How big should a quail coop and run be?

[6Chickens&counting]

So I am planning on getting a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 12 quail for my backyard. Currently I have 7 hens. I am not planning on cooping the quail and chickens together so I'm making a separate coop and run. My question is what the size of the coop and run should be.

 

[Caribear]

It all depends on what kind of quail you are getting. Coturnix can do well in smaller pens, but some other quail need fairly large spaces. What kind do you plan to get?

 

[6Chickens&counting]

Snowflake bobwhite quail.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

for bobs you can pretty much think 2 sq. ft. per bird. Anything larger then that is just extra room for them.

I use to have cots, and they were in a 8x2x2 had about 40 in there, no issues.

 

[UndergroundQuailRoad]

I think 2sqft/bird is more of a minimum with bobs (they have different needs than cots), depending on their aggressiveness. Many people recommend 4 or 5 sqft/bird to avoid the bloodshed. Also height of the enclosure is important as they can hurt themselves flying up into a short roof (also not a problem with cots).

 

[Caribear]

I've heard more like 4 or 5 sq. ft. Per bird, but I don't have experience with them myself. From what I understand, if you crowd them they will fight.

 

[TwoCrows]

X2 on the last 2 posts. Bobs need about 4 square feet per bird to keep them calm. More room the better. Snowflakes tend to be a bit easier to raise than the standard Bob, less aggressive, but just the same, give them as much room as you can.

 

[7L Farm]

I'm a big fan on giving birds a lot of space.

 

[damionlake]

If you have Snowflake Bobs you will want to make sure they have a little more room then regular Northerns which is around 2sqft per bird, and the more space the better! If you plan on having 12 bird max (if you already have 7 hens I imagine you will have a good ratio and wont need to worry too much about that) You should try and give them something like 3x10 and if you have it any taller then 2 feet I would use netting for a the top. They are very flighty (as im sure you have noticed) and this will prevent A LOT of injuries down the road.