Trying to tame quails, need some help... 😭😢

[Harry637]

Hello guys i have 2 coturnix quails but i cant seem to tame them! weve had them for 2-3 months and i hand feed them and one is very skittish, another one has hope but runs away. i tried picking her up multiple times. this time, i had some sucess. i took her out of her cage and put her on a box with food she likes on it. she seemed too nervous to eat and quickly tried to go back in but it didnt work. I tried to gently grab her and hold her in my lap and that worked out for maybe 5 seconds before she panicked and took a leap into the cage. i really want some tame quail since theyre just so adorable but i cant seem to tame them. ive tried luring, but the cage opening is above the ground by about 4 inches so it would be very hard to get them to fly out. any ideas?

 

[cherrynberry]

Hello guys i have 2 coturnix quails but i cant seem to tame them! weve had them for 2-3 months and i hand feed them and one is very skittish, another one has hope but runs away. i tried picking her up multiple times. this time, i had some sucess. i took her out of her cage and put her on a box with food she likes on it. she seemed too nervous to eat and quickly tried to go back in but it didnt work. I tried to gently grab her and hold her in my lap and that worked out for maybe 5 seconds before she panicked and took a leap into the cage. i really want some tame quail since theyre just so adorable but i cant seem to tame them. ive tried luring, but the cage opening is above the ground by about 4 inches so it would be very hard to get them to fly out. any ideas?

So glad you asked! I recently discovered the best way and have tamed my 10 quails. I started off with only one of them being friendly, now they all come when called.

First things first, do not hold them, that scares them too much, too fast. If I grabbed one of my quails, I noticed that they were more skittish for the next day's feeding. You have to gain their trust. And quails, being so susceptible to predators, need time to get used to you.

1.) Remove all food at night (you want to hand feed them and that should be the ONLY food source).
2.) Hand feed them and choose a call, I like to make a clucking noise with my tongue. If you feed them and call them at the same time, they will come when called. It may take some time for them to tune their ears to your call. Try to make it simple and easy to repeat.
3.) Do this everyday. I did it everyday 3-4 times a day. It took me 4 days to tame 90% of them. It took me 1 week for all of them to trust me more. I fed in the morning at 7:10am, at 2:00pm, at 4:00pm, and at night, 7:30pm.
4.) Make a record of who is NOT eating. If one quail is not eating, do not put food in a container, keep hand feeding. The maximum amount of time I went for knowing that one of the quails was not eating was a day. After a day, they are usually hungry enough to come. If not, keep trying the following day (after the quail has not eaten for one day) and try to stay still. If it still does not eat, spread some food on the ground near you.
5.) Keep track of how much you are feeding, to make sure they are not underfed. I feed 10 quails 2 cups a day. I previously free fed and that was how much they chose to eat.


Please describe your aviary/their housing. I have a ground aviary and it was easy to just sit with them and hand feed them. It may be harder if they are in an aviary above ground.

Do you free feed?

 

[Harry637]

So glad you asked! I recently discovered the best way and have tamed my 10 quails. I started off with only one of them being friendly, now they all come when called.

First things first, do not hold them, that scares them too much, too fast. If I grabbed one of my quails, I noticed that they were more skittish for the next day's feeding. You have to gain their trust. And quails, being so susceptible to predators, need time to get used to you.

1.) Remove all food at night (you want to hand feed them and that should be the ONLY food source).
2.) Hand feed them and choose a call, I like to make a clucking noise with my tongue. If you feed them and call them at the same time, they will come when called. It may take some time for them to tune their ears to your call. Try to make it simple and easy to repeat.
3.) Do this everyday. I did it everyday 3-4 times a day. It took me 4 days to tame 90% of them. It took me 1 week for all of them to trust me more. I fed in the morning at 7:10am, at 2:00pm, at 4:00pm, and at night, 7:30pm.
4.) Make a record of who is NOT eating. If one quail is not eating, do not put food in a container, keep hand feeding. The maximum amount of time I went for knowing that one of the quails was not eating was a day. After a day, they are usually hungry enough to come. If not, keep trying the following day (after the quail has not eaten for one day) and try to stay still. If it still does not eat, spread some food on the ground near you.
5.) Keep track of how much you are feeding, to make sure they are not underfed. I feed 10 quails 2 cups a day. I previously free fed and that was how much they chose to eat.


