Button Quail!

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tamnjo

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Location
, British Columbia, Canada
I am thinking about getting some Button Quail, but I need some help. I still not very clear about their diet, like, minerals, vitamins, seeds, cuttlebone ect. And the best brands? Can anyone help me? Information on toys, housing, incubating ect. would be greatly appreaciated. Thanks everyone!

Here's some Button Quail. They are quite small.

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I'll post a pic of the set up I have as soon as possible.:brownbunny


 
hmmmm.... I know pretty much nothing. But I'll see if I can find any good sites.

But I have to say they are CUTE!!!! :p
 
Wow! Thanks guys! I will write the info down in a notebook. Then I'll try to convince my parents!:biggrin2:I decided I'd rather have an already hatched chick. Here's a pic of the set upI have.

Frontal View

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Top View

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Thanks again:brownbunny
 
I think they are so cute at the Butterfly House, where they work as a cleanup crew. :)
 
I know.:biggrin2:

I changed the cage a bit. I took out the really small food dish and replaced it with a larger one for food.I was reacerching them and I cleared up the food bit. I decided that I don't really want to hatch them. It's way to hard, I would rather an already hatched chick or an adult.:brownbunny
 
Wow it looks great!!! Although you might want to get more then one, I know that a lot of fowl need to live in groups. But I think you could get away with 2.
 
Thanks!:biggrin2:

I'm still working on my parents for one! But I comprimised and I said "How about after I get back from Mauii" and my dad smiled and walked away. That's a good sign but then I have to wait four months. But I guess that's a good thing because I have to save all my money for Mauii so I don't have any extra money for the food.

Andit also gives me something to look forword to!:brownbunny
 
I have buttons; they're really cute, always active and cheery. I would recommend you get at least two, though, they are very social birds. From the pictures of your cage, I would suggest you put some smaller wire (1/2 inch hardware cloth is good) on the cage. Buttons are very small and it looks like they could get their heads caught in wire that size. Another thing you need to be aware of is that buttons do fly straight up when something startles them, and they can go a good 5 feet up, but they tire fast after that.

As far as feeding them goes, I give mine chick crumble and ground oyster shell (the kind you find in feed stores, smashed further) for calcium. For other stuff, they'll eat most things that a chicken would eat: lettuce, bird seed, etc. They also love to pick at melon rinds. they are, for the most part, like really tiny chickens, right down to the sounds they make.

When you do get them, I would advise you hatch them yourself. newborn button quail chicks are about the size of a bumblebee and are very, very fragile. I don't know how well they would travel. They are quite easy to incubate, have the same incubating temprature as chickens (101 degrees (F) still-air, 99.5 degrees (F) forced-air), and take about 15 or 16 days to incubate. The experience of hatching and raising buttons can be educational and enjoyable.

Good luck!

Greta and the gang
 
Wow thanks! Would you mind giving me some more info on incubating?

I was thinking about the "boink factor" and im going to put a towel or something on the top. Oh and if it's not to much trouble, would you posting pics of your set-ups? It would really help me out.Thanks again:brownbunny
 
Oh man, why did you post this?? I totally want a pair now! Those are the cutest little birds ever. If you get some, be sure to post lots of pictures. Good thing they aren't available up here!

~Diana
 
lol! I know arn't they just the cutest things you've ever seen?

They are very small, they fit into your hands, they are about 4" long.

And when they are just hatched they are about the size of a bumble bee!:brownbunny
 
Sometimes you can get young ones at an auction or from a breeder. I would feed them gamebird mix instead of chick crumbles, but they aren't hard to keep. What ever you can get in your area will work. Give them ground up oyster shells too. They can get to be quite tame as well. I was playing with a whole bunch of them today. So cute. I'm going to be getting some of them, and some Peafowl in the future. You definately need two if you are getting them. One will be lost in that space.

Oh and they are easy to hatch, I know a guy who regularly hatches 300 at a time. He eats them though...... I couldn't do that, they are so cute. Lay pretty good sized eggs (for their body size) that you can eat as well. The eggs are about the size of white oak acorns.
 
Hmm, quail are one type of poultry I have not had. I know that even the "regular" quail are really tiny, they look really fragile to me. They are definalty adorable, though. I agree with Greta, I would either hatch them yourself or buy adults and mabye hatch eggs from them. Even chicks can be hard to "get right" the first time you have them, and I would think these teensies would be more fragile than chicks.
 
I would want to hatch them as well. I was just worried I wouldn't be able to. Do you know how to incubate them? I know how to build and incubator, but I was just wondering if you could under a heating lamp, somehow. Thanks every one for helping, and keep the info coming:biggrin2:lol:brownbunny
 
Here are some pictures of my quail house. OK, and some of my quail when they were little, too. I just couldn't resist!

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Age approx. 1 1/2 months


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Size reference: the blue thing you see is the lid from a yogurt cup


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Here, they're about a week old (and a bit bigger than when they first hatch). The strands in the lower right hand corner are rug yarn (to snuggle in)
 

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