Mary Allen
Cynthia Nupnau specializes in Chinese Dwarf Quail. Bird lovers often neglect the little shuttlecocks that scurry about on the aviary floor. They are demanding and have interesting behavior.
A bare aviary floor, maybe a dry pine branch in the corner. A habitat for the Chinese dwarf quail should not look like this. At the breeder Cynthia Nupnau in Biessenhofen in Thurgau, the small chicken birds have the opposite at their disposal: a well-structured habitat. The young woman has specialized in keeping and breeding the small shuttlecocks. She keeps the species in various mutations in four covered outdoor aviaries as well as in indoor enclosures, some of which she has arranged in tiers. All aviaries and enclosures have in common shelter options, green plants, fresh branches, sand baths, areas with bark mulch, stones.
In contrast, one often sees plucked Chinese dwarf quail, especially in poorly structured aviaries. “They pull each other when they don’t like each other or when they’re bored,” says Nupnau. She has complex experiences with the little birds and adds with a smile: “Sometimes they pluck each other when they are not in love enough.” Such birds should be separated immediately, advises the 24-year-old. “If you don’t do anything for a long time, then the misconduct will remain.” Pygmy quail with plucked plumage would have to be kept individually until they were fully feathered again. Only then could they be mated again.
Monogamous Lifestyle
There are many misconceptions circulating, especially when it comes to the form of keeping. Murnau advises keeping a couple together. “They may be small gallinaceous birds, but they are much more complicated than chickens,” says the breeder. Chickens live in small groups with a rooster, but in the case of pygmy quail, keeping multiple females with one rooster leads to competition among the females. “A male always has a favorite female.” This can lead to frustration among those who are not chosen. Although there are people who keep groups, Nupnau finds it difficult. She makes it clear: “In nature, they live monogamously.”
The dwarf quail lover has four covered outdoor aviaries for one pair of these smallest chicken birds. They are about 1 × 2 × 1.5 meters in size. Grasses and herbs form tunnels with their stalks and stalks through which the quail slip. These are conditions similar to those found in its vast range, which stretches from western India to Australia. Even in the wild, Chinese dwarf quail only seem to fly when startled out of dense undergrowth, but much is unknown about their wildlife. Much more is known from their long keeping history. Dwarf quails have been in human hands since around 1794.
Murnau is not only fascinated by the tiny size of these quails, but she is also interested in the different colors. In addition to wild-colored specimens, she breeds mutations such as silver, fawn, dark red breast, and dun. A total of between 14 and 18 breeding pairs live with her, some of them in indoor enclosures. A lamp with ultraviolet light alternately illuminates the crate cages arranged on top of each other, which she has designed as landscapes.
Devoted Roosters
The quail specialist says that a pair that gets along well can be kept in a terrarium measuring approximately 1.50 x 80 x 50 meters. “A couple should have no less than a square meter of space,” Murnau recommends bark mulch or wood shavings as bedding. “Sand quickly starts to stink because of the excrement.” It would be better to provide sand in a bowl. Under a branch, root, or shelter, pygmy quail hens would like to build their simple nests.
Murnau starts breeding in May. The longer days and higher temperatures would have a stimulating effect on the pygmy quail. It only keeps them frost-free indoors in winter. It is a joy to watch a harmonious couple. «The rooster takes great care of his hen and even gives her treats.» If they were separated, the rooster would call loudly for his hen. When the hen asked her rooster to mate, she would make a chirping sound and lie down on the ground. Hens can call too.
Cynthia Nupnau also runs the Kunstbrut. “I wouldn’t make any headway with natural breeding alone,” she says, who is also particularly interested in colors. If she sees an egg, she takes it away. She collects all the eggs for about 14 days and stores them pointed end down until she puts them all in the incubator. The incubation period lasts 17 days at a temperature of 38.3 degrees and a humidity of 60 percent. “The eggs are turned regularly.”
When hatching, Nupnau increases the humidity to 80 percent. About half of the embryos hatch. She installs a heat plate for the newly hatched chicks, a kind of mini table that stands in the box and radiates heat. The chicks then scuttle under it. They are kept indoors for the first few days and are fed quail chick chow that is high in protein.
Separate After the Fifth Week
“After just a week, they no longer need warmth as much,” explains Nupnau. The chicks are bumblebee-sized at first, no longer need a heat source from the age of three weeks and a room temperature of 20 degrees, and by the age of five weeks, they are fully feathered.
The dwarf quail breeder also lets the females incubate their young themselves. “A clutch consists of four to twelve eggs.” Usually about eight. Dwarf quails from artificial breeding also develop into good parents. Murnau already had to intervene at laying not. “I was then able to gently massage the egg,” says the animal expert. She also hands raised a pygmy quail herself. The bird is very trusting but now lives with a conspecific in a large terrarium.
Young birds can be kept together until they are five weeks old. “Then they start chasing each other.” If Nupnau didn’t separate them, they would start plucking their feathers, because they become sexually mature at eight to twelve weeks. A Chinese dwarf quail can live up to ten years. The diet of funny and interesting dwarf quail is not complicated. Cynthia Nupnau gives budgie food and mixes in blue poppy seeds, laying quail food and dried herbs.
As a treat, she hands out dried freshwater shrimp. The quail also like to peck at the cucumber and eat the leaves of a golliwog. When talking to Cynthia Nupnau, it becomes clear that the Chinese dwarf quail is a science in itself, and in many different respects: Whether behavior, breeding biology, or mutation breeding, Nupnau devotes himself to all areas.