male button quail calling at night

tt101 · Post by **tt101** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:52 pm

hey everyone,
i went to petsmart the other day and happened to find a white male button quail and i never buy from petstores but i felt so bad for the guy and quails are no longer on their order list so i won't be supporting them. the only issue im having is that even though i covered the cage he still calls at night and it is a very loud call and everyone at home is getting very irritated with me. i dont know what to do anymore, the sheet i have on the cage is not very heavy so its possible that a little bit of light is still reaching the cage from the street lights outside, could that be the issue? is it possible that he is calling for a mate?, the only issue with that is that when i got him from petsmart he was alone so i don't really see that being the case. i want to get him a mate but i don't think i will be allowed to due to the noise

Rayray · Post by **Rayray** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:22 pm

he's lonely , he's calling for fems

jls7453 · Post by **jls7453** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:14 pm

He's calling for a mate. Get him TWO hens so he don't chase just one. Even when paired up,they will both call out at times. He won't stop calling if he is alone.

tt101 · Post by **tt101** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:38 pm

yeah i thought so, i was originally buying a hen from a different petsmart and she was missing some feathers on her wings so they put her inside and are waiting for an avian vet to see her. i really don't mind the calling during the day, i think its adorable but at night it is really loud and makes it difficult to keep him, i moved him into my room in the basement and i'll cover him with a heavy dark sheet tonight and hope for the best, if i can get one night of silence then my parents will have no problems with me getting him a mate when she's all healed up.

Rayray · Post by **Rayray** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:54 pm

if the space is to small he will chase the hen all day , sometimes she dies , i've seen plenty hens end up bleeding bad and had to taken outa the aviary or big cages !!! like JLS7453 said you need atleast 2-4 hens

Ursula · Post by **Ursula** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:38 pm

Button quail live in pairs and not in groups in the wild. I would get only 1 female. And I agree with the others, he's lonely.

tt101 · Post by **tt101** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:02 pm

thats what i was thinking too, button quails are not harem breeders {1 male to multiple females} and they form a bond with a single female so why would they need many, i think that could cause complications later on. i also understand that in the wild they have way more space then what we provide at home so you have to take that into account. this male is really cute and relaxed and calm so i will try one female but if i find that he is chasing her constantly i will get some more.
thanks for the help guys

Mozelle · Post by **Mozelle** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:40 pm

Hi Talal,
Button Quails are so incredibly CUTE! I loved mine, but had to downsize some of my birds. I believe you've got the right advice already, and I see you're from Edmonton (I'm in the Park

. There are a few breeders in and around our area, one in particular from Wetaskawin comes to mind. I also believe there should be a poultry show coming up in Wetaskiwin and I believe this lady shows there. At any rate, check Kijiji, there are Often BQ's on there. You're boy Will still call, there's no geting around that, but it should be less with a hen.
If I can find this ladies info I will get it to you. But try Kijiji, and DO quarantine just as you would any other bird. You should do just fine

jls7453 · Post by **jls7453** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:31 am

tt101 wrote:thats what i was thinking too, button quails are not harem breeders {1 male to multiple females} and they form a bond with a single female so why would they need many, i think that could cause complications later on. i also understand that in the wild they have way more space then what we provide at home so you have to take that into account. this male is really cute and relaxed and calm so i will try one female but if i find that he is chasing her constantly i will get some more.
thanks for the help guys

Thats correct. They are not "Harem Breeders" But with just one hen,he will chase he constantly and peck at her feathers on her head,neck,back and lower back. With two hens,he will mellow out a little.
If you need to replace a mate,it will depend largely on the remaining mate. Some birds will easily accept a new mate. Others,however might hold out hope that their original mate will return,making it dificult to introduce your new mate.After a loss of a mate(as you described) the remaining mate often call repeatedly in a attempt to give the lost mate directions in finding its way home.
Get a few hens and place them in a cage next to him for a few days.
When he starts to show interest,you can then put them together in the same cage.
Keep an eye on them in case trouble starts. If so,seperate them for a few more days,then try again.
I've had several pairs in different cages,and if a cock was lost, I would put his hen in with my other pairs. Haven't had much success with them raising their own clutch,but with a incubator and brooder and some TLC,I can keep my local 4H and FFA with some great birds.
I enjoy raising them and giving them away...............just to help my fellow bird lovers.
This in in between trying to breed my Gouldians,Owls,Stars,RCCB!
Plus my Socities and ................my Button Quail.
Hope this helps.

PrettyBird · Post by **PrettyBird** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:16 pm

Good to see you again Talal

Congrats on the new button. Are you going to get a mate?

Hows everything with your gouldians? Did the eggs hatch??

