Chinese Button Quail are actually pretty easy birds to take care of. They don't require a lot of fuss and require zero hand feeding when they are born. From the moment they hatch, they are able to drink and eat on their own. If they don't eat within an hour of being hatched, often times they won't make it. These are strong little birds though for being so small. Their food MUST be grounded until they are about four-six weeks old. We just use a little coffee grinder. We use Dumor Chick Starter. The most important thing when feeding them is making sure they get enough protein. You want a feed that has AT LEAST 24% protein until they are about six weeks of age. Then you can change their food and put them on Chick Starter/Grower. This feed must have at least 20%. Another important aspect of caring for button quail is making sure they are consistently hydrated. Providing adequate water is important but it's not just how much water you provide, it's HOW you provide it. When Chinese Button Quail are first born, they can drown very easily. The easiest and cheapest way to prevent this is to buy plastic water holders that you can buy from any farm and feed store. You need to put marbles inside the opening at the bottom so that the babies can not slip or drown. They will be attracted to the shiny marbles and this encourages them to drink right from the start. They will peck at the water, but be assured they are getting enough as long as you put down water 2-3 times per day. When feeding them you can put their ground up food on the bottom of the brooder (on top of the shelf liner) They will peck at the good. Button quail are great little foragers.
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| bag of feed |
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| bottle & marbles for water |
It's best to keep these babies inside, however if you do decide to house them outside make sure they have a light. This is especially important during winter months. If they have a proper light they can stay outside all year long. Baby button quail need a brooder until they are about six weeks old. A brooder isn't hard to make or buy. We bought a plastic storage tote/storage box that's about the size of a normal under the bed storage container (that you might put sweaters or leftover Christmas paper in) We cut a big square out in ours and put small gage wiring on top secured with zip ties. A lot of people just use a a ten or twenty gallon aquarium with a screened lid. You will definitely need a light. This can be bought for about $10 at a farm and feed store or for a little more at Petsmart. The temperature in the brooder should remain around 95 degrees. If it drops below this , the chicks will get cold and could die. Last but not least you will need to purchase shelf liner and line the bottom of your brooder with it. This prevents splayed leg (where the chicks legs fall out to the sides of their body) If the chick is constantly slipping, it won't develop good hip and leg support. As you can see, you can make or build your own brooder for less than $30 easily. Once the babies reach six weeks old, you can take them off the light. Below is a picture of a brooder.
Once they reach adulthood, they don't really require much other than food and water. Their area will need to be cleaned once per week. Shelf liner washes off very easily and can be reused. We also use pine shavings once they are around four weeks old. About once per month, you will want to do a major cleaning. Below are some pictures of the brooder to give you an idea of what you can do.
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| Brooder for chicks |
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| Top of brooder |
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