My Button Quail

lilac fawn dwarf hamster

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My Button Quail:

No longer raising button quail currently. Page is for informational purposes only. I cannot offer any button quail or eggs at this time.

4/19/05

Click each image below to see a larger picture.


See some of the button quail I have hatched from eggs: Group picture Picture of Two males: Silver red breasted and Blue face Two hens with eggs Two more males: White and red breasted males Red breasted male and Silver female Silver and silver red breast pair of button quail		Button quail eggs are very tiny! The coin next to this egg is a dime.	This baby button quail is only a few hours old and is about the size of a bumble bee.	Red breasted male button quail.

Button Quail A few months ago, I traded a few hamsters for a pair of Button Quail. I find them to be very interesting birds. They are not cuddly like my cockatiels or other parrot type birds but they are really cute all the same. The male makes a sort of "pew, pew, pew" call that is not very loud or annoying. Button quail are about the size of a large Easter chicken chick at adult size! Their eggs are very small and newly hatched chicks are said to be the size of a bumble bee! (see below for a picture of a button egg next to a dime). When I decided to get the pair of Button Quail, I had to decide how to house them. Button quail have some unique requirements. Button Quail do not perch. Their feet are not made for it and they spend all the time on the ground. They have a fear response in which they fly straight up about 6 to 8 feet. For this reason a traditional solid wire or topped cage will not work because the birds will get a lovely concussion the first time they panic. They are not like hook-billed birds in that they require grit (read sand or small gravel) to digest their food. To keep female buttons healthy, they MUST have a good source of calcium so that they do not take the calcium from their bones to lay eggs! Choice of cage bedding is important because the waste the buttons produce will stick to their toes and harden if the bedding is not absorbent. They need a shallow clean source of water (no easy feat to offer, I soon discovered!) I did not have much of money at the time and managed to construct an aviary for them that met the above needs. I took a plastic kiddie pool that was about 3.5 feet in diameter and melted holes in even increments around the top edge. I then bought some plastic lawn netting for about $10 and used nylon ties to secure it until it formed a 3.5 foot high circle. I then fastened soft and flexible netting across the top using nylon ties. I then cut a door in it. This is probably my short fall because it is a pain to get into and if I make another some design improvements will be done. This is how I am currently keeping my button quail: In the kiddie pool aviary with a ribbon fastening the door shut (this has to be done well because one of my cats loves to hang out around the cage...she has no preference for birds but likes watching them or anything that moves). I have 3 small clay and plastic saucers in the enclosure that hold grit, oyster shell (calcium for the females) and game bird crumble. Bedding is about 2 inches of aspen shavings that I shovel out whenever it seems dirty or wet. I had an awful time giving these guys water! They either kicked or tipped every container I tried or kicked bedding into it until it drained into the aviary. My solution was to take a larger heavy clay saucer, turn it upside down and use non-toxic sealant to glue the bottom of the water dispenser to the saucer. It cannot be tipped now and is about an inch or two off the ground which keeps the birds from kicking bedding in it. It is sort of a pain to change because I have to turn the saucer and water dispenser upside down to fill it...next time I will use a smaller saucer as this one is around 12 inches. The buttons have no problem hopping up on it to drink. (Note: If you ever have baby buttons use a really shallow jar lid with marbles in it because they will get very ill if wet and can drowned in a really small amount of water.

These button quail babies hatched on 7/13/04 and were only hours old in the pictures. They are next to a dime for size comparison.
Basic egg hatching and new chick care info: You need an incubator that will maintain the temperature at 99.5 degrees Eggs must be turned (rolled from one side to the other) 2 times a day minimum Humidity should be at 60% for best hatch rate Stop turning the eggs on the evening of the 14th day (chicks will start positioning themselves to hatch and if you keep turning the eggs they may be unable to hatch properly or at all. Eggs should start hatching on the 16th day if the temperature was kept fairly constant. If the temperature was a bit low or fluctuated, the eggs may take a few days longer to hatch so do not throw them out if the do not hatch exactly on the day you expected. Remove newly hatched chicks from the incubator once they are dry. Place them in a 10 gallon aquarium with rubber shelf liner on the bottom (this will prevent splayed legs). Sprinkle finely ground game bird starter directly on the liner and place a milk cap or other small lid in the container for water. Add marbles to the lid before filling with water (this keeps the babies from drowning as they will fall in the water Tap your finger near the food and water until you see the chicks eat and drink. Their mother would normally show them how do do this and they do not come out of the food knowing what is food and what is water automatically. Place a lamp over the 10 gallon tank that will keep it at 90 degrees Offer a small sock or stuffed animal for the babies to crawl under. This makes them feel secure and will help them retain the warmth they need Make sure to put a cover over the aquarium once you see the babies developing feathers. They can fly at around 2 weeks of age and if they fly out...it is difficult if impossible to find these little chicks. Slowly wean the babies off of the heat lamp once they are fully feathered until they no longer require it.
The kiddie pool aviary I made for my first pair of button quail.