G8love4finches · Post by **G8love4finches** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:23 pm

My males were doing exactly the same thing, calling all night....I got a female for each of them and the calling stopped immediately!.....Good luck!

tt101 · Post by **tt101** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:38 pm

Mozelle wrote:Hi Talal,
Button Quails are so incredibly CUTE! I loved mine, but had to downsize some of my birds. I believe you've got the right advice already, and I see you're from Edmonton (I'm in the Park . There are a few breeders in and around our area, one in particular from Wetaskawin comes to mind. I also believe there should be a poultry show coming up in Wetaskiwin and I believe this lady shows there. At any rate, check Kijiji, there are Often BQ's on there. You're boy Will still call, there's no geting around that, but it should be less with a hen.
If I can find this ladies info I will get it to you. But try Kijiji, and DO quarantine just as you would any other bird. You should do just fine

i agree that they are so incredibly cute and entertaining, and yup i am in the park aswekl lol, i know the breeder your talking about and i was originally buying from her but it is really difficult for me to get out to weteskawin since i live in north edmonton and i don't personally drive so finding someone to drive me 2 hours to weteskawin was difficult so i had to look here in town first. what do you mean will still call?, like he will still call at night even with a female? i don't mind calling in the day but it's the night calls that are really bothersome.

jls7453 wrote: Thats correct. They are not "Harem Breeders" But with just one hen,he will chase he constantly and peck at her feathers on her head,neck,back and lower back. With two hens,he will mellow out a little.
If you need to replace a mate,it will depend largely on the remaining mate. Some birds will easily accept a new mate. Others,however might hold out hope that their original mate will return,making it dificult to introduce your new mate.After a loss of a mate(as you described) the remaining mate often call repeatedly in a attempt to give the lost mate directions in finding its way home.
Get a few hens and place them in a cage next to him for a few days.
When he starts to show interest,you can then put them together in the same cage.
Keep an eye on them in case trouble starts. If so,seperate them for a few more days,then try again.
I've had several pairs in different cages,and if a cock was lost, I would put his hen in with my other pairs. Haven't had much success with them raising their own clutch,but with a incubator and brooder and some TLC,I can keep my local 4H and FFA with some great birds.
I enjoy raising them and giving them away...............just to help my fellow bird lovers.
This in in between trying to breed my Gouldians,Owls,Stars,RCCB!
Plus my Socities and ................my Button Quail.
Hope this helps.

wow you have quite the breeding going on

, i agree with you that getting multiple females would help my situation because it spreads out his eagerness

. my male has never had a mate so he is not dealing with a loss of mate or loss of mate issues. the petsmarts here carry either males or females in their stores but not both so i didn't seperate him from a mate which is why im so surprised that he is calling so much for a mate. im just worried that if i get him a mate or mates he will continue to call at night and i would end up stuck with 2 or more calling buttons as opposed to one. last night he made such a ruccous {if thats how its spelled}that i had to pull him out of the cage and put him in the box i got him in for the night and thankfully he did stop calling but i felt so bad for him and my finches went into a night fright which gave me a night fright and i went to bed stressed and feeling guilty for my finches and the button. i just wish i knew what i was getting into when i went to adopt him. i did my research but NOWHERE on the button quail sites does it say a male will call at night if he has no mate and the volume of my males call is rediculous.

PrettyBird wrote:Good to see you again Talal
Congrats on the new button. Are you going to get a mate?

Hows everything with your gouldians? Did the eggs hatch??

hey,
nice to see you again aswell. i missed you guys but a new job and school doesnt leave much time for the computer.i want to get him a mate but im having a dilemma because my mom doesn't think that a mate would help him to stop calling {and to be honest im not so convinced either} so im juggling between getting him a mate and just returning him so that i can stop having arguments with my mom about the noise. my gouldians are doing well, their feather quality is stunning, i dont know what it is but the males and females colors are spectacular, unfortunately their eggs did not hatch and are not viable, instead of taking away their eggs this time i decided instead to just keep them there and let them get bored of them.

G8love4finches wrote:My males were doing exactly the same thing, calling all night....I got a female for each of them and the calling stopped immediately!.....Good luck!

are you sure that getting him a mate would help in my case?, sorry everyone im not trying to sound rude or saying your advice is not true or good but honestly im kind of trapped between a rock and a rock and another rock. on one hand i could disobey my mom and get him a mate which might still not work, on the other hand i can just return him but i would feel so guilty for it and on the third hand {yeah 3 hands} i could get him a mate and they may both still call anyway.
is it worth a try to get him a mate and see, do your buttons ever call at night anymore now that they have mates?

thanks for all the advice guys

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male button quail calling at night

male button quail calling at night

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