Foster Rearing Button Chicks An attempt at a return to natural breeding

by Nancy Bent, Brookfield, IL

Why another article about the But­ big thicket on one side for their nest ton Quail, or Blue-breasted Quail ~ attempts did not prompt any nest­ (Exca!!actoriaj chinensis as it J/ building behavior from the pair I had is more accurately known (Clements at that time. I gave a number of eggs 1991)? Certainly there has been a lot to friends for artificial incubation and

written about this tiny game over '.' =, :,'j: hatching, but I was only interested in '. . ~..~ .J..,. " the years, so why did I feel the need to ..::, ,/ having chicks from parents which had add my two cents worth? This paper ....-r cared for them. will describe my efforts to facilitate the At this point I called Cathy House, a natural breeding of Button Quail, and well-known breeder of Button , offer some ideas for teaching naive This is when I discovered the "typical" button and explained that I was looking for a to raise their own chicks. Quailfemale who will not build a nest, pre­ daughter from a female that would sit I have kept and bred Button Quail felTing to scatter eggs around the enclosure on her own eggs and raise her own with no thought ofincubation. on a small scale for about 10 years chicks. She was kind enough to pro­ now. I purchased my first pair from a (Radford 1986 & 1987, Rutgers and vide me with just such a female (she local pet store and set them up for Norris 1970), my male never bothered also very generously donated a pair of breeding in a thirty gallon "long" fish the female while she was incubating. quail to Brookfield Zoo, where they tank. Having been a bird keeper at the He did have to be removed when the resided in our mixed- finch Brookfield Zoo for a number of years, chicks hatched though, as he tended exhibit until their deaths). This female I was convinced of the desirability of a to peck them when they tried to brood immediately paired with my current, naturalistic habitat to get the birds to under him. very gentle male. She built a nest in the feel comfortable enough to breed. This . This pair raised a number of clutch­ thicket, lined it with grasses that I pro­ fact was also noted by Hayes (992) es, many chicks from which went to vided, laid a clutch, then incubated. and Parrot-Holden (988). ]ohnsgard friends and co-workers. Many of the Unfortunately, her idea of the incuba­ (988) states that these birds are found females from this pair who were later tiol} period varied from two to nine in the wild in open grassland habitats, paired with males also proved to be days-nowhere near the required 16 and Ali and Ripley (969) describe the good sitters. After four successful days. nest as a "scrape lined sparsely with clutches myoid female died and I pur­ A friend requested some eggs, leaves and grass placed in a clump chased her replacement at another pet which I was glad to provide, and of short grass." I therefore set up the store. hatched a number of chicks. One of tank with a substrate of corn cob bed­ This is when I discovered the "typi­ the female chicks proved to be beauti­ ding, a tangled clump of artificial cal" Button Quail female who will not ful and calm and was shown at a num­ plants in the corner as a nest site, and build a nest, preferring to scatter eggs ber oflocal bird shows where she won plastic leaves wired to the cage top to around the enclosure with no thoughts several ribbons. Meanwhile, her moth­ prevent injuries should the hirds spook of incubation. This new female always er developed egg peritonitis in the and try to fly straight up. appeared more nervous than my orig­ midst of laying her latest clutch and I just naively assumed that the birds inal female, and tended to spend much had to be euthanized. In desperation, would then nest and raise their own ofthe day pacing around the tank. The knowing that I didn't want to lose this young. I was totally unaware of the male was much rougher with her than "sitting" bloodline, I begged my friend problems often encountered with this he was with his original mate. for the prizewinning female. Since she species, that they are often "too ner­ Thinking that he could be part of the did not want to breed Button Quail my vous to care for their own eggs and problem I traded him to a friend for a friend graciously complied. young unless conditions are absolutely gentle older male that she had. This This new female proved to be as ideal" (Radford 1987). Either I was calmed the female enough that she at calm as her mother, and from her first blessed with a female who had not least deposited all of her eggs in a nest serious egg-laying she built nests in the read any of the dire predictions about in the artificial plant clump, but the thicket area and incubated the result­ her species, or the pair was very com­ concept of incubation still eluded her. ing clutches. But, like her mother, she patible, or the cage was just what they After several more tries with differ­ only incubated each clutch for part of preferred, because from the first egg ent birds I began to realize what a trea­ the reqUired period. She always sat she laid the female was a good sitter. sure I had had with my original very tightly for eight days and was not And though several authorities also female. Even a move to the floor of a disturbed by her mate or the other suggest removing the male right away large mixed-species flight cage with a birds in the cage. In fact, her mate

