Quail coop- will they use this?

We have purchased this coop for the quail- the winters can be harsh here, and we want to make sure they won't freeze. The coop is insulated and will have a heat lamp inside. There is a large outdoor run that is attached.

Will the quail be smart enough to use it, or have we 'wasted' our money?

They're ground birds and won't particularly like the ramp. They only go vertical in times of fear. It's low enough though they may still use it. If they don't try to build an intermediary platform so it's just a couple step up.

Absolutely no heat lamp for adult quail. Birds grow down feathers sufficient to the ambient temperatures they are kept in. If the heat lamp were ever to shut off in a power outage or burn out your birds would most likely die, unless you were right there and noticed it. In the case of quail there are very few places in the US that they would need anything beyond having their coop insulated with plastic sheeting to block out the draft. Keep in mind coturnix exist in the wild, primarily in Northern China and Russia. It gets very cold in their habitat. The only quail that are commonly kept that need protection from weather are button quail.

You'll need to use 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth around the sides, if you can fit a nickel through an opening, a predator can pull a whole adult quail through it. Cage raised quail will actually go investigate predators giving them even better opportunity to snatch their little heads off.

Thank you for the response. We did end up putting 1/2" hardware cloth around the outside perimeter.

And thank you for the advice on the heat lamp - I am in Canada, but I don't think our winters are any harsher than a lot of places in the States. We will forgo the heat lamp and see how it goes

My quail use their ramp and some even enjoy running up and down it.
You need to add extra rungs between the ones there though.

If you place a solar spotlight inside the top of the ramp they will generally go up it at nightfall and stay there the night when the light runs down.

Monkau said:

My quail use their ramp and some even enjoy running up and down it.
You need to add extra rungs between the ones there though.

If you place a solar spotlight inside the top of the ramp they will generally go up it at nightfall and stay there the night when the light runs down.

Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that! Great idea for a light, too. When you say inside the top of the ramp, I'm not sure where you mean? Thanks again!

[VIDEO]
Not the best video but you can see how much they use it.
I set up the camera to keep an eye on them because my old neighbors cat used to come attack the cage and the council did nothing about it despite our new state cat laws.

Then I noticed how many mice there were and found out that yes i did have mice and the traps were being used but apparently the ones in my local stores are so bad the mice dont set them off. :c

This was before i got the solar light. While im catching mice i shut the door on the birds.

Mount the light Inside the little doorway facing in to the cavity they will sit in. Mine has a cable up to the solar panel i just run it out the door and mount the panel on the roof.