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Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 13:33
by Pooky
Hi everyone......I have been thinking of keeping some Quail but I know nothing at all about them so I would certainly appreciate any input......Not sure on what Quail can be kept in the same avairy as Finches and as I have not kept Quail before which are good one's to start off with.....
Thanks Guys..... :D
Trudy.

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 14:52
by spanna
best one to start with is king quails. very hardy, easy to come across and very forgiving. normals, silvers and cinamon colour mutations are available. one pair to an aviary as a rule, males tend to squabble quite a bit when females are around!! also have to watch males dont attack their young when they first hatch. if they do, seperate the male and reintroduce him when the young have "real" feathers. females can generally raise the brood by themselves if the male is too agressive though.

all mine have ever had is a bit of cover in the corners of the aviary (in the form of some eucalypt branches, with leaves still attached, making a shelter in the corner), the same grasses used for nesting material as my finches (one of my hens is right now sitting in an almost fully enclosed nest, but most just make a small depression in the ground), some regular finch mix and fresh water. no special diet required, though to do LOVE mealworms.

should make sure they have some sand to have a dust bathe in, lots of fun to watch!!!

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 14:53
by Diane
Welcome back Trudy.
Try this link, we had quite a topic about quail.
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=3980&hilit=quail

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 15:47
by Jayburd
Heya Pooky!

yep, I love the kingies. they are hardy, easy breeders (some say too easy!) and are just plain adorable. I have a male who eats mealworms straight from my hand. he then treats me to his famous "Quail Grin". :lol:

They eat finch seed, and will devour any live food, greens, etc. that you care to lavish upon them. They do need their own feed/water stations. They bathe in dirt. Here are some king quail links.

http://www.cyberquail.com

http://zebrafinch.com/NewButtonquail/MainQuail.html

http://voy.com/13979/ (a king quail forum, I am joined up too.)

we have cinnamon, silver, and normal king quails here, but worldwide there are over 200 mutations.

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 20:22
by Pooky
spanna wrote:best one to start with is king quails. very hardy, easy to come across and very forgiving. normals, silvers and cinamon colour mutations are available. one pair to an aviary as a rule, males tend to squabble quite a bit when females are around!! also have to watch males dont attack their young when they first hatch. if they do, seperate the male and reintroduce him when the young have "real" feathers. females can generally raise the brood by themselves if the male is too agressive though.

all mine have ever had is a bit of cover in the corners of the aviary (in the form of some eucalypt branches, with leaves still attached, making a shelter in the corner), the same grasses used for nesting material as my finches (one of my hens is right now sitting in an almost fully enclosed nest, but most just make a small depression in the ground), some regular finch mix and fresh water. no special diet required, though to do LOVE mealworms.

should make sure they have some sand to have a dust bathe in, lots of fun to watch!!!
Thanks Spanna lots of info there for me to think about.

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 20:24
by Pooky
bluebutterfly213 wrote:Welcome back Trudy.
Try this link, we had quite a topic about quail.
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=3980&hilit=quail
Thanks Dianne.......I will check that out...sorry to hear about your problems with the hackers... :twisted: how annoying.

Re: Keeping Quails??

Posted: 01 Jul 2010, 20:26
by Pooky
Jayburd wrote:Heya Pooky!

yep, I love the kingies. they are hardy, easy breeders (some say too easy!) and are just plain adorable. I have a male who eats mealworms straight from my hand. he then treats me to his famous "Quail Grin". :lol:

They eat finch seed, and will devour any live food, greens, etc. that you care to lavish upon them. They do need their own feed/water stations. They bathe in dirt. Here are some king quail links.

http://www.cyberquail.com

http://zebrafinch.com/NewButtonquail/MainQuail.html

http://voy.com/13979/ (a king quail forum, I am joined up too.)

we have cinnamon, silver, and normal king quails here, but worldwide there are over 200 mutations.
Thanks Jayburd....I will check out those links today........