Some time ago I wrote an alticle

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F ster Rearing Buttn Quail II A Female Learns t Rear Chicks by Nancy Bent, Brkfield, Illinis Sme time ag I wrte an alticle fr this publicatin describing an attelnpt t teach a felnale Blue-breasted (r

1 F ster Rearing Buttn Quail II A Female Learns t Rear Chicks by Nancy Bent, Brkfield, Illinis Sme time ag I wrte an alticle fr this publicatin describing an attelnpt t teach a felnale Blue-breasted (r Buttn) Quail (Cturnix (Exca!factria) chinensis) t rear her chicks (Bent 1996). Briefly, this female wuld incubate her eggs fr half f the nrmal 16-day incubatin perid and then abandn theln. I finally relnved a clutch f eggs t an incubatr after they were abandned, and when the chicks hatched I placed them with their mther in a suitably furnished thirty galln fish tank t see if she wuld rear them. The experi Inent was a partial success - th female exhibited mst f the nrmal caregiving behavirs and successfully reared all f the chicks given t her. Unfrtunately, she never laid again, s I was never able t determine if she had learned anything frm this parenting experience that might carry ver t her next clutch. Since the felnale had reared the chicks alne, I als did nt knw if a male culd learn hw t care fr chicks. When this ' educated" female died I was faced with the prspect f starting ver again. In additin, I was faced with the prblem f lcating anther female quail. Like many species f birds, Buttn Quail seem t cme int and g ut f fashin, and I was searching fr birds in a "dwn" perid in ur area. After many fruitless phne calls I fina lly lcated sme birds in ne f the large chain pet stres. There was nly ne ptential prhlem - the birds were all mutatin clrs. I prefer the nrmal, wild clratin fr a nulnber f reasns, nt the least f which is that I feel that the line breeding, inbreeding, and intensive rearing methds required t "fix" the new mutatin clrs is helping t create the well-dcumented lss f the birds' brding and chick rearing instincts (Aldertn 1992; Hinze 1997, 1998). Hwever, with n ther chices and with an aging n1ale, I chse the mst nrmal clred felnale (a dilute brwn "atmeal") frm the stre and hped fr the best. After a few Innths f curtship and pair bnding, the dilute brwn female began t build nice nests in the silk plant thickets I prvided and prduced tw large clutches, bth f which she incubated fr fur days lnger than the nrmal incubatin perid. Bth clutches were unfrtunately clear, and nt lng after the abandnment f the secnd clutch the ld male died. Nw I had a female wh wuld huild nests and incubate her eggs, but n male t feltilize thse eggs. A secnd frantic search again failed t turn up any quail anywhere - - except the same large chain pet stre. This time they had n birds that even apprached nnnal clratin, s I chse th calmest male available. This new bird, a red-breasted silver, began t curt my dilute brwn female immediately, and within a mnth she was incubating her third clutch. Unfrtunately, she was lured ff her nest by the cnstant curting f her new yung mate after five days, but when I pened the eggs I fund that five ut f her clutch f 11 were fertile. We were back in business. Only tw weeks after abandning clutch three, the female began t incubate clutch fur, als cntaining 11 eggs. When incubating her large clutches it was amazing t see the hen's ability t flatten herself ut, becming a disk f brwn feathers as she tried t cver all f the eggs. As later events were t shw, she was apparently unable t fully warm such a large clutch. Thi time she abandned her clutch after 17 days, ne day verdue. When I pulled the eggs and pened ne, it cntained a tiny, live chick, which appeared t be halfway thrugh the develpmental prcess. I ilnmediately placed the remaining 10 eggs int a Hva-Batr thennal air flw incubatr at I intended t give the resulting chicks back t their parents t raise. As n1y initial experiment had shwn, a basically naive female was induced t care fr her chicks, even in islatin frm her mate and presumably after any brdy tendencies had suhsided (since she had abandned her nest eight days befre the chicks Tw incubatr-hatched chicks befre their intrductin t their parents. The chick n the left grew int a red-breasted silver, the ther became a pied (nrmal/dilute brwn). c en «I Ql a: :v Ol a: >...0 (5 L a.. the afa \\fatchbird 21

