1. Decide which quail breed you wish to care for. Quail breeds are all different and generally chosen depending on their purpose (e.g. for meat, eggs or breeding). You should do some proper researching on which breed is best for you and your lifestyle.
Some popular breeds are:
3. Purchase a healthy quail pair. You can purchase quail from any local breeders, online and possibly a nearby pet shop. Also, before you buy the quail, make sure the breeder is caring for them properly. The quail should be fed a high quality feed, their water and cage should be clean, and they should have plenty of space in their home.
4. Make sure the quail are healthy. The last thing you want to do is end up spending lots of money on a pair of ill quails even if you think you are ‘saving’ them. Some tips on which quail is healthy and which quail is not can be seen below:
5. Be aware that some appearances/reactions of quail are natural. Many people think that the quail looks ill or not cared for when they are perfectly fine, some examples include:
6. Leave your quail undisturbed for a week. Before you interact with the quail you must first let them settle in to their new surroundings. The quail might be seen running up and down and along their cage for the first week and the females will not lay eggs until they are settled in which might take a couple of weeks or more.
- The coturnix quail. These are the most popular owned quail and are chosen because they are thought to be the best breed for beginners, they are easy to take care of, they lay good eggs and they are great quails for raising for meat.
- The bobwhite quail. These are another recommended quail breed which are normally kept for breeding and meat. The male’s heads tend to be the colour white whilst the female’s heads are the colour ginger which makes bobwhites easy to sex.
- The button quail. These quail aren't usually kept for meat or eggs due to their small size. The advantages of keeping button quail are that they are great breeders, some types have bright and beautiful colours and they are fun to keep as pets. Button quail are also known to be kept at the bottom of aviaries to clean up seeds that other birds drop down.
- Males cannot be housed together; otherwise they will start to fight. It is possible to house them together as long as they have a large amount of space and plenty of hiding spots to retreat to when attacked, but if you cannot provide this for your quail then it’s best not to try to house males together.
- Do not house males with no females. This can sometimes cause stress to the males and they will also call a lot more than usual.
- You must house at least two quails together. The reason for this is because they are social birds that will get lonely even if you visit or play with them every day.
3. Purchase a healthy quail pair. You can purchase quail from any local breeders, online and possibly a nearby pet shop. Also, before you buy the quail, make sure the breeder is caring for them properly. The quail should be fed a high quality feed, their water and cage should be clean, and they should have plenty of space in their home.
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| Choosing Your Quail Birds |
- They shouldn't be huddled up in the corner. The quail is either cold or seriously ill.
- They shouldn't be panting. This means that the quail is too hot or very thirsty and probably isn't being cared for properly.
- Their eyes should be clear. Bad eyes are droopy and cloudy.
- They shouldn't have featherless bodies or backs. If it is a lot of loss in feathers this may indicate stress in the quail.
- The cage shouldn't be dirty. This includes the water, the only reason for the cage being dirty is because the current day is the day the cage gets cleaned and it hasn’t been cleaned just yet.
- The quail shouldn't be injured or have blood on them at all! Never, ever choose a quail with injuries or any other quail that is housed with the injured quail. The only good excuse for a breeder to have an injured quail is because they were given the quail and are trying to raise it back to health.
- They shouldn't have mites on them. If the quail do have mites it means that their cage isn't cleaned out properly. Mites are seen as little black creatures around the body and head of the quail.
- They shouldn't be sleeping or at least appear to be sleepy. The quail should be awake and lively unless it is night time or very dark in the cage.
5. Be aware that some appearances/reactions of quail are natural. Many people think that the quail looks ill or not cared for when they are perfectly fine, some examples include:
- Bald heads. This is different to bare backs or featherless bodies as bald heads do not indicate stress but mating. Bald heads are mostly common with females during the mating season which is during spring and summer.
- Quail chasing each over. These quail should be males and it is normal for them to chase each over to show dominance, do not think that it is due to a lack of space. However if they have a wound do not purchase the quail as this is usually very bad unless they are healing.
6. Leave your quail undisturbed for a week. Before you interact with the quail you must first let them settle in to their new surroundings. The quail might be seen running up and down and along their cage for the first week and the females will not lay eggs until they are settled in which might take a couple of weeks or more.
