Providing Enrichment For Pet Quail

Quail are curious creatures, and they can easily get bored without enrichment. Bored quail will often pick on other quail, leading to unwanted stress and injuries. To curb this problem, you can provide them inexpensive, enjoyable activities to keep your birds occupied.

Although they will play with toys, I have noticed with my own quail that they love foraging and hiding more than anything when it comes to enrichment. This makes sense, since many prey animals like to burrow and hide. This is true with quail, rather than playing with things, they like playing in things much more. Here are some things you can try:

Give them Greens

If you pull up dandelions, grasses, and other weeds, you can give these to quail and they will happily eat them and play in them. Make sure that the weeds aren't treated with any chemicals. Most weeds are safe for quail to eat, but if you are unsure, stick with these:

Dandelion

You can give the whole plant to the quail. They love playing with it, and sometimes eating it. I had a male named Rooibos who would happily drag whole dandelion plants all around the pen, sometimes stopping to hold it up proudly, and then he would leave them in various places throughout the enclousure.

Purslane

This is another popular plant with my quail. It tends to grow everywhere from pavement cracks to gardens, and there is an abundant amount during the summertime. Again, I give the entire plant to my quail, and they will play in it and peck in it.

Grasses

Pretty much any type of grass can be given to quail, but if your quail really like eating the grass, give them softer more tender grass in smaller amounts to prevent them from getting a compacted crop. My quail love the tall, dried grass with the seedheads, and will tunnel through the grass and hide in there.

Clover

You can feed quail red or white clover. They don't seem to enjoy it unless they have a large amount to hide and forage in.

Give them a fresh pile of straw

This is a good choice for cold winters. My quail, especially the older ones, don't like getting cold. I give them a large armful of fresh, dry straw, and they love to tunnel through it and snuggle up with each-other to keep warm.

Dust Bathing

Quail love to dust bathe, and mine will enjoy it for hours. Quail, along with many other gamebirds, dustbathe to remove parasites and keep clean. Providing your birds with even some dirt to play in will keep them happy for hours.