afa WATCHBIRD 13 E their young, both in the wild (Ali and quiet and undisturbed. This also had tIl ">. Ripley 1969) and in captivity (Harrison the advantage of being out of vocal g Z 1973, Rogerson 1966). However, since range of the male's crowing. '">. .0., I had negative experiences with my g> .~ original male, and since I would be o attempting to teach a presumably ner­ Tlie lieat {amp.. ana aust vous, naive female to care for her off­ mop were inc{uifea as arti­ spring, I decided to reduce the stress fjcta{ orooaers in case tlie on the female by leaving the male out lema{e refusea to care for In fact, her mate would often join her on her of the equation. 'lier cliicK...s. nest, sitting next to her infull body contact. The second decision was where to perform the experiment. Would the The tank was furnished with corn female be more comfortable in the cob bedding, a heat lamp, a dust mop, would often join her on her nest, sit­ large mixed-species flight she was food and water. The heat lamp and ting next to her in full body contact. used to, or should external stimuli be dust mop were included as artificial Harrison (968) also observed this reduced by moving her to a cage by brooders in case the female refused to behavior. However, .on the ninth day herself? Wood-Gush (971) cites sever­ care for her chicks. Food consisted of she would come off her nest in the al studies where broodiness was gamebird starter, small pieces of leaf morning and never go back. induced in domestic hens by placing lettuce, and small mealworms in a After six or seven clutches following them singly with small chicks. This shallow container (a Tupperware lid). this same pattern I decided to try a dif­ seemed to be the best approach as it Water was also presented in a ferent tactic. I wanted to see if this removed the distraction of the other Tuppelware lid, filled with aquarium female would care for her chicks once species in the flight. I therefore set up gravel so that the chicks couldn't they were hatched. I hoped that the a thirty gallon "long" fish tank in our drown. Vitamins were added to the stimulus of tiny chicks would awaken basement where the birds would be water. the female's maternal instincts, despite On day 16, six out of eight of the' the fact that she had not completed the eggs hatched (the other two were entire nesting cycle with its hormonal clear). One chick had crippled feet and and behavioral changes..Wood-Gush had to be euthanized when it became (971) describes these changes for the clear that it could not walk, but the domestic chicken, which would pre­ other five dried off normally and were sumably also operate in their tiny rela­ ready for the experiment. They were tives. placed into the tank and allowed to explore their surroundings for about an hour. The chicks eventually found the dust mop "mother" and went I liopea tliat tlie stimu{us under it to be brooded. I then intro­ of tin}! cliict; wou{a awaK...­ duced the female. en tlie fema{e s materna{ She wandered for a minute, but then found the food and began to instincts} aespite tlie fact This also had the advantage ofbeing out of tliat slie liaa not computea liOcal range ofthe male's crowing feed. The chicks woke up, saw her, tlie entire nesting c!lc[e and immediately ran out from under the dust mop and tried to brood under