2 Dilute brwn female shwn with tw f her clutch f nine chicks. The chicks grew int nrmal plumage. hatched). I felt that my current, presumably mre "prepared" female quail wuld prve t be an even better mther, as she had shwn herself t be very brdy in her previus clutches. Since the male was very gentle and calm, and had ften jined her n her nest while she was incubating, I decided it was safe t leave him with new chicks. As Harrisn (975) pinted ut, these quail shw strng and persistent pair bnds, and the male takes a full share in the care f the yung. I als decided nt t pull the quail frm the mixed-species flight that they shared with three species f finches int an islated area, thugh I had dne this in the prir experiment. I wanted t keep things as clse t what the pair was used t as pssible. I culd always fall back t mving the birds t an aquariuin tank, r as a wrst-case scenari, hand-rearing the chicks. Three days after I had placed the eggs in the incubatr, I candled tw t check fr develpment. On seeing abslutely n mvement, I pened the first and discvered an apprxin1ately three quarter grwn chick dead in shell. Hwever, the secnd egg held an almst fully develped live chick with the bld vessels still shwing, which I had t euthanize. I vwed nt 22 Marchi April 2001 t pen any mre eggs. Fur days after placement int the incubatr, at 21 days int incubatin, three chicks hatched. When they were dry, fluffy, and steady n their feet I placed them int the nest area in the flight cage. I als prvided a heat lamp at that end f the cage s they wuld nt becme chilled. Within minutes f their placement in the nest, the active chicks had fund their way ut f the nest thicket. Meanwhile, their parent had cautiusly apprached the nest, pssibly attracted by the lud peeping f the chicks. The mment f reunin was at hand. When the chicks saw the adults they iinmediately ran twards thein at which pint, their parents immediately ran away! The feinale particularly seemed very nervus, making quiet trilling distress calls as she kept as great a distance frm the chicks as she culd. The chicks were very persistent, cnstantly peeping and appraching the adults, even running after them if the adults ran. After an hur the gentle silver male suddenly began t make a lud mellw clucking nte in respnse t the chicks, and then began t brd thein. This call was similar t Harrisn's (1968) descriptin f a call given by his female, and Inay have been an invitatin t brd. Frm this mment n the male was an exemplary parent, calling his chicks t fd, tidbitting them with tiny meal wrms, and bt"ding. The next day (after 22 days f incubatin) three mre chicks hatched. After they dried ff, they t were intrduced t the cage whereupn their father immediately gathered thein int his brd. His mate cntinued t be smewhat nervus arund the chicks, but appeared t be calming dwn, and by the next mrning her parenting instincts had "switched n" and she was brding the chicks alng with her mate. Frm this pint n they were bth perfect parents, and the female prved t be even mre aggressive at defending her chicks frm perceived predatrs (my hands) than the male. After this clutch f chicks was fully grwn and dispersed t new wners, a disruptive perid lasting several mnths interrupted the hreeding cycle. Varius finches cming and ging frin the flight seemed t thrw the feinale ut f sync, and mving the pair t an aquarium tank t give ne f their daughters a chance at breeding in the big flight cage ended in disaster all arund. Nt nly did this silver daughter never fully pair bnd with a yung nrmal clred male I was able t find fr her, her parents hatched a clutch f five chicks in the aquarium tank and apparently pecked thein t death during my ahsence n a trip. Clearly, change was called fr. Since I am primarily interested in the natural breeding f nrmal, wildclred birds (Bent 1999), at this pint I decided t replace the silver male and pair my dilute brwn female with the nrmal Inale I had prcured fr her daughter. This male had heen gentle with the silver daughter, curting her and tidbitting, but the daughter had never respnded t hiin. As I had already dispersed the ther chicks I culd nt try the nrmal male with ne f the ther daughters, s this left the mther as my nly chice. And, as an experienced mther, it wuld be interesting t see if she culd repeat her previus success in the large flight

