What should i get for baby button quail?

[MotherMal13]

I have finally convinced my parents to let me get a couple button quail.

I am planning on getting some that are young. They are supposed to have the same temperature as chicks right? I wanted to know what you guys think i should use for them for food water cage bedding and everything else. I am going to keep them inside as pets. What other things do you think i should put in their cage? Also i wanted to know how much space each of them need. Thanks!

 

[Doodle_Doo]

they are good in an about 20 gallon tank size confinment or something close to it..wood shavings work great temp is the same they will get as close to it or back off depending on how they are comfortable..do not keep a hard top to cover whatever you put them in..they tend to fly straight up when scared and can break their necks or injure the skull..the food will have to be crushed into small bite size that you see is perfect for them..a small shallow bowl for water with pebbles in is so they dont drown but not small enough for them to try and eat and choke..some hiding places would be great to prevent from flying up and make them feel secure and safe i have some stones and logs branches i find to make is look like outdoors but not to much stuff that they are crammed in their..

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

make sure yuo don't have a draft on them and use a high protein food source otherwise Doodle-Doo covered it.

 

[Slater1995]

Quote:
They need to be in a cage with ventalation. I raise quail and they are a lot of fun. We keep the babies in an aquarium until they are full grown (5-6 weeks) and then move them to a cage. Small animal cages such as for a hamster works great. the height should not be more than 12-14 as they can fly up and break their necks. They need to be on beding and not wire floor. You feed them a wild game bird feed and you can mix finch seed with it.

Keep in mind that these little birds are very fun to watch and listen to but usually can not be tamed. If you want to have one you can hold and tame, you would only want to get one bird as in pairs they are mates and they do not usually tame. You could have 3 or 4 button quail in a small hamster cage. (not the critter trail type cages) I am talking about the ones that have a plastic bottom and a cage top with 1 or two doors to open. For a water bottle we bought the pop bottle water kit. It is just a small plastic piece that fits on a 16-20oz pop or water bottle and it has a spring that helps secure it to the cage. We like these because the birds don't get in the water and make it all dirty. For feeders we bought just the plain little replacement feeders for a bird cage, they are not expensive and the quail seem to like them. You can also use a small rabit cage or guinea pig cage. You just need to make sure that the space between the bars is not more than 1 inch. The birds are very small and can get out pretty easy if the cage bars are two bit. My cage is a small rabbit cage and the bars are 1 in apart. That is all you really need. They do not perch as they are ground dwellers. I do put a little plastic box with bedding in mine, they sometimes lay their eggs in it and sometimes they sleep in it. But is is not necessary.

You really don't want to keep them in an aquarium for good as it does not get enough ventalation and the heat and moisture that builds up in it makes a perfect home for bacteria and other things that can be harmful to the birds.

Hope this helps.

 

[MotherMal13]

Thanks! I am pretty sure i know what i need to get now. Where can i get the caps to go on the water bottles though? Only 8 more days until the ones im getting are ready to go. They are coming to me as 2 week olds.

Im so excited!

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I get mine from Randall Burkey Company... Buck apiece.
http://www.randallburkey.com/PKG-12-UNIVERSAL-POP-BOTTLE/productinfo/4449/

David

 

[Slater1995]

Quote:
You can check with your local feed store before you have to order them so you dont have to pay shipping, I paid $1.50 each for mine at my feed store.