Please describe your aviary/their housing. I have a ground aviary and it was easy to just sit with them and hand feed them. It may be harder if they are in an aviary above ground.

Do you free feed?

I have an indoor cage for 2 females. it is around 9 cubic feet and they love it and feel safe in it. however, the base of the cage has a 4 inch tall wall so they cant get out of the cage wihtout me holding them. i hand feed them and they are more eager to eat out of my hand than tthe feeder but still hate being touched. So i do free feed. thx

 

[Harry637]

So glad you asked! I recently discovered the best way and have tamed my 10 quails. I started off with only one of them being friendly, now they all come when called.

First things first, do not hold them, that scares them too much, too fast. If I grabbed one of my quails, I noticed that they were more skittish for the next day's feeding. You have to gain their trust. And quails, being so susceptible to predators, need time to get used to you.

1.) Remove all food at night (you want to hand feed them and that should be the ONLY food source).
2.) Hand feed them and choose a call, I like to make a clucking noise with my tongue. If you feed them and call them at the same time, they will come when called. It may take some time for them to tune their ears to your call. Try to make it simple and easy to repeat.
3.) Do this everyday. I did it everyday 3-4 times a day. It took me 4 days to tame 90% of them. It took me 1 week for all of them to trust me more. I fed in the morning at 7:10am, at 2:00pm, at 4:00pm, and at night, 7:30pm.
4.) Make a record of who is NOT eating. If one quail is not eating, do not put food in a container, keep hand feeding. The maximum amount of time I went for knowing that one of the quails was not eating was a day. After a day, they are usually hungry enough to come. If not, keep trying the following day (after the quail has not eaten for one day) and try to stay still. If it still does not eat, spread some food on the ground near you.
5.) Keep track of how much you are feeding, to make sure they are not underfed. I feed 10 quails 2 cups a day. I previously free fed and that was how much they chose to eat.


Please describe your aviary/their housing. I have a ground aviary and it was easy to just sit with them and hand feed them. It may be harder if they are in an aviary above ground.

Do you free feed?

i cant step in their cage. the most i can do is stick my arms in.

 

[cherrynberry]

I have an indoor cage for 2 females. it is around 9 cubic feet and they love it and feel safe in it. however, the base of the cage has a 4 inch tall wall so they cant get out of the cage wihtout me holding them. i hand feed them and they are more eager to eat out of my hand than tthe feeder but still hate being touched. So i do free feed. thx

Can you get a picture?

 

[Harry637]

Can you get a picture?

 

[cherrynberry]

View attachment 2837472View attachment 2837473View attachment 2837474

I would just work at hand feeding them and not giving them any food in other contianers. I do not think they will get to a point of allowing you to hold them willfully though...I only have one quail who is okay with it.

 

[FloorCandy]

Is there a door that opens in the front? If you lift them out from the top I don’t think they will get tame. Prey animals don’t like to be approached from above, you should try to feed them from a door that opens in the front or side, let them hop out on their own if you are letting them out, and try to scoop them from the bottom when you need to lift them back in.

 

[Harry637]

Is there a door that opens in the front? If you lift them out from the top I don’t think they will get tame. Prey animals don’t like to be approached from above, you should try to feed them from a door that opens in the front or side, let them hop out on their own if you are letting them out, and try to scoop them from the bottom when you need to lift them back in.

I stopped using the top door now, and now only use the side door. they seem friendly enough just wont get out of the cage and dont like ebing touched. And yes, i do scoop them from the bottom, but they kick in the air. it seems when they accidentally hop out, they get really scared and hide behind something and also wont eat because theyre so nervous so i just scoop them and put them back in, and they start breathing really fast with their mouth open with i think is a common behavior for surprised or shocked quail. They have almost no intention of getting out of the cage so they wouldnt hop out on their own... If i put anything like greens they love (considering using mealworms also but they love veggies still) they dont see it because of the wall in the cage and eve if they do theyre too paranoid.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

They'll hop out if they don't feel threatened. They're exceptionally nosy.