Which Quail For Me?

[CityBoyCA]

So i'm only 14, but I am really interested in Hatching Quail. But I live just outside of Vancouver is that an ok climate for qual outside? I would prefer a coturnix but i have heard they smell really bad. If the climate is not ok for them i can keep them inside. So should i get coturnix or button? i will probably only have 2 or 3. I would prefer a coturnix because the eggs are better eating. I would be keeping them as pets and most eggs for food. What are your thoughts?

 

[lisameow]

I think button quails would be better for you because you want to keep them for pets. You can still eat their eggs and they would make less waste and use less resources than coturnix quail because they are so much smaller and they would need a smaller cage. You keep them outside in winter if you want to cover there whole cage in a tarpaulin and give them a heat lamp or something. Even then, it would be much better to keep them inside and just clean out their cage more often to make sure they don't smell.

 

[lisameow]

I think button quails would be better for you because you want to keep them for pets. You can still eat their eggs and they would make less waste and use less resources than coturnix quail because they are so much smaller and they would need a smaller cage. You keep them outside in winter if you want to cover there whole cage in a tarpaulin and give them a heat lamp or something. Even then, it would be much better to keep them inside and just clean out their cage more often to make sure they don't smell.

 

[CityBoyCA]

ok Thank you for the info. Do they need another bird with them or will it be ok if i only have one or do i need 2 min?

 

[lisameow]

Yes get a pair so that they can keep eachother company. When you get them, introduce them to the cage at the same time so they both feel like it's their home and not that one is dominant over the other one. It's best to get two females or a male and a female. You can get two males but they might fight if they were kept with females before you got them. You can keep one alone but it would probably get lonely since you can't stay with it all day and you would need to buy one that's been hand raised since a baby so that it would enjoy being held. If you want to do that, make sure you get a female because males that are alone will apparently crow non stop.

 

[CityBoyCA]

OK well im planing on trying to Hatch them from egg. so i will try for 2. What is the normal success rate for first timers?

 

[DK newbie]

Not very high, I'm afraid. I have never hatched anything myself, but from reading this forum many first timers have problems. One of yours would most likely be that since you want only two chicks you'd go for one of the small, cheap incubators and those tend to have trouble keeping the temp steady. You'd also need an extra thermometer and hydrometer to make sure the built in ones aren't way off. If there even is a built in hydrometer.
However I'd actually suggest coturnix since you want pets. Two female coturnix can live happily together and they are easier to tame than buttons. Buttons can be tamed, but it requires that you spend hours doing so every day from they hatch till they grow up.
Keep in mind that statistically speaking you'd ned 4 eggs to get 2 females, but you could be unlucky and get 4 males - if all 4 eggs hatch. So I'd go for 10 eggs. With a 50 % hatch rate that would give you a decent chance of getting 2 females - but to achieve a 50 % hatch rate you do need to have both good eggs, a decent incubator and to do everything right.

 

[jimbo1989]

Coturnix aren't smelly

I have a few in my room and make great pets .i let my male fall asleep in my sweater pockets lol .i also have a one female snowflake bobwhite and boy does she stink compared to coturnix my coturnix lady

 

[CityBoyCA]

How often do you clean you coturnixs cage? Arnt there droppings extremely high in front ammonia ? And I have found a local seller and I think I'll just buy pair.

 

[DK newbie]

You shouldn't keep coturnix in pairs, unless you have a very large, planted aviary for them. There is a very high risk the male will over breed the female. It's usually recommended to have 4-7 females for a male. Buttons can usually be kept in pairs, but as mentioned they are hard to tame properly. You can get them to eat from your hand pretty easily, but actually letting you touch them is a completely different story.