Feature Articles

Californian Quail

Male Californian

Article by Stewart Miller - Photos by NZ Birdz

SIZE: 30 to 250 mm in length

WEIGHT: 120 to 250 grams

Pair of Red Mutation

DESCRIPTION:
Normal -Predominately an overall grey colour, particularly on breast and down the back, where the grey blends in with a mousey brown. Males have a black face mask bordered by a thin white stripe. Back & white lacing on back of neck, with wider lacing on underbelly and fronts of wings. Females lack the face mask. Both have a small crest, consisting of a single feather, protruding from the centre of the forehead, above the beak. The colour of the mutation is seen on the normal on the underbelly, where it is a light tan- brown.

Red Mutation - The grey on shoulders and down the back is much softer and blends in with the new colour, although on the female the grey is absent. The new colour is a combination of gold, red & tan. Lacing is similar to the normal and the black face mask is also on the male, showing the same white border. Wings are a lovely gold with red streaking. Chest is a light creamy gold with flecking in the feathering.

Normal pair

Origin of Red Mutation
It's hard to know exactly when this colour mutation originated from. The first birds I am aware of were in the Wanganui area. There were two stories that circulated around as to how this mutation came into our aviaries. The first was that it is the result of an importation from Australia. I find this hard to believe as people I have talked to in Australia, say that no mutations exist there. The second story was that a single bird was caught from the wild and in captivity the mutation was established from there. As the truth of the matter I am unsure but lean towards the latter. My birds come from a single cock bird, courtesy of Wayne Dodds of Mokoia Pets. A month after receiving it, he rung me to say I now had the last one of these birds in New Zealand. What followed was a roller coaster of highs and lows.

I secured a normal hen from the late Fred Underwood and managed to breed splits from this pair. The red coloured bird was lost over winter leaving me wondering about the colours inheritance and whether or not it was recessive. With the start of the breeding season there was a slight difference between day old chicks. As they feathered, it was apparent that I had achieved some success. To keep the birds with strong bIoodlines I introduced a wild caught cock bird from a different location each year. Unlike a lot of birds in New Zealand, the fact that there are wild stocks still available means we can keep the bloodlines strong by doing this. Its interesting to note that the colour of birds being bred now is different to the original bird given to me. Its appearance was less a uniform red or cinnamon colour and has quite a broken look to it. With this in mind I keep thinking that because the mutation is quite young, further variations could be developed easily. I was looking at a split the other day and noticed it was carrying a few white feathers. Maybe this can be built on and pieds may the next variant.

Housing
It is a common misconception that this species needs a large planted flight. In fact they do well in a parrot style aviary with a few basic modifications. It can be as simple as Tea Tree in a corner or a board to retreat behind when they feel threatened. Perches are a necessity for roosting at night and a concrete floor can also help with hygiene. My birds do best in coops that resemble a dog kennel and run, with either concrete floors or netting bases.

Group of Red Mutations

As a rule they are not aggressive but should be kept in pairs for breeding. Because they do have a slightly nervous disposition they should not be introduced into aviaries already containing other species of quail. I have kept them with birds as small as Gouldians and never had problems. Wet aviaries with dirt floors will prove to be their undoing. During breeding season be sure they do have cover in a corner as mentioned above with the addition of nesting material.

Feeding
Apparently in the wild their preferred diet is a mixture of seeds and green leaves with occasional insects. In captivity they will flourish on a mixed budgie seed and the usual greens supplemented with chick starter. A source of vitamins and calcium is also beneficial especially during breeding season. If kept basic they will thrive.

Breeding
Birds should be paired by the end of August so as they have time to bond. Usually around the start of November you will have your first eggs, although this may extend into December with some pairs. Californian's eggs are uniformly yellowish-white in colour with brown speckles of varying sizes. Eggs on average are 30mm long by 25mm wide but differ from hen to hen. If incubating the eggs they should be picked up daily. If the hen is left with sizeable clutches and they are removed she will stop laying for some time. The number of eggs laid by a hen over the season can vary from 20 to 90. With quail the main factor that stimulates egg production is daylight hours. This means, that with a bit of manipulation you can extend the season.

