Button or Chinese Painted Quail/Mutation - Coturnix chinensis

These specialty birds are all captive bred by caring aviculturists. 

Common Name	Button Quail
Latin Name	Coturnix chinensis
Average Lifespan	5 Years
Average Length	5 - 9 Inches
Average Weight	30 Grams
Song Type	Pew Pew Pew

Noise Level & Vocalization

They make a constant quiet peeping noise while they are active and will call to each other by making a crowing, “Ouw Ouw Ouw” sound when they have lost sight of each other.

Physical Features

The Chinese Painted Quails come in several colors from blue to brown, silver, white, white and brown, grey, grey-white, brown-blue, and more. 

Pet Profile

These small cute and relatively quiet little birds make wonderful pets. Button quails are very active and their antics can provide hours of amusement. With patience on behalf of the human caretaker, the button quails can become quite tame. They do respond positively to love and attention.

They should only be kept with non-aggressive birds/parrots, as they are easy prey for birds who may kill them for entertainment or may even feed on them.

Diet

Live food should be offered, such as mealworms, crickets, and fly larvae (maggots). Grit should be offered in a shallow bowl - big enough for them to sit in. In addition to providing minerals, grit will help their digestion and is an important part of quail hygiene. They will "bathe" in the grit.

Housing

A wider cage is recommended as these birds spend most of their time on the floor of the cage and do not climb up on the bars. Food and water must be accessible to the quail on the floor of their home. The cage needs to be cleaned regularly to keep the bird from getting dirty and eating poop or other things that have been dropped to the floor. 

Breeding Information

Age of Maturity	6 Months
Breeding Aviculture	Common
Average Clutch Size	5 - 15 Eggs!
Nest Box	Open Cup Nest
Breeding Life	4 Years

The production of eggs uses vast amounts of the female's resources, which must be compensated for in diet and lighting. Button quail can lay an egg every day. This practice can quickly deplete her calcium and other nutrients resulting in disease and even death. A calcium supplement is essential. Offering crushed oyster shells and/or smashed eggshells of boiled eggs mixed in with the grit will help maintain her optimum calcium levels. Alternatively, you could use cuttlebone

Gender Identification

Size: The hen is slightly larger and plumper than the male, averaging 5 inches in length, while the male is usually around 4.5 inches long.

Colour: Males are generally more colorful than the female.

Bib: In standard colors, the male has a black and white bib that runs under the chin. This bib is one distinguishing factor when assessing gender. However, this bib may not be present in mutation colors.

Vent-spacing: Hens have wider and more flexible vent openings than males (she has to pass eggs after all). This method of sexing only works on adult hens and even then is not a 100% accurate sexing method (some hens are naturally "slender") -- This method works best when the hen is in breeding condition.

Call: Males can also be distinguished by listening for their little calls that sound like: pee pee pew.

Wild Status

Stable