Button quail enclosure

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Zebra
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Button quail enclosure

Post by Zebra » Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:33 pm

Are those rabbit cages with large plastic bin at the bottom suitable for Button quails? will the small hatchlings be able to jump/climb from the bin the cage wires above?

Dave
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Re: Button quail enclosure

Post by Dave » Sat Aug 20, 2016 1:17 pm

Wire with 1/2" spacing works. Most rabbit cages have larger wire spaces than that.

Have a solid top (even a piece of cardboard over the inside of the wire). These birds fly straight up, like little feathered rockets, when they get disturbed. They can just about strain themselves through a wire top if it is close to the floor of the cage.

One pair to one cage---extra birds in a cage will start fights.
Dave

Campbellsville, Kentucky, USA
Canaries

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Zebra
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Re: Button quail enclosure

Post by Zebra » Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:36 am

I think the wire space is 1" and the dimension are 40"x21"x16" high. like this oneImage
I will keep 1 pair or 1 cock and 2 hens max, if I ever had chicks then I guess they need their own escape proof pace.

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Re: Button quail enclosure

Post by Dave » Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:51 pm

Hi Zebra,

for Button Quail, 1" is too large. 1" x 1/2" is OK.

I'm assuming you mean the bird we commonly call 'Button Quail', Excalfactoria chinensis, also known as the Chinese Blue Breasted Quail.

I also warn about more than 1 pair per cage. The third bird will have feathers picked and eventually blood will be drawn.
Dave

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Re: Button quail enclosure

Post by Zebra » Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:30 pm

I thought only young chicks can escape between the wires, I also read online that 1/2" wire spacing could result the head of fully grown button quails to get stuck.
The birds you mentioned are the same ones I am talking about, I guess aviaries are more suitable then.

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Re: Button quail enclosure

Post by Paul's Amazing Birds » Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:20 am

Mine actually like a larger space and a solid floor best. I used 1/2 inch welded wire for the side walls painted black. They love a good dust bath in diatomaceous earth and always like to play and explore (and hide) in the brushy areas of the aviary. They also like to stretch out in the full sunlight.

If I were to raise button quail in a smaller space, I would try to make it as natural a habitat for them as possible with several places for the hens to hide and nest. A sandy floor of maybe 2" deep can be sifted once in a while or just replaced with fresh sand. A female can lay up to 200 eggs per year so you should be prepared to pull the eggs and let her set up in a secluded spot with no more than 6 or 8 eggs. They like all kinds of fresh veggies, seeds, bugs and egg food - and they particularly like fresh worms from the garden or compost.
My buttons seem to enjoy mating all the time and they actually manage to raise a few very cute natural clutches once in a while. Since they lay eggs all over the place, my best luck with hatching BQ eggs has always been with an incubator and a brooder. All the extra eggs get collected and cooked up as egg food for all the others.
Best of Luck,
Paul
Favorite hobby is continuing to improve on a landscaped, weather protected, 500 sq ft mixed aviary with 23 fascinating species. 30 years in the making; currently have
19 different Finch species, 2 types of Doves, plus 23 Button Quail and 30 pair of clear Red Factor Canaries.

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