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Button Quail Nest

Destiny

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@Destiny will you be putting fine mesh to keep them corraled when they hatch? How exciting!
I am looking into options. It is a little tricky because of the nest location. It is in the middle of the room, rather than in a corner so if I do decide to pen them in, I'll need to cover three directions.

If I give them the run of the aviary, I am concerned it will be too hard to keep track of the tiny babies. Also, the planted area is elevated from the rest of the aviary by a three or four inch high riser. The adult quail are able to handle it, but babies might not be able to manage.

Button quail don't do well in trios?
They can be kept in trios - one male with two females. And all male or all female groups can also work out. But it gets dicey once you start mixing genders, especially if you are trying to keep more than one male. Two mated pairs might be okay in a large enough aviary setting. They would just need to work out separate territories. This is easier to accomplish if you add both pairs into the aviary at the same time. If you try to add more birds later on, there is likely to be more squabbling. However, when keep quail in small cages, as is often done, you can't keep multiple males together with females, as they will inevitably fight with each other and can also over-breed the females.

There are several different species of quail that can be called "button quail". My quail are Chinese Painted Quail (Coturnix chinensis).

They are different from the Japanese quail, another small quail that is sometimes called button quail or Coturnix quail. Japanese quail are larger and tolerate being kept in larger groups much better than the Chinese painted quail. They can also be kept in less space, despite being bigger birds. When looking at information regarding button quail care, be sure to double-check the type of quail, since different quail species have different care requirements and breeding habits.

Wait I thought you had multiple quails not just one pair?
I had four button quail initially, but it turned out that three were males and I had only one female. The boys were chasing Terra around relentlessly and getting in tiny little quail fights with each other to determine who was top man in the aviary.

Button quail are relatively easy to sex once they reach maturity, but hard to distinguish when young. I was hoping to get a different gender distribution so it would be possible to keep all four, but no such luck.

I picked my favorite (Geo) and rehomed the other two boys to a nice lady who was looking for a pair of button quail as pets. She was very pleased with them. I've kept in touch through Facebook and it sounds like they are doing well together.

20200630_132911.jpg

From left to right - Clay, Terra, Slate, and Geo
 

AussieBird

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They can be kept in trios - one male with two females. And all male or all female groups can also work out. But it gets dicey once you start mixing genders, especially if you are trying to keep more than one male. Two mated pairs might be okay in a large enough aviary setting. They would just need to work out separate territories. This is easier to accomplish if you add both pairs into the aviary at the same time. If you try to add more birds later on, there is likely to be more squabbling. However, when keep quail in small cages, as is often done, you can't keep multiple males together with females, as they will inevitably fight with each other and can also over-breed the females.

There are several different species of quail that can be called "button quail". My quail are Chinese Painted Quail (Coturnix chinensis).

They are different from the Japanese quail, another small quail that is sometimes called button quail or Coturnix quail. Japanese quail are larger and tolerate being kept in larger groups much better than the Chinese painted quail. They can also be kept in less space, despite being bigger birds. When looking at information regarding button quail care, be sure to double-check the type of quail, since different quail species have different care requirements and breeding habits
Yeah, my family used to raise Japs, we only had two rules. Never overcrowd a cage and never house too many males together. Quail can get nasty if these rules are broken.

I love Chinese painted quail and hope to get some when I get an aviary.
 

MR. Mango

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Sad that you had to rehome the boys but glad to hear they are doing well!
 

Destiny

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Terra was off the nest for a bit today, so I was able to peek at her eggs. Looks like she has six of them:

20210125_152739.jpg

I also tried to get a decent picture of Terra and Geo.
With my usual lack of success ...

20210125_152825.jpg
20210125_152811.jpg

Stop moving so much! I want to photograph you!
 

Zara

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MR. Mango

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Aww the little egged are cute
 

MR. Mango

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tka

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Geo looks like a little chubby penguin <3
 

jh81

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Nice! My quails are on eggs too! Its the first time they actually breed because most quails are machine breed, yesterday i found one little babyquail, canibalised from the egg :( i hope the rest will survive out of their eggs :) cant wait to see how your story will go :heart:
 

Destiny

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I'm hopeful that Terra will be a good mother. She was parent-raised and it seems like she has a strong brooding instinct, based on the nests she has already constructed and how ready she is to incubate any time she manages to hang onto a few eggs.

Fingers crossed that she has what it takes to be a good quail mom.
 

Kassiani

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Lol! She does look like a fluffy toasted marshmallow!
 

jh81

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We’ve just hit the 3week breeding.. which is too long i think. But still i dont like throwing out the eggs, and im not sure how to check if the embryos are even alive. The eggs are so dark that you cant hold them against the light either. Mother quail is still breeding, so i’ll give it another few days :)
 

Mockinbirdiva

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We’ve just hit the 3week breeding.. which is too long i think. But still i dont like throwing out the eggs, and im not sure how to check if the embryos are even alive. The eggs are so dark that you cant hold them against the light either. Mother quail is still breeding, so i’ll give it another few days :)
Maybe this link will be helpful for you.
 

Destiny

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We’ve just hit the 3week breeding.. which is too long i think. But still i dont like throwing out the eggs, and im not sure how to check if the embryos are even alive. The eggs are so dark that you cant hold them against the light either. Mother quail is still breeding, so i’ll give it another few days :)
Unfortunately, I think you are right - I would have expected hatching by the second or third week. But you might as well let her sit on them for as long as she is willing. You just never know ...

...

In other news, Terra is sitting in one spot like a champ.

20210204_103131.jpg

I decided to add a barrier to keep the babies contained in a smaller portion of the aviary. It was a little tricky to do it without disturbing the nest, but I think I pulled it off.

20210204_103056.jpg

I debated trying to put a cover over the whole thing, but there is an apple tree in the way and I am hoping it won't be necessary. By the time the babies are big enough to escape this barrier, they should be old enough to handle roaming around the whole aviary. My only concern is that the parakeets might trouble them. I'll have to keep a close eye on things and remove the babies if they are in any danger.

For now, everything is looking good and Terra is back in her leaf nest. Anticipated hatch date should be sometime next week.

20210204_103110.jpg
 

Zara

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Love the barrier idea! It´s perfect :)

I spy Geo! I hope he´s being a good dad! Do the males bring food and treats for the sitting hens?

There´s something quite remarkable and special about a bird brooding and hatching eggs :heart2:

When is the estimated hatch date?
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Unfortunately, I think you are right - I would have expected hatching by the second or third week. But you might as well let her sit on them for as long as she is willing. You just never know ...

...

In other news, Terra is sitting in one spot like a champ.

View attachment 372267

I decided to add a barrier to keep the babies contained in a smaller portion of the aviary. It was a little tricky to do it without disturbing the nest, but I think I pulled it off.

View attachment 372268

I debated trying to put a cover over the whole thing, but there is an apple tree in the way and I am hoping it won't be necessary. By the time the babies are big enough to escape this barrier, they should be old enough to handle roaming around the whole aviary. My only concern is that the parakeets might trouble them. I'll have to keep a close eye on things and remove the babies if they are in any danger.

For now, everything is looking good and Terra is back in her leaf nest. Anticipated hatch date should be sometime next week.

View attachment 372269
She blends so well with the leaves and picked a nice little sunny spot to brood her clutch!
 
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