How much square foot per bird do I need?

[stone_family3]

Also can a dog house work for a house for the birds? I have a dog house in a run made for rabbits, I want to elevate the dog house up and hinge the roof. So I can open it for eggs.

Also do they need to have wire on the bottom of the run?
Here is a rough sketch of what I want to do. All sides would be covered in wire. The wire run is only 3 1/2-4 ft tall, so the dog house will only be about 2 1/2 feet off the ground.

 

[TwoCrows]

That all depends on the breed of quail. But the more room the better. Coturnix need at least 1 square foot per bird. Bob's need about 4 square feet per bird.

Quail tend to lay their eggs where ever they please and not necessarily in their coop. If you supply them with grass hay in a particular spot, they will make nests out of that in the area the hay is in.

Do not crowd pairs together or you will have a lot of fighting. Especially if you keep Bobwhites. They need to paired off, where as Cots can be colony raised a bit easier.

Make sure to only use hardware cloth on the outside and not chicken wire. Chicken wire can be chewed thru by coon and skunks. You do not have to have wire on the bottom. I keep my bobs in an aviary setting with litter on the floor. BUT, you will need to keep it 100% dry at all times. Litter raised quail will not thrive in any wet conditions. And make sure nothing can dig under your run. Night time critters have a lot of time on their hands and will terrify your birds all night long. Quail will not go into a coop like chickens, unless the weather warrants it. So the quail will most likely sleep in the run all night. Make SURE to protect them from predators.

Good luck!

 

[stone_family3]

I'm told the eggs are coturnix and I was hoping to hatch some and end up with a one male and 3 female ratio. The run is predator proof, I've used it for both rabbits and chickens for almost 3 years now and it was never broken in to, even when my coop was a huge target.

would it be better to leave the dog house on the floor then instead of making it elevated? I was thinking if I raised it up that I would get more square footage.

I don't think I want to raise quail on litter I'm still doing research on to figure out exactly what I want, I still have 2 weeks till they're due.

 

[TwoCrows]

Once the quail get used to the coop, they won't mind that it is elevated. But you will need to lock them in there for a few days so that they find comfort in there. If you don't, they may never go inside, or at least it may take them all summer to do so. LOL

 

[stone_family3]

Okay, hopefully my chicks will hatch and I'll be able to get a few more so I'll use the dog house as a brooder. That way they'll have plenty of time to get used to it