I recently purchased 10 button quail thinking they were bobwhite chicks. Actually they told me that is what they were. I need to know about this breed and how to care for them. Can I put them in an outside pen? What types of food do they like and will they get along with other game birds or will they get picked on because of their size? They are already laying eggs. They are a few different colors. How do i sex?

There are a number of quail sites on the web with many personal accounts with pictures. We purchased eggs, bought 48 expecting a low hatch, and ended up with 25 hatching out. We are interessted in similar infromation as you request. The most frequently quoted fact is that males are inclined to duke it out with the loser dying. Hens are poor egg sitters. If kept in a relatively quiet location with enough cover some hens will build a nest and set eggs. If eggs are dropped anywhere they won't sit them. The quail are best set up with one male and a couple females, but if always raised together males can be kept together in a group. I will look in my files to see if I kept record of the better quail sites. Good luck.

I checked the files, the book by Hayes, Leland B., The Chinese Painted Quail "The Button Quail" Copyright by Leland B. Hayes, PhD., 1992, seems to be the most quoted source for button quail info. Acadiana Avaries, Franklin, LA has good notes on behavior of button quail.