Bedding for Quail

HunterH · Jan 23, 2015

I searched but didn't find much...I'm getting some jumbo brown coturnix and was wanting to give them some kind of bedding in their "house" that they walk into from the wire cage for shelter. Will pine straw work fine? It's free and plentiful. Other things I've seen are pine shavings and aspen shavings.
Thanks for any help.

shotgunrem14 · Jan 23, 2015

I guess it wouldn't hurt them but ill bet if you asked them they would rather have a pan full of sand so they could take dust baths in. Can you post a pic of your cage?

dc3085 · Jan 23, 2015

Pine and aspen shavings are ok for adult coturnix but will quickly become messy. Cedar shavings are specifically off limits since they cause respiratory ailments easily in birds.

Coturnix quail have the distinction of having much wetter feces than the other species and with adults on shavings you can get buildup on their toes. When that build-up happens it's usually rock hard and quite difficult to remove so keep an eye on their feet and keep the shavings changed.

In my wire floored cages I put a tub of sand for them to rest their feet and dust bathe in. They "bathe" in sand or dirt so enjoy it more than shavings. Sand can also cause buildup around their toes though so whatever the bedding is just make sure they aren't getting balls of poo built up on their feet.

shotgunrem14 · Jan 23, 2015

DC you said that perfectly. I would like to add on the wire floor it needs to be 1/2in x 1/2in wire at the minimum. Any smaller and there poop will not fall through. Get nasty and can cause the poop on there feet. It can very bad on there feet if not removed

HunterH · Jan 23, 2015

Thanks a bunch guys.

Bedding for Quail

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HunterH

In the Brooder

shotgunrem14

In the Brooder

dc3085

Crowing

shotgunrem14

In the Brooder

HunterH

In the Brooder

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