AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Just wandering if many people keep black breasted button quail!!

I had them about 2 years ago and didn't do too well with them

Here some info
http://www.birdcare.com.au/black_breast ... _quail.htm
An Australian Quail
Scientific Name: Turnix melanogaster
Common Name/s: BLACK BREASTED BUTTON QUAIL, BLACK BREASTED QUAIL.
Sub Species in country / area of origin: None.
Origin / Distribution: Eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Habitat In Wild: Edges of rainforests in eastern Australia.
Status In Wild: Rare and declining due to habitat loss and predation by feral introduced animals.
Status In (Australian) Captivity: Rare
Age To Sexual Maturity: about 5 - 6 months.
Best breeding years (estimate): 6 months to about 3rd year
Lifespan (estimate): approx. ? years
Sexing: Monomorphic / Dimorphic
Colour mutations: None
Availability: Specialist breeders and some bird dealers.
Temperament: Shy, timid birds when people are nearby. They can be strongly territorial and inflict injury or death on finches or other newly introduced birds in the aviary. Strong fliers and wing feather clipping can be used to minimize them hitting the roof when startled. Best results are in planted aviaries and they prefer a layer of leaf litter on the floor.
Cost (Victoria) Per Pair: - Normal colour (Approx.) $200
Description Of Adults: Largest of the Turnix quail. Hens are larger than the cock birds and they have brighter plumage.
Length: Up to 180 mm (or approx 6 - 7 inches)
Colour ( "normal" colour ): Refer photo/s above if available.
Weight: Up to 120 gms (or up to 4 ozs)
Aviary Notes:

Level Of Knowledge Required: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced / Specialist Breeders Only.

Government Regulations & By-Laws: Refer to " Government Laws " web page.

Housing Requirements: Refer to " Quail " web page for general details on the housing of Quail or read on for specific details for this bird.

Compatible with most finches, small parrots, doves and pigeons. Best breeding results are with one pair per aviary. Likes to have low growing shrubs with leaf litter and growing tall grasses or cereal grains (eg. wheat) will help this species feel happy and secure. These birds tend to do a lot of floor scratching so a generous layer of leaf litter is appreciated and will keep them active and healthy. These birds like to scratch or dig "holes" in the earthen floors and these craters are called platelets. Care must be taken to ensure these quail have not scratched the soil and/or floor litter into the food or water bowls.

This species should be the only ground dwelling bird in the aviary. Problems can occur with finches etc. that spend a lot of time at floor level or use the floor space as their courtship, or mating site.

If these quail are startled they tend to fly off the floor at a steep angle and often hit the roof at a solid speed. This can cause severe head injuries or at worst the death of the quail. Wing feather clipping can minimize this potential problem. Wing feather clipping also minimizes the risk of the quail flying into or onto the finch nesting sites and disturbing the nesting or roosting finches and/or small parrots.

Quail that are noisy, especially in the morning, should be housed in an aviary most distant away from neighbours.

Diet / Feeding: Refer to " Quail " web page for general details on the feeding of Quail or read on for specific details for this bird.

Good quality finch or small parrot mix plus insects and vegetable green foods and seeding grasses as per "Quail" web page. May eat some of the commercial poultry pellets. Adequate supply of insects is essential at breeding time. Mealworms, crickets, small locusts/grasshoppers, cockroaches etc can be offered.

Nesting:

Nesting months: May breed year round. Seasons spring to autumn are generally the most productive.
Nest location: On the floor in a nest usually at the back of the aviary in a secluded spot often behind or beside a solid object..
Nest material: They may build a substantial nest of dry grasses and other materials and line the nest with soft materials.
Who incubates the egg/s: Hen / Cock / both share.
Breeding: Egg Colour Off white with coloured spots. Clutch/s per year = multiple. Eggs per nest 3 - 4. Incubation approx. 16 days. Independent approx 4 - 5 weeks.

The hen is usually the dominant bird. The cock birds are usually very good parents, feeding, protecting and caring for all the young. Adequate supply of insects is essential at breeding time.

