Button quail life span question

[poultrycrazy]

Hi y'all =)
I was thinking about ordering some button quail eggs, but first I wanted to know something about their life span. I read somewhere that they only live 18 months... is that true?? I thought they lived like 3-5 years :confused:

[Leo]

I did a little research on this and it seems that 3-5 years is more correct. It appears that females may have a little shorter life span because of their egg laying...maybe 2-4 years. And that ocassionally a male may live to be 8 or 9 years old. You may want to do some research online, google "Raising button quail" and learn about their care before you buy your eggs.

[poultrycrazy]

Thank you for your help ;) I really appreciate it!

[jungle]

3-5 years is more accurate but the females are prone to an early death if not well supplemented. The size of the eggs they produce is relatively large for their body size and they produce A LOT of them so can quickly deplete themselves, nutritionally. I feed my buttons chick starter and also feed back to them many of their eggs, hard boiled. To the eggs I add Nekton Tonic I which helps add additional amino acids as well as some Linatone which provides fatty acids. Incidentally, I feed this same mixture to all my birds a few times a week. With the buttons, it really helps keep the hens fit. I find it also helps ensure nice feathering during the moult.

Richard

[KandBinMN]

What is Nekton tonic and where do you get it? I have 7 Button Quail that are a year and a half old. I too feed the hard boiled eggs back to them and feed them duck/goose starter grower or wild game crumbles. I also give the grit for small cage birds that has oyster shell along in it. I give millet seed and meal worms for treats. They're cute funny little birds and were just darling and unbelievably small when they hatched. I think they make the perfect little pet for someone who doesn't want a huge committment attention wise, but isn't into gerbils or rodents and fish. I keep mine is a large clear plastic tote wit the lid transformed by cutting a large section out and putting screen in place. I hang fake greenery from the screen for their enjoyment for hiding, yet they can't poop on it when its dangling down.

[jungle]

Nekton Tonics are a supplement, similar to vitamins, and come in a powdered form. Your best bet for finding them is to go online and search as few retailers stock the products. The one I use the most is the Tonic I for insect eating birds. While it does not include actual insects, it does include the amino acids from such a diet already broken down. They come out of Germany and are a specialty item but are superb supplements. I have used Nekton products for 20 years while breeding finches, hookbills, reptiles and amhphibians and now, poultry.