Is it okay to pet a quail's back?

[karoopatroopa]

I have a male coturnix quail who is around five months old, he will be six months old on November 5th. I recently just found out that you aren't supposed to pet a parrot or any "exotic"/"pet bird" because they're erogenous and it will cause them to become sexually frustrated. I didn't know that and I pet my quail on the back all the time...I was just wondering if that's okay to do or not because I don't know if it's different for quails. I don't know what the signs of a sexually frustrated quail are and he is my first and only quail so I don't really know what's super normal and what isn't. He doesn't bite me or anything when I pet him and he lets me hold him for the most part so I'm not sure. I want to know if it's for me to pet him on his back so that if it is I can stop. Thank you!! (I mainly pet him on his head and on his back)

 

[Nabiki]

Quail are social, and if you only have one, he is probably lonely. You should either get another male and hope they get along (be aware this may not work and they may try to kill each other) or get him 3-5 girls. Only one hen isn't enough and she will get overbred.

Most quail don't like being petted at all, but yours is probably lonely enough to be happy for any company.

 

[Kiki]

Petting him is fine. Holding him may not be. Be careful to not squeeze him or let him fly away.

 

[Whiskybear]

You’re fine. A lone bird is gonna be sexually frustrated regardless. Beware that a lot of the advice taken for granted in the world of exotic pets is overthought, over-emphasized, or complete hogwash. Birds, reptiles, fish… it’s like that across the board. There is a grain of truth to the sexual aspect of stroking a bird's back, but just a grain; don’t overthink it. Besides, a lone quail is gonna need all the attention he can get.

 

[karoopatroopa]

Petting him is fine. Holding him may not be. Be careful to not squeeze him or let him fly away.

Fly away as in fly out of my hands or fly away forever like from my house? Because when I hold him when I'm sitting on the ground, I sometimes let him fly out from my hands but he's an indoor quail, he doesn't really go outside.

 

[karoopatroopa]

Quail are social, and if you only have one, he is probably lonely. You should either get another male and hope they get along (be aware this may not work and they may try to kill each other) or get him 3-5 girls. Only one hen isn't enough and she will get overbred.

Most quail don't like being petted at all, but yours is probably lonely enough to be happy for any company.

I've realized that he is probably very lonely and he crows a lot but due to other stuff in my life, I am not able to get any more quails. He roams around my house and has food and water in different areas, I'm not sure if this is good for him but he really likes my mom and is very attached to her and likes to cuddle with her. I don't know if letting him just walk around freely in my house is okay or not but we are very careful about him and make very sure that we don't step on, kick, or accidentally hurt him in any way. He has a cage but he just really doesn't like it (probably because he's very lonely and bored) and he would keep sticking his head out and try to fly out but after we let him walk around he was a lot happier and doesn't scream as much now. He also has a dust bath that he enjoys very much and we clean up all of his poop. I still don't know what to do in this situation though regarding him not having any other quails.

 

[Nabiki]

If you can't get him some companions, you might try a mirror and a small stuffed animal. Ideally you would rehome him with someone who already has quail, but rehoming a male can be difficult.

 

[karoopatroopa]

If you can't get him some companions, you might try a mirror and a small stuffed animal. Ideally you would rehome him with someone who already has quail, but rehoming a male can be difficult.

I've already tried a mirror and a stuffed animal and he didn't really take any interest in it. I also have no one near me who already has quail.

 

[corey_adams]

I have a male coturnix quail who is around five months old, he will be six months old on November 5th. I recently just found out that you aren't supposed to pet a parrot or any "exotic"/"pet bird" because they're erogenous and it will cause them to become sexually frustrated. I didn't know that and I pet my quail on the back all the time...I was just wondering if that's okay to do or not because I don't know if it's different for quails. I don't know what the signs of a sexually frustrated quail are and he is my first and only quail so I don't really know what's super normal and what isn't. He doesn't bite me or anything when I pet him and he lets me hold him for the most part so I'm not sure. I want to know if it's for me to pet him on his back so that if it is I can stop. Thank you!! (I mainly pet him on his head and on his back)

yeah sometimes i pet my little guy on the head, hope this helps