The diet for these Button Quail in captivity is not complicated and they are very easily cared for. Perhaps the most convenient diet is standard game bird crumbles, also known as turkey starter. Such rations are considered to be nutritionally compete for most game birds. They often are available in several forms: starter crumbles, grower crumbles, and breeder-layer crumbles. The type we recommend is the starter diet. Standard parakeet, finch, or dove seeds are eagerly accepted as regular additions to the game bird crumble. The food should be placed in pans shallow enough to allow easy access for the quail, yet large enough to prevent the quail from scratching all of the food out of the container. As a treat, chopped greens such as Romaine lettuce, spinach or wild greens such as chickweed are always welcome. Greens can be fed in small quantities every day if desired, but are not necessary. Live food such as meal worms or small crickets are a real treat for any Button Quail. Always remember these small quail are scavengers. They can be kept in a mixed collection of finches, doves, and other birds with no special addition to the diet of the other aviary occupants. Many people keep the Button Quail especially for that purpose, to scavenge the leftovers from the other birds. Button Quail are easily kept in almost any environment. They generally make great additions to finch and most exotic bird collections. Even a 20 or 30 gallon aquarium can be a suitable home for two or three pair of Button Quail. Each pair of quail should have at least 18-20 inches of floor space to be properly accommodated. Button Quail prefer to walk on solid surfaces rather than wire bottoms. Given minimal care and requirements, Button Quail are very easily kept and bred. These small quail have one of the highest reproductive rates of any bird. A female Button Quail can lay an egg per day, nearly every day of the year. The incubation period is only 16 days. They are generally fully grown at six weeks of age, and often become sexually mature as early as eight weeks of age Producing such a large number of eggs does have its disadvantages. Although, males may live to be several years old, female Button Quail often do not live longer than 12 to 18 months. They simply exhaust their body's capability. Don't be disappointed. Their biological clocks are not designed to last much longer. This short life span is typical of many birds and mammals that have a high reproductive rate. If you hatched even half of the eggs laid by a single female you would have well over 200 offspring. That is not a bad legacy for such a small bird in such a short time!