I set up a Marsh Farms Turn-X incu­ bator at 99.5° and 55% relative humid­ ity and waited for the next clutch. Sure enough, after eight days of faithful sit­ ting, the female deserted her nest on the morning of day nine. This time though, the eggs immediately went into the incubator. I now had eight days to make a few decisions on how to proceed. The first decision was whether or not to include the male in this experi­ ment. Several authors have noted that The chicks woke up, saw her, and immediately ran outfrom under the dust mop and tried to male Button Quail will provide care for brood under the female. 14 November/December 1996 the female. This made her very ner­ vous, and she kept running away from the chicks as they touched her. She never pecked them or tried to hurt Do You J(now? them, hut it was clear that they made her very jittery. She hegan to calm ~ down after ahout an hour hut still did The AFA has professionally produced videos for the free use of not want the chicks to touch her. member clubs.For more information contact the When she sat down to rest, the chicks AFA Business Office (602) 484-0931. could sleep next to her as long as they Do your club members a favor and choose one of almost 20 titles on did not try to go underneath her. avian subjects including handfeeding ,breeding and disease-free aviaries The chicks later ohserved the macaws, breeding Cockatiels and many more subjects. female eating and drinking and fol­ lowed her lead. Though she never called her chicks to food or tidhitted them (a hehavior seen in my original female), she never ohjected when they From Finches to Canaries and Softbills, too... joined her at the food dish. We have the perfect magazine for you! Finch & Canary World Magazine "A world of information about your favorite birds"

Though she nemr called her chicks to food or lidbilted them (a behal'ior seen ill myorigi­ nalfemale), she neuer objected when they jOined her at the[ood dish. If you love finches, canaries & softbills.... You'll love Finch & Canary World magazine! After ahout a day and a half the Finch and Canary World is a quarterly pUblication dedicated to your special birds: female was calm enough to allow the finches, canaries and softbills. Discover the secrets of the experts and benefit from chicks to nestle under her feathers their valuable advice on how to care for, breed, and show these delightful birds. Enjoy when she slept, though she never the advantages of being a more knowledgeable bird owner, and look forward to: called them to hrood. At this point the • Informative Feature Articles & Fun Stories! chicks no longer used the dust mop • Insightful Commentary by featured Columnists "mother." The heat lamp was moved • Bird Show Listings and Show Results away when the female allowed the • Bird Club Listings and Club News chicks to hrood and there wa . no dan­ • Product Reviews and Classified Ads ger of their hecoming chilled. From •A Special Section for Kids! then on the female was hasically a Subscribe Now & Join The Fun! Only $18 per year! good mother and raised all five chicks. The next step in the experiment i -- -YES~I want-;-o--;ubscribe-;o-;inc~ ;-Canar;world.- -- i would have heen to see if the process of rearing chicks "switched on" the I Nam8 I I DOne Year $18 I female's incuhating instinct as it ~ Two Years $32 I I Address _ seemed to "switch on" her hrooding I .J Three Years $48 I City/State/Zip .J Sample Issue $5 I instinct. Would she sit on her next I clutch for the full 16 day incuhation, 0 Check Enclosed I I Phone (__) :J Bill Me Later and then rear her chicks' Would the I I experience of successfully rearing a I_ 24 Hour Order Line 1-800-864-2500 _~d clutch of chicks affect her hehavior ~ ~50park~enue,Montere~a9394~ ~: with her next clutch' There is evidence L__ __ that experienced hirds are more effi- afa WATCHBIRD 15 i:' ~ ing color mutations. These "modern ~ c: 'strains' are less willing to incubate. Z'" This situation has almost certainly ~ been brought about by the intensive '"c: .~ methods employed by some breeders" o (Woolham 1987). No other species of bird found in aviculture is produced this way-are we trying to create a species that can only be raised altifi­ cially? I would like to hearfrom other breeders who keep birds that incubate and rear their own broods, I am currently searching for parent­ both to trade stock and to compare methods. raised quail so that I can start my breeding program again, but I am hav­ cient as parents than those nesting for (such as nest building orincubation), ing difficulty locating naturally bred the first time (Skutch 1976), could be induced to foster chicks that birds locally. I would like to hear from Unfortunately, I could Qot answer any have been artificially incubated, It is other breeders who keep birds that of these questions with this female, as possible that such "parent" raised incubate and rear their own broods, she never laid again, It is possible that chicks will in turn be better parents, It both to trade stock and to compare the chicks she raised and all of the is also possible that the experienced methods. eggs she laid and never finished incu­ foster mothers may then go on to raise I would like to thank Roger Reason bating represented the sum of her their own clutches, for comments on an earlier draft ofthis potential reproductive output She was We aviculturists need more quail paper, and for assistance with all phas­ at this point approximately three years who will raise their own chicks, and es of my quail breeding program. old, and may have been at the end of need to rely less on artificial incuba­ her reproductive life, tors. As Alderton (986) states, "unfor­ LITERATURE CITED However, I discovered that this tunately, studies suggest that birds Alderton, David. 1986. 'fhe O"nplete Cage ,mdAvimy female Button Quail was capable of reared in this way (by incubator) over Hinl Handhook. Neptune. NJ TFH Publications Inc. raising chicks that she had not fully numerous generations lose their Ali. Salim andS Dillon Ripley. 1969. H'lIldhooko/the incubated and demonstrated many brooding instincts, compounding the mrds 0/ ",dia and Pakistan, Volume 2. Bombay and aspects of good parental behavior, It difficulty in the future." Many breeders London Oxford University Press would be interesting to see if other incubate all of their eggs, turning out Clements, James F. 1991. mrds 0/ the World a Check female Button Quail, particularly calm hundreds of birds per season, This is USI VISta, CA, Ibis Publishing Company. individuals that have already demon­ especially true of those breeding for Hamson, CJO 1968. "Some notes on the behaviour of nesting painted quail, and some further notes on their strated some reproductive behaviors pet trade quantity and for those breed- calls." Avicultural Magazine 74(1} 7-10

