Button quail
The button quail of the pet trade is the Chinese painted quail, the smallest of the Old World quails at 1–1.4 oz and about 5 in long. It is kept mainly in aviaries and as a companion bird. Young are mature and laying at about a month old, and hens lay clutches of 6–14 olive to brown spotted eggs.
Is the Button right for you?
Good fit if
- You want a tiny ground bird for an aviary
- You want quail to watch and listen to rather than to eat
- You can keep cocks apart from each other
Poor fit if
- You want meat or table eggs. An adult weighs 1–1.4 oz and an egg about 5 g
- You want a quiet bird. Both sexes crow
- You want a bird with published care standards. None of the extension sources here covers this species
Appearance and varieties
This is the smallest of the Old World quails: 12.5–14 cm long (about 5–5½ in) and 28–40 g (1–1.4 oz), with the hen the larger of the pair.
The wild-coloured cock is dark brown above with a slate blue-grey breast, a dark rust to chestnut-red belly, a black throat patch surrounded by a white band, and a black eye stripe. The hen has none of the blue, red or black; she is brown with a rust-brown breast and belly. Both have black beaks, yellow to orange legs and a short dark tail.
Breeders have produced other colours. Silver is the best known; there are also white (not albino), several brown tones and a mottled silver-grey.
Chicks hatch about the size of a bumblebee. They are usually brown; white parents produce yellow chicks.1
Temperament and handling
Button quail live in pairs or small coveys. Males kept close together are aggressive towards each other.
They are ground birds. They do not perch, seldom fly, walk in a crouch with quick nods of the head, and keep clean by dust-bathing. A frightened bird drops to the ground and gives a fast, high peeping call.
They are talkative. Both sexes give a loud three- or four-note crow when out of sight of each other, and chicks start to crow at a couple of weeks old. A cock will pick up a morsel and offer it to the hen with short peeps.1
Animals vary within a breed. Treat this as what to expect, not a promise, and meet the animal before you buy if you can.
Production numbers
What our sources report for the breed. If two sources disagree, you see the full range.
Housing, feed and health
Feed
They eat mostly small grass seeds: red, white and yellow millet, maw, niger and rape. They also take fresh greens and, in small amounts, small worms and insects.
Hens kept in captivity need extra calcium, given as ground oyster shell or cuttlefish.1
Where to buy
We found no chick or adult prices on a seller page dated within the last 24 months, so no range is given.
Start with a breeder you can visit. Nobody pays to be on this list.
| Seller or directory | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stromberg's Chickens | Hatchery | Hatching eggs only, breeder's choice assortment |
Similar breeds
History
The name is a mix-up. In aviculture these birds are called button quail, but the true buttonquails are a different group of birds (genus Turnix) that are not closely related. This one is the Chinese painted quail, also called the king quail, blue-breasted quail or blue quail.
It is a wild bird of wet grassland and rice fields from India and south-east China to Australia. Painted quail were first imported into England in 1870, and the first chicks bred in captivity in Britain are credited to E.G.B. Meade-Waldo in 1898, though there are earlier breeding records from Amsterdam Zoo in 1842 and France in 1873. The first birds bred in the United States may have come from Guam in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
There is a legend that Chinese emperors carried the birds in their sleeves as hand warmers.1
Common questions
How big do button quail get?
About 5–5½ in long and 1–1.4 oz (28–40 g). Hens are a little bigger than cocks. It is the smallest of the Old World quails.1
Is a button quail the same as a king quail?
Yes. The button quail sold to bird keepers is the Chinese painted quail, also called the king quail or blue-breasted quail. The true buttonquails are an unrelated group of birds in the genus Turnix.1
What colours do button quail come in?
The wild colour is brown, with a slate-blue breast, chestnut belly and black-and-white throat on the cock. Captive-bred colours include silver, which is the best known, white, several browns and a mottled silver-grey.1
How long do button quail eggs take to hatch?
16 to 19 days. A clutch is usually 6–14 eggs, each about 5 g and olive green to brown with dark spots.1
How fast do button quail grow up?
Very fast. Chicks hatch the size of bumblebees, start crowing at a couple of weeks, and are mature and able to breed at about one month.1
What do button quail eat?
Mostly small seeds such as millet, with fresh greens and a few small insects or worms. Hens in captivity need extra calcium from ground oyster shell or cuttlefish.1
Can male button quail live together?
Not comfortably. Males are aggressive towards each other when kept in close contact. The birds are normally found in pairs or coveys.1
Sources
The small numbers beside each fact point to one of these.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Coturnix chinensis (blue-breasted quail or king quail), Animal Diversity Web (Pappas, 2001).
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Commercial Game Bird Breeder License Information.
- BreedBarn, Editorial rating, method on the editorial policy page.
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