Button Quail Care Sheet
What should you feed your Button quail?- They should mainly be fed gamebird crumble as they do require a higher protein than most birds. The food should contain 25% protein. Making sure to give calcium supplements is very important as they are so small laying eggs takes a lot out of them. Good calcium supplements are cuttlefish bone, ground eggshells (i use their egg shells) or ground oyster shells. Grit should also be offered as it helps keep a healthy crop.
Treats for button quail?- Treats should be kept to a minimum but they love live or dried mealworms, apples, millets, broccoli, dandelions, and dried soldier fly larvae. Food to avoid is avocados, parsley, sugar, fruit seeds, tomato greens or high fat foods.
What kind of bedding should you use?- I like to use wood shavings as they like to dig in it and make little nests. Having any exposed smooth floor can cause these issues as they can then get splayed legs which is very hard to treat. They seem to be able to walk on it the easiest and it absorbs waste much easier. Avoid using wood pellets or any kind of cat litter as they could potentially eat it or have issues walking on it.
Do button quail need heat?- They do prefer to stay at about room temperature such as 69-73. I have offered heat mats and they do love it. In the end heat mats or a heat lamp is up to you as long as where they are staying is in that room temperature heat range.
How much space do button quail need?- I've been able to comfortably keep 3 male button quail in a 20 gallon tank. As an example. The more the birds the bigger the space needs to be. For example I have a breeding ground of 4 females and a male in a 4 foot long by about a foot wide cage. Just make sure if you use wire cages with plastic floors they can't fit through the bars. They really shouldn't be kept in a wire bottom cage as they can get a toe stuck or something else stuck. They do tend to fly so make sure the cage is high enough so they don't hit their little heads. About two inches of bedding is perfect for them.
They love places to hide!- They also tend to lay their eggs in the hidey holes or in the warmest part of the cage. For example my love to lay on the heat mat. I've given things such as hides made for guinea pigs, cardboard boxes, fake plants, I've even used large plastic pipe pieces.
How long do they live?- Sadly button quail females just dont live that long. They're prone to being egg bound and only live about 1-3 years. At 18 months they're actually considered old. On the other hand, males live so much longer! they can live 5-6 years and some people have even had them live 10-13 years! I do suggest keeping a male group if you want more long term pets, as it's nice to know they'll live longer and males are more colorful compared to females who tend to have duller colors.