# Button Quail....Good for anything?



## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

There are a couple of button quail someone is giving away on Craigslist. I'm attracted to the size and ease of housing since I have VERY limited indoor space and no outdoor space available.

My question is, though...are they good for anything? I hear they lay a lot of eggs, but they're tiny. Is there any market for, perhaps, pickled Button Quail eggs, and do you think I could keep enough in a few cages to make it worth while?

My suspicion is that these are a cute hobby, and that's about it.


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## Janis Sauncy (Apr 11, 2006)

People who raise other birds (cockatiels, etc.) often have button quail in the cages with them to clean up the spilled seed on the cage floors.

I had a pair in with my cockatiels (more for pets than anything). She laid lots of eggs but never sat on them.

They're awfully cute and entertaining. As far as pets go, they're cheap to feed and easy to keep.

I sure can't imagine getting enough out of them, meat or eggs, for them to have any use that way.


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## Jesse L (Nov 6, 2008)

SOme people just raise then, and are always buying and selling them. You could always try it out and see how they go. 

You could easily sell a bird for $5 - although you need to incubate the eggs as they dont sit on them. Ive heard that in the wild they build burrows in the ground and they would be in there often enough that the borrow would stay warm in the summer so they wouldnt need to be sat on. Just need a small incubator.


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## PulpFaction (Jul 23, 2009)

Eh, I'm thinking they're not worth my time. I could keep a rabbit in the same space as a whole passel of these guys and at least have poop for the garden. 

Do you think there could be any market for them in bird dog training? I hear they mature very quickly, a quick turn around on very little feed...LOL. Just brainstorming.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Button quail are like most ornamental birds. There is a market for them to other admirers. For food or eggs there are many better options. They will just about always bring more than a coturnix or bobwhite. They aren't really that good at cleaning up spilled seed. They need a higher protein feed to stay healthy. They nest just like any other quail. It isn't very hard to get them to set, just give them a place and privacy. Great little bird and very entertaining but not for the person who likes their animals to have a purpose other than ornamental.


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

Jumbo cortunix go about a pound which is about as small as I would consider usuable for food. We use the eggs of which ~4-5 are needed to equal a medium size chicken eggs but honestly it's a bit of effort to crack the thin shells without getting shell flakes in with the egg.

My understanding is button quail are much smaller, maybe ~6 ounces...wow, was I off...I just googled button quail. The larger ones go 2-5 ounces. Yeah, way too small for food. Might be fun to keep a few for entertainment though.


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

Check ebay for what the eggs are selling for as hatching eggs. Last I was aware they were selling rather high. 

There is some interest in selling quail eggs to eat. Either pickled or boiled and put in childrens lunches.


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

There is a site that is selling pickled quail eggs and getting a pretty good price for them. Go to www.localharvest.org/quail-eggs-C10064 and do a search for quail eggs.
Linda


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I'd suggest getting a few Coturnix and setting up cages for them. You are close enough to Anchorage to be able to sell the eggs. I expect there is still a large enough Asian market there to do well. Get a Hovabator or Little Giant incubator and hatch some of the eggs to build your stock.

If you know some hunters, see if they will give you excess organ meats. Those can be chopped fine and keep the protein levels up for the birds.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Just had a button quail hen hatch out 6 babies right outside of my front door. They have already left the nest and are running around.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

John, where are the pix? LOL


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Cyngbaeld said:


> John, where are the pix? LOL


I don't even own a camera. Have spent this summer building a bioshelter. The button quail are just one type of bird that I have running in it. They have been raising a few but recently I have found several hens setting on eggs. Just hope they do not start multiplying like the parakeets.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

That sounds pretty neat.

One of the coturnix got out and hatched two babies in my spare bedroom last year. I thought some babies had got out of the brooder and hunted all over till I found where the baby quail sounds were coming from. I need a Bioshelter too, I think.


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