quailpage

The Chinese Painted Quail is a popular aviary bird, often kept due to their habit of clearing away seed spilt on the aviary floor. They can be observed scuttling around on the ground, always on the look-out for a tasty morsel here or there.

It is a small bird, measuring between four and five inches long, with the females being slightly larger than the male. The distinctive black and white stripes under the throat of the male is an easy way to sex the bird.

It is important not to assume that these birds will be able to sustain themselves on spilt seed alone. My pair have access to a dish of quail mix (a mixture of millet seeds and game crumbs) along with mealworms, fresh water, cuttle bone and grit. They also love soaked or sprouted seed and any other creepy crawlies that you may find in your home or garden. These birds are often employed as spider catchers in butterfly collections!your text.

I keep my pair in the bottom of a mixed cage which also containd a pair each of Gouldian finches, Strawberry finches and Diamond doves. The bottom of the cage is about three feet squared. I also allow them the freedom of the room to run about in, about twice a week.

When housing these birds it is important to consider the fact that although mainly ground-dwelling, they are also apt to fly into the air when frightened. When I first bought the birds I clipped their wings so that they would not be flying up into the roof of the cage and causing problems among my other birds. Now that they have settled in, they have almost regrown their wings and I will not be clipping them again because they are quite settled in their environment.

Your quail may appreciate a small shelter for them to rest in at night. You can easily make one by extending the entrance hole of a budgie nesting box and placing it in their favourite corner. Add a small handful of sawdust or hay and they should be quite content to sleep in there.

Another essential when housing these birds is access to a sand bath which they will use every day more than once. If, like me you use sand as floor covering, they will bath anywhere! If not, you should provide a small tray filled with sand at all times. It will prove to be a great source of amusement to you when observing these eccentric little aviary friends!

My Quail have not yet made any attempts to breed, although they have been observed mating on many occasions. It must be stressed that the male can look quite aggressive when attempting to mate, as he puffs out all his feathers and grabs the female by the top of her head. The resultant feather loss should not be a problem, but if blood is drawn the female should be removed until the wound is healed.

These birds can raise their own young if given sufficient privacy and shelter but you may have to consider incubating their eggs artificially. It is worth remembering that their young will be quite precocious and able to fit through gaps of less than a centimetre. Care should also be taken to prevent against drowning and marbles should be placed in any drinker provided. You should feed chick crumbs which, due to the tiny size of the babies,may need to be crushed before they are large enough to swallow them. Overall, you will need to be extremely watchful when you have young as they could get lost, drown, or even be attacked by their own parents.