SableSteel
Well-known member
So I ended up buying some pied/tuxedo pied button quail... any tips for taking care of them?
Pied Button Quail
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Put lights on top of their cages. They have a tendency to bash their heads in spook flights but if there is a light up there whether it's a little 10w bulb in a desk lamp or an undercabinet fluorescent strip they tend not to. If you don't plan a full walk in coop/aviarium tanks with screen lids work best to contain bedding, flying feathers, and dust rather than attempting a wire sided and floored cage setup like for bigger quail but that can be done if you want to go that way. For cheap tops attach some screen door/window mesh to spring loaded curtain rods and wedge them on either edge in the tank and you can make tons of tops for tanks picked up free or petcos regularly do $1/gallon sales. They aren't the best escape artists. They love natural decor for keeping them calmer, more interesting, less destructive, etc... Occasionally with enough natural brush hiding places and such you can get them to hatch their own eggs but it's not something you should count on with any quail. Separate males asap. Which can be hard for certain colors but young males will get along fine and then all of a sudden one nice day they decide to beat the crap out of each other over the females. Same for any other groups you put together. Setup the breeding groups you want for life. If you want 1 male and 3 females to a cage but have 1 male and 2 females, just set up another cage. It's far less stress. Introing adult quail can easily lead to scalping and feather plucking again just some random day. You might walk in to find a button introduced after adult beyond saving when they were fine for 2months. It's one of the main reasons I quit keeping them. They can be so nasty to each other if you aren't careful and I could never mix and match the genes I wanted. If I wanted to work with a new gene I found in my flock I had to hatch several offspring and then butcher the adults for pet food to replace them with their offspring in the hopes I find the gene in them. If you are working with one color or don't care this is less of a problem.
Some of my button and coturnix hatches http://www.ustream.tv/channel/button-quail
My photobucket quail section http://smg.photobucket.com/user/aqh88/l ... t=3&page=1 note that ramps did not actually work out and the design had to be destroyed. The birds would just run back and forth ending up on the ramp sometimes and off the ramp sometimes without seeming to realize the difference so I had to setup in a way that caused them to accidentally achieve both often enough they came across the food and water when they felt they needed it.
Some of my button and coturnix hatches http://www.ustream.tv/channel/button-quail
My photobucket quail section http://smg.photobucket.com/user/aqh88/l ... t=3&page=1 note that ramps did not actually work out and the design had to be destroyed. The birds would just run back and forth ending up on the ramp sometimes and off the ramp sometimes without seeming to realize the difference so I had to setup in a way that caused them to accidentally achieve both often enough they came across the food and water when they felt they needed it.
SableSteel
Well-known member
What can I give them as treats?
The male I got seems very friendly, and he likes to take food from my hand as I hold him, but I want to make this an even more positive experience, more than just his normal food. I am keeping them with some pigeons (these quail I got are used to living with pigeons, and the pigeons I got are used to living with quail) in a 4' x 8' loft - right now they seem to barely notice each other. A few times the pigeons have accidentally stepped on the quails while chasing another pigeon. I only like the pied ones - I've looked at pictures of all the colors, and I like the wild-looking things, but I also like ones where each bird can look slightly difference, so pieds it is.
The male I got seems very friendly, and he likes to take food from my hand as I hold him, but I want to make this an even more positive experience, more than just his normal food. I am keeping them with some pigeons (these quail I got are used to living with pigeons, and the pigeons I got are used to living with quail) in a 4' x 8' loft - right now they seem to barely notice each other. A few times the pigeons have accidentally stepped on the quails while chasing another pigeon. I only like the pied ones - I've looked at pictures of all the colors, and I like the wild-looking things, but I also like ones where each bird can look slightly difference, so pieds it is.
Reptile foods pretty much all work for protein, especially live. Any of the mealworms, waxworms, butterworms, crickets, some places also sell tiny feeder roaches if you aren't opposed to such things. Small rinsed earthworms and caught insects you know are nontoxic and not exposed to toxins are fine. They won't eat japanese beetles. We tried. 
Just keep in mind what something turns into like waxworms will grow into a moth that flies off and destroys bee hives if not eaten. Butterworms are treated to prevent the moth form due to their destruction so we sometimes order bulk online in spring or fall when temps are mild depending what animals we have. Mealworms are "flour beetle" larvae that can be a pain if they pupate and escape. Although often you'll find these under your feed sacks already if any dampness gathers underneath. You can make bug sickles if you just pop them in a bag in the freezer and problem solved. There are also the dried mealworms. Some meat scraps but always watch the sodium content with birds so no cured meats usually. They'll eat some veggies most of the time. Soft sweet corn kernels, peas (might need shelled so there is only the soft center), and other small soft foods. Grains of course but keep the bird size in mind. Oat groats and sunflower hearts or meat instead of whole. Some run their grain mix or even gamebird crumbles through a coffee grinder to get the right size. Grit is necessary if you stray from chick starter or gamebird crumbles. They are kind of like feeding pigeons, really small chickens, and other soft bills but you want to push the protein all you can to shorten the seasonal break they take in laying and feather the chicks out the fastest. Many order lone star gamebird online because it's one of the highest protein feeds available. Way up at 28% for their highest formula. Nonmedicated chick starter can be used if necessary and they will survive fine. Hens sometimes take extended breaks in laying though.
Just keep in mind what something turns into like waxworms will grow into a moth that flies off and destroys bee hives if not eaten. Butterworms are treated to prevent the moth form due to their destruction so we sometimes order bulk online in spring or fall when temps are mild depending what animals we have. Mealworms are "flour beetle" larvae that can be a pain if they pupate and escape. Although often you'll find these under your feed sacks already if any dampness gathers underneath. You can make bug sickles if you just pop them in a bag in the freezer and problem solved. There are also the dried mealworms. Some meat scraps but always watch the sodium content with birds so no cured meats usually. They'll eat some veggies most of the time. Soft sweet corn kernels, peas (might need shelled so there is only the soft center), and other small soft foods. Grains of course but keep the bird size in mind. Oat groats and sunflower hearts or meat instead of whole. Some run their grain mix or even gamebird crumbles through a coffee grinder to get the right size. Grit is necessary if you stray from chick starter or gamebird crumbles. They are kind of like feeding pigeons, really small chickens, and other soft bills but you want to push the protein all you can to shorten the seasonal break they take in laying and feather the chicks out the fastest. Many order lone star gamebird online because it's one of the highest protein feeds available. Way up at 28% for their highest formula. Nonmedicated chick starter can be used if necessary and they will survive fine. Hens sometimes take extended breaks in laying though.
