Button Quail

[terrylt7]

Does anyone have button quail in with their finches? I am thinking I would like a couple. Do anyone know of a breeder in Maryland or Virginia? Thanks

Terry from Md

[Ursula]

Yes, I do keep button quail with the finches, in a walk-in aviary.

See also another recent post where I posted links to BQ sites: http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 07&start=0

A pair (male/female or 2 females) is actually the ideal setup for them.

I never had any agression problems of buttons against finches, but mine have a lot of space. Do you have a cage or a flight or an aviary for your finches?

[Pukasand]

I had mine in with my finches also. Wonderful little birds. Cute as 'buttons' and very passive. Fun to watch and breed.

[Hilary]

I also keep them in the bottom of my taller cages (36"). They've never shown aggression toward finches, but the one time I didn't pull fertile eggs from under the hen they killed most of the hatchlings. The ones that survived did so by squeezing out between the bars. Since the hens love to nest I pull the eggs now and replace them with duds from single hens (marked with a big "X" so I can identify the "safe" ones).

[BillD]

Yes, I do keep button quail with the finches, in a walk-in aviary.

See also another recent post where I posted links to BQ sites: http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 07&start=0

A pair (male/female or 2 females) is actually the ideal setup for them.

I never had any agression problems of buttons against finches, but mine have a lot of space. Do you have a cage or a flight or an aviary for your finches?

Thanks Ursula..

Some people say they are 'stinky'. I have no experience with them, but I am interested.

[Hilary]

They do require some maintenance in a cage setting. I have to check feet periodically for "poop balls" on their toes. Still haven't figured out a bedding that will avoid that problem in a cage....

[Ursula]

Yes, I think they need more cleaning than other birds if kept in cages and can get stuff stuck to their toes. They like veggies and need gamebird crumbles as diet, maybe that makes their digestion different from birds eating mostly seeds. However, in my aviary I never had toe problems and I am not sure if they make it more smelly or not. I need to clean regularly anyway. Btw: I use a thick layer of aspen shavings as bedding.

I like my buttons, they are very cute birds and have a nice crowing call. Of course, I've heard complaints about their call too, that people say they crow constantly during the night. But again, these are buttons that are kept in small cages, maybe alone by themselves, so they feel lonely. And in a small apartment with thin walls that might not be popular with the neighbors. Mine hardly ever crow after lights out.

The buttons also keep my aviary cleaner, they love to hunt insects and eat most of the seeds and mealworms dropped to the floor by the finches.

The only problem that I have is that I might step into "something" when I go into my aviary... (Which I only do with bare feet anyway, so washing it off is not a real problem...)

I have 5 buttons now. I started out with 2 pairs and let them breed once. Combined they had 8 babies, luckily at almost the same time, they hatched only a couple days apart. I kept the males with the females and they were good fathers. (I've read that sometimes the males can harm the babies. Mine took part in raising them.) I gave away a few of the young ones, and a couple died, and I ended up with the 2 original females, 2 original males, and 2 male offspring. The 4 males were constantly chasing one of the females around so I had to end up separating her. I put a large cage on the floor in the aviary (my original finch cage) so she can see the others. They hang out a lot right next to her cage and sleep there too, so she's not really lonely, just protected. I tried once to re-introduce her but that ended in a chase right away and she's now permanently in that cage. The second female was fine with the 4 males for some reason. (Maybe less attractive to them? ) However, she died a couple months ago. I'm not sure why but she could have been eggbound. Now I have the 4 males left and the 1 female in the cage. The males get along fine in that setup. I have lots of hiding spaces (fake ivy, planters, etc) so they can get away from each other if need be.

I've read that in the wild they hang out mostly in pairs. They are NOT social like chickens and don't have a "harem lifestyle" where one male hangs out with several females. So pairing them up is best.

Here are links to a couple of pictures of the babies:

http://picasaweb.google.com/udmoran/MyA ... 7829226978

http://picasaweb.google.com/udmoran/MyA ... 9145553186

[Hilary]

Cute pics! Ursula makes a good point - you can't just feed them birdseed. I also feed gamebird crumbles (Purina, the unmedicated kind). That means buying a 50 lb bag (unless somebody has found smaller bags?), but I just divide it between ziplocks and it lasts forever even with 8 quail.

[Ursula]

I buy smaller quantities on the internet. (My freezer isn't big enough for 50 pounds of crumbles... )

[Pukasand]

I bought my crumble on eBay. It was fairly reasonably priced. I originally bought a pair I saw at a local pet store. I felt sorry for the male because they had him in a small cage with a dominant female that had plucked all the feathers from his back and neck. He was a blue-gray color. The female I bought was a young white one from another batch. Sadly, the female 'boinked' and broke her neck. They can't fly, but they do jump very high occasionally, 'boinking', when they're excited or startled. He called for her incessantly and I couldn't find another one, so I bought eggs on eBay and hatched them in my incubator. Only 2 females from the dozen eggs I got hatched.. but they were lovely. One was a silver color while the other was dark brown with white wing tips. I found out from a breeder that the male I rescued from the pet store was a rare 'lavender frizzle'. When the females were less than 2 weeks old, they jumped out of a sceen covered 10 gal. aquarium. I decided to put them in large flight with the other birds to see how they'd fare. You know, I could not believe it, within 10 minutes they had both cuddled up to the male and he, literally, took one of them under each wing. A rare, heart-warming moment. They had contact with their own kind.. as he did, also. The three lived very happily until about 2 weeks ago, when they started to get a bit pushy with the silver female. I gave the three of them to a breeder who has a huge outdoor aviary. She had a 'buddy' for the silver female, and a big secluded area for the other two. She put the 14 eggs the two females had laid into her incubator and they should be hatching anyday now. I am curious to see what the colors will be. Even though I knpw the color of the parents, I don't know what other genes they carry. The little frizzle male is a beauty. Sigh, long story short, very nice little birds, I just didn't feel they were comfortable in the setting I had for them.

[Ursula]

Just a question: Why did you not keep the pair that got along well and give away only the silver female?

[Pukasand]

Because I felt they needed more space. I lost the first little female, then had so many of the eggs not hatch out of the dozen I bought, that it was a bit depressing. I just don't think I made them 'happy'. I know that sound ridiculous, but they are living things, and I try to do all the best for my 'creatures'. If/when I get to have a big outdoor aviary, I would definately consider getting more.

[terrylt7]

Thanks for all the info on the Button Quail.
Ursula those pictures are adorable and also thanks for the webpages. I am gonna read up on them.
Hilary so you breed these cute little things?
They remind me of little chickens my grandfather used to have on the farm when I was a kid.
Again, thanks.

Terry in Maryland

[Hilary]

I used to breed them, but stopped since I never knew if I'd get a dozen quail from a dozen eggs or just one or two, and I never knew when I'd find homes for all of them. I always used an egg incubator and a nursery for them, and they are just the cutest things you can imagine!

[atarasi]

I bought an incubator and I've seen button quail eggs on ebay. I've thought about hatching some eggs, but that's the problem....what do I do with them when they hatch?!
I've never seen them in any pet stores although I think they would sell out quickly. Who could resist them?!