quail dust bath?

[neontreefrog5]

looking to set up a dust bath for my buttons, trying to decide what material to put in it. i have read many of the dust bath threads but most seem to be about chickens. has anyone had success with a certain dust bath technique for button quails? also would anyone be able to shed some light on if any commercially ready dust bath mixes would be safe for them (ex. chinchilla dust bath sand, which is pure volcanic ash)

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

i give my quail sand to roll around in...they love it...i don't know if that would be a dust bath though.

The chinchilla stuff might work, but i have no experience with that.

 

[dc3085]

Insert pan of dirt, watch quail behavior begin. It's that easy. It's best to go to home depot and buy clean sterilized play sand you'll get a uniform dust free grain that causes you and the birds the least amount of dust related problems possible. You don't want cemex or other brands of construction sand since they often are full of dust that will end up in your birds lungs.

 

[neontreefrog5]

thank you both very much! gonna try the play sand out.

 

[GrandmaBird]

I use a 8 inch cake pan about 2 inches deep with the play sand and PDZ mixed in to help with the odor of the buttons. I just have one pair so this pan is plenty big enough. If you have many more then try using a plastic tub or something you can wash every couple weeks at least. have fun they are really fun to watch taking the bath!

 

[caj1985]

You also might want to use something that has a top as they will empty a regular pan in a very short period of time.

 

[neontreefrog5]

thank you GrandmaBird! i cant wait for them to hatch, i plan so far ahead for everything it drives me nuts to have to wait for them. but they should be quite happy, once theyre big enough they will be going into their own little section of the house
now that ive gotten basically all of my essentials bought up i just have to sit around and wait

also, how much PDZ do you put in there? ive seen a few people just spread it in the coops, but putting it in their bath sounds a bit easier. id be worried about putting too much around them and have them eat it

 

[neontreefrog5]

caj1985 - thank you for the suggestion. i was looking at one of the chinchilla bath houses they sell, as its enclosed aside from the opening they use to get in and out. quite a bit bigger than the buttons as well, but i was unsure if they would fight over it.

 

[caj1985]

The PDZ won't hurt them if they do eat it. I put it in all my brooders to help keep moisture and smell down. Between the PDZ and the equine fresh litter I seldom have to actually change the brooder litter before chicks move to the growout coop.

 

[neontreefrog5]

oh okay! ive seen the stuff at TSC but never used it so i was unsure. thank you again!