I took some pictures today, but forgot my camera on top of one of the chicken pens nearby- as I finished feeding before work.
I built this pen setup out of 1/2 inch hardware cloth, because I had been using some old hardware cloth that was very sturdy- and thought it would work great for keeping young birds in as well as breeder birds; since my quail raising is very new (I've only got 2 breeder pairs right now, but an incubator full of eggs). Little did I forget, but the new hardware cloth would be flexible and wimpy built, compared to to the 20 year old stuff I had been using, which I'm guessing was probably 14 guage; whereas the new stuff is probably 20 guage.
To make, I think you'll need 16' of 24" wire, although I suggest using 1/2" x 1" welded wire, instead of the hardware cloth like I did. My next pen will be made from this, and I'll use this pen for growing young birds out. In addition, I'm shopping around for hanging 2" quail feeders and watercups to mount on the outside of the pen, as to not take up floor space. I'm thinking that in a 2'x1' pen- I should be able to get a male, and either 3 or 4 females, as long as no floor space is taken up.
To begin, cut an 8' length of the 24" tall wire- fold it into (4) sections, each 2'x2'- and wire clip the end peices together to make a square. This will represent the sides, the top, and the bottom.
Cut a 2'x2' section, and wire clip it one of the open ends, and this will represent the back.
Next, cut (2) more 2'x2' sections, and wire clip them into the inside of the 2x2x2 cube. This will split the cube into 3 layers, with each layer being 8" tall. I used 8" tall as my standard for quail pens, instead of the 9" standard, mainly b/c of the 24" being divsable by 8. Wire clip each of these in. SIDE NOTE: I raised the back half of the pen by one inch, to make it on an incline- I did this so any eggs laid towards the back of the pen, will roll forward- and I won't have to reach in amongst the quail to gather the eggs- plus I have a flat spot to set my waterers on.
The next stage is cutting (3) 8" x 2' sections of wire to use to split each layer in half again. These will be the main peices of support for the entire setup. Wire clip them into spot-- and you'll now have 6 pens, each pen being 2'x1' in the 2x2x2 cube- with no front.
The next to last step is cutting a 1'x 2' peice of wire to make the solid front, and put it exactly in the center of the front (open end as of right now)- wire clip into place.
The final step will be cutting 2 peices 7 or 8" wide, and 2' long to make your doors. Wire clip the outside- and use a bungee strap to keep closed.
Your pen is now done, and it will hold 6 male breeders, and anywhere from 18 to 24 females- depending on how tight you want to pack them in.