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4 cage with a new mate. Tw mnths after their intrductin, the female began incubatin f anther large clutch, 15 eggs this time. As with the previus silver male, her current nrmal mate ften jined her n her nest at night. He never tried t curt her nce she began incubatin -as -sme males I have wned have dne (Bent 1996), and he appeared t be very calm. All f this gave me high hpes fr this male's parental abilities. After anther lnger than nrmal incubatin perid (18 days this time), nine f the 15 eggs hatched. I first discvered the chicks when I checked the birds the night f the 18th day and discvered an eggshell prtruding ut frm under the female n ne side, and the struggling feet f a still-hatching chick appearing frm her ther side. The male was still n the nest with her, and may have even been brding sme f the chicks as he had als assumed the flattened disk shape f the female. On the first check the next mrning bth parents were calmly shepherding the nine chicks arund the cage, calling them t fd, brding, and prtecting them frm my hands as the female had dne previusly. Interestingly, the finches that shared the cage were never perceived as a threat, but my hands always were. The remaining six eggs in the nest all prved t be clear. This pair were perfect parents. The nw-experienced female shwed n sign f the nervusness that she demnstrated with her previus incubatr-hatched clutch, and n signs f the abusive behavir that had apparently caused her t kill her chicks when in the aquarium tank. The male, naive t parenting skills thugh he was, shwed n hesitatin in caring fr his large brd, and was an equal partner in all phases f chick rearing. I remved the chicks when they were seven weeks ld and their father had begun t try and chase them away. I thught I was nw set - I finally had a gd pair f Buttn Quail wh wuld rear their wn chicks. I shuld have knwn that things are never that simple! After a few mnths rest fr mlting and recuperatin, the female began t lay again. She scattered her eggs fr a few weeks, then built a new nest and began a true clutch. Unfrtunately, at this pint she became egg-bund, and thugh she managed t pass a very large egg after I placed her int a 95 incubatr with very high humidity, she died the next day. This is the first female I have lst t egg binding after years f using mineral supplements (Avimin ) in the drinking water. I have nw increased the amunt f this supplement that I add t the drinking water in hpes f frestalling a similar lss in the future. This recent lss f my dilute brwn female left me with a yung, experienced male, and after yet anther lng search I prcured fund a new yung female frm a Buttn Quail breeder. As seems t be my lt, she is anther mutatin clr - a cinnamn this time. When she was intrduced t GRUMBACHINCUBATORSOFGERMANY WHENONLYTHE BESTWILLDO Ih'm... h"" Cmpact SH4 Item sh"n H203/01/02-lncubatl'" BSS300. includes prgntmmahle mtr turning. 7 egg tra~'s. each with 8 turnahle '-(llit.-s. adjustable t the size f the egg, directly adjustable autmatic humidificatin system. ('ul duwn timer. digital thermmeter- and humidity readuts....,,~-,3.j ldiiij.1 Electrnic regulatin f temperature fr maximum precisin. Egg tray with rllers, adjustable t each size egg. Autmatic humidity cntrl, adjustable frm 40% t 99 n l,. water reservir 4.5 liters. It can add humidity nly. Autmatic turning, determinatin f turning intervals and degree by pressing tabs n timer. Circulatin air system fr ptimum distributin f temperature. LYON ELECTH.IC COMI':'\NY INC IS Ntm TIlE EXCLllSIVE IlISTRHHJ1'OR FOR (31 C.rulllbach I 24 Marchi April 2001 {;HUMBACtI INCUBA ['(II{... (I'" (;EltMANY F( IH TilE l'.s.:\. AND CAl'AUA 1690 BltANDYWINE AVENUE CHULA VISTA. CA t'.s.. \ LYONI-:LEO.. CTIi.C(IM.WW\\.LY(INELECTHI{.. (.(IM ~Y9.Nti

5 Male Chinese Painted (Buttn) Quail. the male they appeared t bnd almst immediately, and she has built a nest. When she began t lay, nly her first "pullet" egg was left in the cage at large - all f her subsequent eggs have gne int her nest. With any luck, this new pairing will lead t the answer f a new questin in Buttn Quail chick rearing - will an experienced male help a naive female t learn t incubate her eggs and raise her chicks? Is the male a necessary cmpnent t the equatin? My guc!ss is that he is, and that his familiarity with the whle prcess f curtship, nest building, incubatin, and chick rearing will help his new mate t hecme a successful parent. Only time will tell. Acknwledgement Many thanks t Rger Reasn fr help with this paper and all phses f my quail breeding prgram. literature Cited Aldertn, David The Cmplete Cage and Aviary Bird Handbk. Neptune, NJ: TFH Publicatins, Inc., p Bent, Nancy Fster rearing buttn quail chicks : an attempt at a return t natural breeding. AFA Watch bird 23(6): Bent, Nancy A different philsphy n keeping & breeding buttn quail. Game Bird and Cnservatinists ' Gazette 46(5): Harrisn, c.] Sme ntes n the behaviur f nesting painted quail, and sme further ntes n their calls. AVicultural Magazine 74(1) : Harrisn, c.] The pair-bnd in Excalfactria. Bulletin f the British Ornithlgists ' Club 95(3): 128. Hinze, Ian Ask the Experts: Chinese painted quail. Bird Talk, 15(8): Hinze, Ian Ask the Experts: Chinese painted quail. Bird Talk, 16(11): ~ the afa WATCHBIRD 25

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