they love them, i think each worm is like 50% protein too

thanks or the help everyone