Can Pigeons And Quails Live Together?
Keeping different varieties of birds together often creates friendly connections and social relationships among them. Pigeons and quails both are friendly domestic birds with a docile temperament.
But can pigeons and quails live together? Though these two varieties have their own behavior and traits that are different from each other, you can raise them together in cages or aviaries.
In such a case, you need to supervise them individually and take care of their every requirement, including food, medical care, and much more.
In this article, we have tried to cover every factor that you need to consider while keeping pigeons and quails together so that these birds can be healthy and live peacefully under your supervision.
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Do Pigeons Get Along with Quails?
Pigeons and quails both birds are socially and emotionally active, and they love the company of other birds. These birds need companions with whom they can have friendly relationships.
So, if you keep pigeons and quails together, there are high possibilities that they will get along well. You have to consider these following things to ensure that both of these birds get along nicely.
Allowing to Build Natural First Contact
When you have just started keeping pigeons and quails together, it is important that they should build their first contact naturally.
Do not force it; instead, give them time to understand each other and feel the equality between them.
You can keep them in different cages at first and then, after some days, shift them to the same space if you think they have started being comfortable with each other.
Supervising Them Regularly
Though these birds are social and gentle, sometimes, they can show aggressive behavior over their territory, food, and toys. If you do not supervise them time-to-time, this aggression can go beyond small fights and cause harm to them.
So, it is required to check on them to ensure that they are getting along with each other and there are no internal fights among them. If they engage in fights, you need to control their behavior before it gets out of hand.
Keeping Birds of the Same Size and Age
To ensure that your pigeons and quails are getting along well, you should make sure that they are of the same size and age. Because it reduces the chance of fights among them, and no bird could be dominant and abuse others.
It is also advised to raise baby birds in case you are keeping different varieties of birds together.
Because baby birds are easy to tame and can get along with other birds comparatively better than mature birds, the adult ones often can’t adapt to the other varieties and create territorial disputes.
You can read our article about “Pigeon Habitat“
Do Pigeons and Quail Require Different Food?
Though pigeons and quails both live on plant-based foods like different types of grains and seeds, their eating habits are not always the same. They share the same food choices but have different requirements regarding the quantity of food intake.
Wheat, corn, seeds, and oats are considered staple foods for both these birds. They also love to have juicy fruits, berries, and green leafy vegetables like lettuce and spinach that contain loads of nutrients. Additionally, some meaty proteins, such as snails and earthworms, are also their favorite.
But quails are more like chickens as they need a large quantity of protein in their daily meal. You have to feed them a generous amount of plant-based and meaty protein regularly to keep them fit and active.
On the other hand, meaty proteins are often not suitable as a daily meal for pigeons. If they are fed large quantities of proteins like quails, it could affect their health negatively.
What Is the Best Environment for Pigeons and Quail to Live Together?
If you are raising pigeons and quails together, whether in a cage or aviary, you must ensure a suitable environment for them; so that they can live healthy and happily.
To provide the best environment for both your pets, you have to consider the following things carefully.
01. Housing
The most important factor that you need to ensure for your pigeons and quails is the space in their housing. A large space is essential for keeping them together.
Quails are small birds, and they usually run around all day long. So, you have to make sure they don’t bump into each other while running and flying inside the cage.
For both pigeons and quails, the housing space should be large to avoid unnecessary crowds. Because crowds can make them uncomfortable to move freely and also may increase the chance of spreading several diseases like Ulcerative Enteritis and Psittacosis.
02. Food
Place different bowls of food and water in the cage of your pets. Besides, you can also scatter the seeds and grains in front of their house as they often love to be fed from the ground.
Keep the grains, meaty proteins, and commercial foods separate; otherwise, these might get mixed together and become contaminated easily.
Replace the water in the bowl from time to time and make sure that the water is clean and fresh always. Provide both of your birds with enough food supply throughout the day so that they don’t get aggressive over food.
03. Health Care Facilities
Pigeons and quails contain several infections and diseases that can cause harm to them. So, you should always be conscious of the diseases and provide them with the necessary health care facilities so that the harmful effects don’t go out of hand.
Quails carry an infectious disease called Ulcerative Enteritis which can be severe for pigeons as well. Once you notice any health unusuality among them, report the vet without any delay.
Keep the cage clean and remove their poop as soon as possible; because these droppings can spread infections and make them sick.
04. Recreational Opportunities
Along with food and housing facilities, your birds also need some recreational activities to keep their mind filled with happiness and joy.
Because if they remain stressed and don’t engage in such activities, their social connections can become weak and give rise to aggressive behaviors.
You can give them different bird toys so that they can play with them and spend their time in playful activities.
Making a landing platform in front of the cage door might also be a good idea, as your pigeons and quails can take small flights there.
Can Quails and Pigeons Mate?
Though there are some species of different families who can mate with other varieties, this can’t be possible for quails and pigeons. There are fewer chances of these two birds mating, and even if they do, they can’t produce any offspring.
Despite living together in a cage, you will notice pigeons and quails stay with their own community rather than mixing with each other because they tend to attract birds of their own kind and are unlikely to approach other varieties outside their community.
However, to avoid such situations of pigeons and quail mating, it is often advised to keep these birds of the same sex together. Besides, you can also keep them in pairs of the same kind to prevent them from mating with the other variety.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can pigeons make quails sick?
The waste and droppings of pigeons can make quails sick and infected with several diseases. It is required to keep the cages clean and remove the waste as soon as possible so that the quails don’t come in contact with the droppings of pigeons.
2. Are pigeons afraid of quails?
Both pigeons and quails are not afraid of each other, and they usually get along well if raised together. But sometimes, they can engage in small fights and become aggressive over various things. Such situations are quite common among them during the breeding season.
3. Do pigeons eat baby quails?
Pigeons don’t eat baby quails or attack them deliberately. Though pigeons can get aggressive over food and territory, they do not get involved in serious fights. If the space of their cage is small and the quails get into their territory, pigeons can be aggressive and defend their area.
Conclusion
Pigeons and quails can be compatible with each other, and you can raise them together as friendly pets. As they are not predator birds with bad temperaments, they can get along well and be socially connected through cordial interactions.
Hopefully, this article cleared all your doubts and answered your queries regarding can pigeons and quails live together. So, if you are planning to keep them, be affectionate and deal with them patiently to provide them with a healthy and happy life.