Harrison, CJO 1973. "Further notes on the behavior of painted quail Excalfactoria chinensis" Avicultural MagaZine 79(4} 136-139.

Hayes, Leland B. 1992. 'llJe Chillese Paimed Quail "I he Hulton QuaiL" ·Ihei,· Hreedirtg alld Care. Valley Grubco Live Our Customers Know•. Center, CA. Leland B. Hayes.

Grubco SCientifically-raised live Johnsgard, Paul A. 1988 'IlJe Quails, Pmtrid"es, mul Pet Foods foods are rich in nutrition. hartcolins 0/the World. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Nutritional analysis is available. Parrot-Holden,Jan 1988 "The miniature game bird .. Button Quail." AJo;4 Watchhi,d 14(6), '51-'54 M I. Available in 5 sizes tr;~.JIM..·/C · k t r~Our.&~s. ea .•,... InclUdIng giant Size I ric II. · Radford, Elaine 1986. "Two ways to raise Button Quai!." Bird 'falk 4(2) 48-'50 - Raised on mixture .... IW\V.O FI, La t •• high In protein , are l'IIJtritious Radford, Elaine. 1987 "lletter button quai!." Bird 'falk I~.======. -" ',,>-- containing ~~ ~.~.. 2'':~. '5(6) 4748 IWax W.,.. I Rogerson, Sheila M. 1966. "A personal observation of ~======the Chinese painted quai!." Avicultwal Magazine 72, 112­ ISI,e,...... ~ttli$~ Grubco Quality &Nutrition 114 Rutgers, A. and KA. Norris. 1970. ErtcrdojJedia 0/ Order by FAX: • ~ Over 40 Years experience! ~it~~:.5~~~ .. Avieulture, Volume 1. London, Blandford Press. Skutch, Alexander F. 1976. Parent Birds and their Young Austin, University of Texas Press. /(/ 800-222-3563 Woolham, Fmnk. 1987. The Halldh()ok 0/AuieullUre. I!I'" Call toll·free to place 6rubc0 Poole Blandford Press " your order and to receive KNOWN FOR QUALITY AND SERVICE. your free brochure. Box 15001 Hamilton. OH 45015 U.S.A. Wood-Gush, D.G.M. 1971. 'Ihe 13ehauiour olthe V http://www.herp.com:80/grubco/ IJmnestic !'()lol. London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd

16 November/December 1996