How to Feed Button Quail

Button quail, or Japanese painted quail, are often used to janitor the floors of aviaries because they can readily survive on the leftovers from other birds. These small birds, just 4 ½ to 5 inches in size, thrive when presented with a diet rich in protein but also including vegetables, greens and minerals. Most of the foods button quail enjoy are readily available in pet stores and in super markets.

Things You'll Need

  • Vegetables and fruits
  • Mealworms or crickets
  • Grit
  • Crushed oyster shells
  • Gamebird pellets or crumble
  • Bird vitamin supplement
  • Fresh water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure button quail have a good source of fresh water daily.

    • 2

      Offer a gamebird food like gamebird pellets or crumble, which is available at pet stores. These birds are very small so make sure to grind the food fine so they can handle it easily. The main component of a button quail diet is protein so this is a very important food source for them.

    • 3

      Give button quail mealworms, a favorite food. Mealworms are high in fat as well as protein so it is best to go sparingly, maybe a few times each week at most. Crickets are a good substitute but quail prefer mealworms.

    • 4

      Include some vegetables and fruits like cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes, sprouts and broccoli several times a week.

    • 5

      Purchase grit from a pet store and add in some crushed oyster shells to help female quail produce eggs. Grit is important as an aid in digestion for most birds.

    • 6

      Add a liquid vitamin supplement made for small gamebirds to the water about once a week to help provide any nutrients the birds may have missed.