Button Quail Adult Care

Feeding Your Buttons

I feed my buttons a 21% gamebird crumble with a few mealworms, waxworms, veggies such as broccoli, cucumber slices, and tomato, and also spray millet. NEVER feed your indoor button insects from outside, pesticides could kill your button. Like finches, button quail also need grit, I give mine sand but dirt will also work or you can buy grit at your local pet store or online.  

Female Button Care

 Button Quail hens lay eggs, whether their with a male or not, so they need calcium supplement or they will become very weak to the point where they won't be able to stand! I give mine Pet-Cal labled for cats and dogs, which comes in a tablet that you can crush, and it also has other useful nutrients, such as vitamin D. Crushed oyster shell can also be used and mixed with her grit or in a seperate bowl. Some breeders claim that cuttlebone works but mine just ignore it. Whatever way you choose calcium is essential in a button hens diet.

Housing Button Quail

I use a 20g long fish aquarium for my adult quail with playground sand as the bedding. They can dustbathe in it, it feels good to their feet, they eat it for grit and it's easy to clean, I just run a cat litter scoop through it. Newspaper does not make good bedding because the quail are often forced to walk in their poop and it will stick on their feet and harden. Plastic plants make the tank look nice and my buttons will often hide under them and the hens will lay their eggs under the plants. You can use real plants, but be sure their not poisonus to quail. Give the adult buttons 2 or 3 hides to hide in when they become scared, tired or just want to get away from their mate. Always be sure to use a cover on whatever cage you choose.

Sexing Button Quail

 Male button quail will have a white bib on their chin, the female won't have this. The males are also usually more colorful than the females. In some cases, such as the white colored button quail, the males won't show bibs. In this case look at the size of the bird and the body structure, the male will be smaller and slimmer than the hen, and the males will often be more vocal. In the case of blue face colored buttons look at the color and the body size and shape, the hens will often be more of a dark brownish color while the males will look blackish and the males will be smaller and slimmer while the females will be larger.