• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

Button quail inside?

Status
Not open for further replies.

javi

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
4/17/11
Messages
918
Real Name
JAVI
I have loved the looks of button quails for years and have always been intrigued at the thought of keeping them in the house. I was at a flea market today and they had what I think would make an awesome quail cage. It is about 36x20x24 with a base about six inches deep. I have the room now that Mattie and Paika decided to live together and my ex took Tamani from me after Mattie was being to vicious with him. ( I still see him every week and my ex loves him to death, wish they would have gotten along but it kept getting bad when they were out together, now he shares his time with a budgie buddy). My only question is who has kept them inside. I have heard their calls and they are a little noisy and not sure how they smell. I was planning on using aspen bedding and changing often. Just would like someone with experince let me know how it worked out
 

Rinnith

Meeting neighbors
Joined
2/22/11
Messages
27
Location
Pittsburgh
Real Name
Rin
I used to breed them, I had close to a hundred of them indoors, they were sold as pets or to people with green houses or aviaries. they weren't that smelly but the bigger ones... daily cages changes were only enough for the buttons. actually the buttons didn't smell at all as long as there cage was kept clean. I kept them on sand, they love to bath in it, it's cheap, and there's no wood smell but on backyardchicken forum I heard of them kept easily in all types of bedding that forum is a very friendly form were you can learn about all types of poultry. they will need something gigantic or something with a very soft top, I've heard of people using blankets but I tried that and ended up with dead quail. They can spook easily and I found a plastic mesh loosely fitting the top of an aquarium or bin worked the best, never lost one that way. I would do some research there is a wood bedding that is toxic to them and will kill them although witch one it is escapes me. Also one male per every five females or things get bad, better would be to have only one male. if there's anything else please let me know I'd be happy to rack my brain.
 

Jessie

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
10/25/10
Messages
3
Hi - I keep button quail (4) and Japanese Quail (2) inside. The buttons aren't that stinky if their bedding is changed frequently. How often it needs changing will depend on how many quail are in how much space. The Japanese Quail can be stinkers if I don't change their bedding at least twice per week. I stuck an air filter by the cage with the Japanese quail in it as well.

I use this stuff as bedding:

Eco Bedding Odor Control - Bedding & Litter - Small Pet - PetSmart

I go for the non-scented kind, and it does absorb the odor quite well. Aspen bedding would likely be fine as well. Just don't use cedar bedding.

The quail do make noise, but I don't find it that bad. Of course, I also keep a cockatoo, an Amazon and three conures. Male quail may crow at night unless their room is completely dark.

Quail will jump straight upwards if startled ("boinking") and if they have a solid roof over their cage, they can injure themselves by boinking. Most of my quail are in tall aviaries where they cannot actually hit the roof, but two are in a 75 gallon aquarium with a loose screen as a lid. As Rinnith says, see if you can use a loose-fitting mesh as a lid for your set up. I have kept a couple of my quail in a classroom temporarily in a large rubbermaid bin with plastic mesh as a lid and that set up worked great.

Jessie

I have loved the looks of button quails for years and have always been intrigued at the thought of keeping them in the house. I was at a flea market today and they had what I think would make an awesome quail cage. It is about 36x20x24 with a base about six inches deep. I have the room now that Mattie and Paika decided to live together and my ex took Tamani from me after Mattie was being to vicious with him. ( I still see him every week and my ex loves him to death, wish they would have gotten along but it kept getting bad when they were out together, now he shares his time with a budgie buddy). My only question is who has kept them inside. I have heard their calls and they are a little noisy and not sure how they smell. I was planning on using aspen bedding and changing often. Just would like someone with experince let me know how it worked out
 

javi

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
4/17/11
Messages
918
Real Name
JAVI
Well I was thinking of using mattress padding cut to size and covered in a pillow case that can be washed frequently. I am thinking this would add some safety cushion. I need to pull the incubator out and order a couple of eggs. It will take some heavy thinking before I decide. Need to see how much that cage is and all that. Thanks all
 

MaleaRocks

Moving in
Joined
10/26/10
Messages
13
Location
Spring, TX
I had two buttons indoors and the male crowed continuously. I loved it but my exhusband did not and demanded that I get rid of them. This is pictur of Dwight standing on his rock about to crow to Angela. button.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top