"Splashed" Button Quail
Photo compliments of Michele, taken at the First Button Quail Symposium!
The "Splashed" Button Quail is the newest addition to our list of Button Quail Color Varieties. It has taken over 3 years of selective breeding to produce the desired quality in a good "Splashed" Quail. The "Splashed" variety is a selection from within the White Button quail. At this point in time I do not regard it as a separate mutation but rather a new and unique genetic selection from of a pre-existing color variety. Within time it's status may be regarded as a distinct mutation. The "Splashed" is not a result of breeding White Buttons to colored Buttons. "Splashed" Buttons are completely new! It is a recessive mutation just as is the all White Button.
Our first White Button Quail were acquired in the late 1980's and most were simply solid white quail. However, from the very beginning there were occasional birds showing sparse flecks of color. These flecked birds generally never had more than 2-5 scattered colored feathers. About 3 years ago I observed a several white birds that matured with a substantial amount of silver coloring on their backs and rumps. Through selective breeding of these birds, we now have a good strain of heavily "Splashed" Buttons. "Splashed" Birds as you can see from the above photo can be quite spectacular with bold markings. The markings certainly appear to become increasingly well defined as the birds mature. Young "Splashed" birds (6-8 weeks old) are not as vividly marked as they will be at 3-4 months of age. The "Splashed" areas become richer in color and better defined as the birds mature.
Currently we are breeding "Splashed" birds in a variety of colors. It appears that almost any colored button quail will be able to be bred in a splashed form. To date we have produced more "Splashed" Silvers than any color. However, We have already produced the following "Splashed" colors.
