How many Quail for a 5x5 foot area?

[FauxintheCoop]

Hello!
Fresh out of the egg newbie here; I’m moving to a place where I will have about 5x5 ft area to keep some corturnix quail in! My plan is to make an aviary type enclosure covering that whole area and put 1 or 2 coops inside that area. The coops I’m planning to have them be probably ~2ft wide, 2ft deep and no more than 12inches tall on the inside with a shelf underneath for poop collection. They will mainly function as bedtime pens and extra protection from weather (Not that we have much weather here in California)
I’ve done a bit of research already so I know the male to female ratio needs to be a big difference but I don’t know how many quail would comfortably fit in an area that size without risk of fighting/overpopulation. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
-Jessica

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

@Nabiki and @Kiki have kept quail, so they would know!

 

[Kiki]

Are you planning to keep your birds caged at all times in the 2x2 cages or are you planning on letting them run free in the 5x5-ft area?

You do realize that quail don't put themselves to bed in a coop at night like chickens do, right?

 

[FauxintheCoop]

Are you planning to keep your birds caged at all times in the 2x2 cages or are you planning on letting them run free in the 5x5-ft area?

You do realize that quail don't put themselves to bed in a coop at night like chickens do, right?

Hello!
My plan is to let them run around during the day and put them away in the coops at night and during any unpleasant weather. It doesn’t get too extreme where I live, just some high temps on occasion. So yes, I’d be the one putting them back in the coops.

 

[Kiki]

Hello!
My plan is to let them run around during the day and put them away in the coops at night and during any unpleasant weather. It doesn’t get too extreme where I live, just some high temps on occasion. So yes, I’d be the one putting them back in the coops.

It would be better for your birds to leave them in one place or the other. The constant moving back and forth is not going to be good.

Maybe I'm a little confused as to why you don't want to just leave them running around in the aviary all the time.

 

[FauxintheCoop]

It would be better for your birds to leave them in one place or the other. The constant moving back and forth is not going to be good.

Maybe I'm a little confused as to why you don't want to just leave them running around in the aviary all the time.

I wouldn't mind leaving them out all the time, if that's ok for them. So general cover like plants and hiding places are sufficient?

 

[Nabiki]

Give them a few boxes too. I keep 10 birds in 20 square feet. You have 25 square feet, so I'd say a dozen. The minimum is 1 square foot/bird, but you subtract the space used by feeders, waterers, toys, etc. They're also happier with more space.

 

[Kiki]

I wouldn't mind leaving them out all the time, if that's ok for them. So general cover like plants and hiding places are sufficient?

Yes. Does it have a roof and no holes larger than a half inch?
Hardware cloth covered?

 

[IT Farmer]

I wouldn't mind leaving them out all the time, if that's ok for them. So general cover like plants and hiding places are sufficient?

Do you have a roof over the 5x5 area?

 

[IT Farmer]

IMO, the 1 sq ft per bird rule applies more to birds in cages than in ground pens. Ground pens are going to require quite a bit more space as there droppings are on the ground with them vs when they are in a wire pen and it falls to the ground away from where they are. I throw down a bag of shavings in my ground pens and turn it over with a rake every so often and change it out completely every few months or when I decide it needs it.

Remember it's better to have fewer, healthier, happier birds then to have a whole bunch that are unhealthy and disease ridden from lack of space. I keep 11 Bobwhites in a 7X12 enclosure. If I went off the 1 sq ft per bird rule in a ground pen then that means I could house 84 quail in that pen. They would literally be wading around in there own crap in no time. More space is required for ground pens unless you are going to clean it just about every single day.

Wire pens work fine with 1 sq ft per bird. All the birds I raise for eating I keep in off the ground 3x8 pens and have been for years and they do just fine. I actually will run them a bit tighter at times then 1 sq ft per bird with no trouble at all ( I would not run them any less than 1 sq ft per bird on birds you are keeping for your layers and what not). Just keep food and water on them at all times and you will be fine.