Quail Questions

[Chlo]

After deciding not to get a parrot type bird and forgetting about the whole idea, I was just looking at a bird book and though, why not get a King quail?
Ive looked up heaps of info on Google but am still confused about how big a house they would need and also would it be a cage or avery?
Also is it ok just to have one or would it get lonely?
Dose anyone on here have one?
I really want to find the right type of bird for me or I wont get one at all.
Thanks!!

[WhiteRaven]

I currently have 6 King quails (also called Chinese Painted quails and "button" quails), and have owned quails for about 10 years. :)

They can be kept in either a cage or aviary. They are ground birds and don't perch. They need room to run around so the bigger space you have, the better. Cages should have a soft top put on if possible because quails 'popcorn' (fly straight up) when frightened and can hurt themselves.

They do get lonely and should be kept with other quails. Select your quails with care. Of all the bird species I've owned, quails are by far the most vicious towards each other. The safest way to go is to either keep just one gender together or ONE male with females. This is most cases stops serious fighting although some quails tend to pluck at each other.

These birds are usually not considered to be companion birds and you can't really tame them if you get them as adults. However they can become trusting enough to eat out of your hand. You can have tame quail if you raise them as babies (they feed themselves from day one, so are much easier to raise then say, a parrot).

Setting up their cages or aviary is a lot of fun because you can put in little hiding places for them and things for them to explore. :) They can be fed a diet of seed, pellets, fruit and veges and unlike parrots they accept these foods readily.

If you do get a male and female(s), be aware that while females more often than not show no interest in sitting on eggs, once you get one that does, they breed like rabbits. But gosh... the babies are cute. Think little fluffy chickens... with the head the size of your thumbnail.

If you have any questions about quails, let me know. :D Here is the best King quail website I know: Button Quail Home Page

[WhiteRaven]

As far as finding the right bird species for you, what are you looking for in a bird?

Do you want one that will play with you and perch on you or do you want one that is more for observing from a distance?

What noise level can you and the people in your house handle (birds come in different noise levels)?
Do you want a bird that is cuddly, playful, intelligent, laid back, has the ability to talk, ease of training, or a combo of any of these?
Are you looking for a small, medium, or large bird?
How much time can you dedicate to the bird?

If you know the answer to any of these, then perhaps we can help you in choosing the right species. :)

Also, if you don't want a parrot, but want a bird that can be tamed, never bites, is docile and VERY easy to tame (they almost come tamed), have you considered a ringneck dove?

[Chlo]

Thanks, I'm having a really good think about it now. I think I would want a bird that is hand reared.
hmmm Im not sure....

Thanks heaps again.

[Debjw]

I am brand new to the bird world. A friend offered me an aviary, it was a smallish one - 1.5 m long x 1 m wide. I got two budgies and a 'pair of quails' - hmmmm (mistake number 1) - after a little research I found out my pair were actually 2 males. (both have the white bib) so my dearest husband said he would build me a larger aviary to accomodate two females. We now have a 3m long x 2 m wide x 2 m high aviary. so i rushed out and got my boys a female each (yes - mistake number 2) - the boys who loved each other before - now take turns in being the ruler of the girls, the girls then turned on the boys and chased them . Now the one has both girls. I am totally confused by the different behaviour all day long. sometimes the boys sit together. sometimes one male with both females - last night all four with in 30 cms of each other and this morning - one boy is banned from the group. Do i get more females? or do i have to *sob* get rid of one boy? I am soooooo confused by the different groups happening through out the day. HELP please - 'loving my quails' Deb

[The Boy With The Birds]

Chlo:
If your looknig into a quail, there is one species that can readily be tamed and make fantastic pets. Japanese quail are a bit bulkier than king quail, but have small wings and are a very meaty bird. As whiteraven said, popcorning is not a problem with this species as they cant fly as there a bit fat. i have sold various adult birds to young kids who are very happy with them, as they let you hold and snuggle them and there up for a little rough behaviour (by kids) a ferret cage indoors or a rabbit-hutch out doors would be perfect for two females. These birds are the species you eat, of course i dont eat my birds, but two females can lay up to 200 eggs each in a season. These eggs are considered a delicasy and with two females obviously eggs are infertile, and its just like a mini-hen...
i also agree with white-raven too say ringneck doves also make very interesting pets.
yet again if your after something handreared its another story.


Debjw:
I

[The Boy With The Birds]

**Debjw:
its a sad fact to say that oyu will to get rid of one of the beloved males, shore u could by more hens, but the fighting wont stop.

Zac.

[WhiteRaven]

Originally Posted by Debjw

I am brand new to the bird world. A friend offered me an aviary, it was a smallish one - 1.5 m long x 1 m wide. I got two budgies and a 'pair of quails' - hmmmm (mistake number 1) - after a little research I found out my pair were actually 2 males. (both have the white bib) so my dearest husband said he would build me a larger aviary to accomodate two females. We now have a 3m long x 2 m wide x 2 m high aviary. so i rushed out and got my boys a female each (yes - mistake number 2) - the boys who loved each other before - now take turns in being the ruler of the girls, the girls then turned on the boys and chased them . Now the one has both girls. I am totally confused by the different behaviour all day long. sometimes the boys sit together. sometimes one male with both females - last night all four with in 30 cms of each other and this morning - one boy is banned from the group. Do i get more females? or do i have to *sob* get rid of one boy? I am soooooo confused by the different groups happening through out the day. HELP please - 'loving my quails' Deb

Hi Debjw,

I have a 3.4m aviary and what I have done is put a wire mesh divider in the middle. The flying birds can still fly over the top and use the entire aviary, but the male quails are safely separated (they haven't figured out how to get over). I keep one male and two females on one side and two males on the other.
Another alternative which I have also done is to get a second aviary so that you can separate your quails that way.

I understand your love for your quails and you don't want to get rid of them... I'm in the same boat.
I can say from experience that quails CONSTANTLY change their mind about who they like and who they don't. They may decide they are best friends with one quail, sometimes for a few weeks or a few years, then one day decide they like someone else more and dislike the other. This is why quails are such a hassle... they are always changing their mind! Females aren't normally agressive to males but it does happen... I had a very aggressive female. But then again an aggressive female who tries to hurt a male may later be totally in love with the same male down the track.

In the past I use to keep multiple males with females all together. They seemed to get on ok, although they sometimes plucked each other and I even had a few small squabbles. But overall they were ok, sometimes even for a few years. But there is something else I have learnt from experience... and that is even if you have kept your multiple males with females for a few years with no problems... eventually one of them WILL seriously injure or kill the others. As I said, quails seem to constantly turn, and when they become middle-aged they get quite strong and aggressive and little squabbles aren't so little anymore.

Quails are polygamous and I have heard that you can fight aggression by having 6 females to every 1 male, but since I've never tested this myself I can't say if it's true. It's a good idea to have at least 2 females though if they are with males so then the male isn't constantly harassing one of them.

So you will want to somehow separate your males if you want to have females with them. Either by dividing your aviary or getting a second aviary. They can really only be housed together if you don't have females in the same cage.

I hope that helps. :)

[Debjw]

so - after all my queries and questions - I think about 9 days have passed, and in the past three days - we have 5 eggs. I think two females must be laying - one at ten and one t two :) - oh my gosh - hope this all works out for me !!!!!!!!!!!!

[WhiteRaven]

Good luck, I hope it works out too! Have they been sitting on them?