Aussie Finch Forum

quails in finch aviary

I kept quails a long time ago and Im starting to get back into finches....I have been reading a bit and some people think that quails in with finches is not a good idea as they fly at night if they are disturbed and either injure themselves on the roof or disturb the other aviary residents.....I had one instance of this before where a male bird broke his leg....it healed and he was able to get around okay and mate...even though his leg was at a disturbing angle....I was very young then...Id handle the situation differently now.
I imagine their amount of flightyness would be directly related to the amount of cover they were able to access.
It would also mean finding a way to give them food as I have a feeding box for finches that stops seed going on the floor and id like to maintain the seed free floor if possible
Id be interested in peoples views on this topic...and also some opinions on which species of quail might be less prone to panic or spook
thanks

I have a pair of king quails in my main aviary. They seem to be a very quiet pair and I don't have any problems with them. I think the trick with quails is to try and get ones from someone that you know that has well behaved ones. ;)
Mine have some cut branches on the floor in one corner of the covered area which they nest and hide under. As far as feeding as well a hopper I place a large tray (cat litter) of seed on the floor as an extra feeding area. The quails and most of the finches seem to enjoy this. They don't make much mess with seeds on the ground from the tray as it has deep sides.

I recently acquired some king quails (2 X F+1 X M) and I strongly suspect that they are wild caught as I've never seen them for sale before in Cartimar (Manila, Philippines). The birds never fly and don't even call as much as the captive bred ones in Australia. I have plenty of ground cover for the birds as they don't like being seen which I'm sure keeps them calm. No seed can get onto the ground from my hoppers so I have to feed them and that's when I see them. Each morning I give them green seed, mashed egg sprouted seed and I top up their chick starter crumbles in a trough. I've only had the birds for a month and they haven't laid as far as I know but they aren't disruptive to any of the other birds.

Hi

I have kept and Bred King Quail and Black Breasted Button Quail.

In response to your questions a good amount of cover does help alot, although i also use to Clip there wings, similar to a pet parrot which helps them from Launching.

If you were looking at getting them breed a few King Qual before progressing.

I do however highly recomend keeping the Turnix species being -
Black Breasted Button Qual
Red Chested
Red Backed
Painted
Little

There requirements for Breeding are different to King Qual though, for example i ran a Trio of 2 Cock Birds to 1 Hen as the Male Incubates and rears the Young. Once the cock Bird is sitting you have to remove the Hen in Smaller Aviaries as she will call the cock bird off the nest, and if you dont remove her and you are fortunate to get young to hatch she will then Kill the young.

They also like alot more Live food. Not as much as softbills though.

Also they are amazing Earth Movers so make sure that you have you dirt -> Gravel -> Sand ->Concrete well sepearted with High Dividers atleast 150mm or your Aviaries will be turned to mess. ;)

Givem a go.

Cheers
Luke

I have a pair of King quail in each of my avairys and have had for years with very little problem.
The original cock did have one little incident when he was young and I was having a bad year with mice, and now one wing sits out at a slight angle.
I always feed my quail by putting a small tin of seed on the ground for them. They also enjoy joining the finches in eating seeding grass and insects.
Don't have a great deal of cover on the grounds in my aviarys, which have dirt floors, and this has not proved a problem.
But I do concur that it is a good idea to get your birds from someone whos birds seem quiet.
LML

thanks everyone for your comments and opinions......really good information
I will try quail when the aviary is finished.....but ill put some thought into how to feed them ......and catch them
thanks again