Compatible with most finches, small parrots, doves and pigeons. Best breeding results are with one pair per aviary. Once the hen has laid a full clutch many aviculturalists will remove the hen so the cock bird is not distracted from his duty of incubating the eggs and raising the young. When the babies hatch the cock bird supplies food from his beak directly into the babies beak. After all the eggs have hatched the cock bird may take the young to another part of the aviary and not return to the nest. Generally the hen does not get involved in the feeding and raising of the young. The young will start to feed themselves after about the second week. The cock bird will offer the young food till they become independent at the about the 4th or 5th week.

When the young are fully independent and have been placed into another aviary, the hen can be returned to the aviary and start another clutch of eggs.

Artificial incubation and hand rearing or fostering will not be covered on this web site. It is too complex and diverse in nature to be attempted here.

Health Issues: Refer to "Avian Health Issues" web page for information and references.

Worming and parasite control and Quarantine requirements of new bird/s or sick bird/s are considered to require veterinary advice and therefore not covered on this web site. Refer "Avian Health Issues" web page option.
Avian medicine is advancing at a rapid pace. Keep updating your knowledge and skills.

pictures for anyone that has not seen them

I kept black breasted button quail a few years back and have to say they were the most rewarding birds I have every kept, having kept poultry, pheasants, finches, parrots, doves and other quail. They are full of personality and very shy/ secretive. I had them for about 6 years and was quite successful in breeding. I had 3 hens and 7 cockbirds. I kept them in the aviaries with finches, doves and small Australian parrots (about 2 x 6 metres but the bigger the better). There were 20-30cm high skirts between the aviaries so the birds could not see each other but they could still hear (the hens make a booming sound like a small emu). The ceilings had suspended shadecloth so there was no head damage if they flew to the roof. The crucial elements I found were foliage coverage and live food. I planted the aviaries with several large clumping grasses which allowed the birds to get away from me when I entered and were a great place for the males to nest. I bred meal worms and kept compost worms for live food. I threw these into the leaf litter twice a day plus mixed seeds.

A mistake I made which I beat myself up about still is not to have any string or similar in the aviaries. The birds spin on one leg to dig for live food. One of my hens ended up getting a nylon string from a piece of shade cloth wound around her foot. Because they don't come out in the open too often so you can get a good look at them I missed it until it was too late. One of her toes came off and when I removed the nylon she succcumbed quickly to infection or blood poisoning. (Worming is important).

Breeding is one of the most interesting things as they are so different to other quail and you have a lot more input into management. It was great if you could get a glimpse of the hen displaying to to cockbird and booming. I only once saw actual mating. I would run a hen and cockbird together until the hen finished laying and the cockbird sat. It was sometimes easy to miss that sitting had occurred as they were so secretive. Not seeing the ockbird come out for live food was generally the clincher and I would quietly search for him. Sometimes I would actually think they'd got into the next cage as they were so well camoflagued. They actually build a grass next that goes over the top of them. Incubation times vary depending on what you read so it's best to ensure you leave them as long as possible before deciding the eggs are not going to hatch (I only had this occur once as fertility was excellent). I always removed the hen but know some don't. In the wild the hen doesn't have close contact with the male whilst rearing the chick so I thought it best to separate them. You need as many cages as you have quail plus a number of spares for the young. Generally there were 2 eggs, sometimes 1 and rarely 3. The male is very attentive and as in the previous post actually feeds the young from his beak. I took the young out and put them into a separate aviary when fully feathered and the cockbird no longer seemed interested. You will sometimes seeing them reacting to the calling from the hen.

These birds are beautiful and very worthwhile.

I read about this before where someone use weed mat in their aviary and lost 3 birds in the one day

I have a mate who has some but he lost the chicks this year and he think that rats got them

My mate has found the rats nest and got them but he has put thick wire down now to stop them digging in

I know several owners in Australia... they do completely destroy a landscaped aviary though!!

I have 2 pairs in 2 different aviaries and only one pair has laid any eggs both are the same age so not sure why only 1 hen has laid any eggs sadly though the eggs did not hatch so have to wait for later this year and hope they both breed

Wow they are so nice how much do they sell for?

i have seen them for $200 a pair. not sure if thats cheap or expensive..

i did the landscaping for their aviary at a wild life park i worked at...pretty cool..birds...