Nest of Eggs

When storing eggs they should be cleaned and placed in trays. At least once a day they should be rotated. Always store them in a cool , well ventilated room. Eggs should be set in your incubator by day 10 for best results. As a rule the eggs hatch on day 23, but you should see the egg pip 24 hours before hatching. Whatever you do resist the urge to help the chick out of the shell. In these final 24 hours, by helping it along you may just kill one. Within 24 hours of hatching they should be placed in the brooder.

The brooder I use is fairly basic to make. A standard size would be 600 x 600 x 250mm high. They are constructed of timber and the wire netting is placed over the top as a lid and a light bulb extended through to provide a heat source. A quick check on the internet will show the many variations available. Chick starter and water are the other two necessities for rearing chicks. The water depth should be regulated with stones, so the chicks don't drown. Decrease the wattage of the light bulbs as chicks mature and wean them off all heat by week twelve. Of course a far easier way of hatching can be just to let the hens sit the eggs and rear them herself. If using this method, just make sure the chicks are restricted to one area of the flight. Remember they can fly within a few days of hatching, so don't rear good chicks with a haphazard approach.

A Few Hints On Incubation
* Don't hatch in incubators where eggs are still set. Use a separate incubator for each hatching, do not set mixed settings of eggs.

* De-beak at one day old all chicks as they are prone to cannibalism. Remove about ¼ of the top mandible only. Trim again when it grows back. Be careful not to trim or cut the vein. It is better to do this than have trouble later.

* In the brooders just use chick starter as food. There is no need for egg or live food, as these can promote disease.

* Completely cover the floor with chickstarter, so that what ever they pick at is edible. If you use sand or paper they can compact on it.

* Use a recognised disinfectant from your local vet to clean incubators. Unclean incubators will result in the loss of high numbers of chicks. Eye and stomach infections are usually a sign your incubator has a bug in it.

* For Californians the temperature in your incubator wants to be between 99 - 99.5 oF

Californian Quail in the Wild

* If for some reason you lose your heat source, eggs can still be viable for up to 24 hours. In two cases that spring to my mind the hatch rate actually increased.

* Cover the incubator with a towel and keep the machine in a cool, well ventilated are so as to maintain a steady temperature.

* Because you do not us water in the incubator for the first twenty days, they would have to be the easiest species to incubate.

* The internet has all the advice and information on this subject that you could ever want.

Establishing Wild Coveys
It is hard to believe , with New Zealand's history of Game Bird operations there is so little information available. With the development of Shooting Preserves in our country there has been an influx of trained Gamekeepers in the last year or two. Whether you agree with the principle of paid shooting or not the information and knowledge they bring is invaluable. Birds are now bred by the thousands instead of hundreds. Equipment feeds and stock are now readily available to us all.

For me it has meant a change of emphasis, seeing how easy it is to establish wild populations of birds, we have done exactly that. We got permission to trap wild Californian Quail from a Berry farm where they were causing problems. To this we added some captive bred birds to form a covey.

We chose to release them at a coastal property where there was a small remnant population. A release pen was built and our birds placed it. A week later the wild birds had familiarised themselves and one morning we raised the release hatch. The local birds grouped with ours and were seen together for the following weeks. The big test of success came with the breeding season. To see small family units at the end of January wandering around the bushes was a sight many locals had not seen for some time. The population swelled to around sixty.

The residents in the nearby town also took an interest in the birds with pest control being undertaken by them. It was good to see so many people taking an active interest in preserving a species that is disappearing in so many areas.

I hope this beautiful bird will continue to be established in the wild in New Zealand, as well as in aviculture and look forward to perhaps establishing further mutations for all of us to enjoy.