Quail Foot Problems on Wire Cage

[Binki]

I'm kinda new and never kept anything on a wire floor, but from the poops I'm seeing, they would have to mash the turd (lol) with their feet to get it through wire they're standing on for it to fall to the bottom tray - making poopy wire, poopy tray, and poopy cut feet (infection risk!!).

I think newspaper floor with shavings or hay would be easier to clean/sanitize, very cheap, and more enriching and safer for the quail.

You can buy a huuuge bale of hay for 3-5 dollars, we use the ones with the clover and alfalfa mixed in, they love to peck at it and it comes with some "shake" like sawdustish droppings that you can use like sawdust, bunch of bits of dried plants

Also I find a Tupperware with some bird grit sand with finch seed (white millet, canary seed, bits of sunflower, etc.) mixed in is really stimulating, also super cheap, keeps their beaks and nails trim from pecking and scratching, they also ADORE bathing in it, no dust, good for their skin and feathers, easy to sanitize the Tupperware, pour sand/seed into strainer and remove the poop and reuse as you see fit.

Keeps them busy which means less fighting and happy and healthy which means better meat/eggs/breeding success!!

Maybe you could convert the existing cages to floored using newspaper or even the sticky side down linoleum, again, very cheap when you get the ends of the rolls, few bucks and will bleach clean when needed

Some people use sand in the entire cage and strain out the poop, I have no experience with this other than in the Tupperware

I haven't been able to test this out fully because I have hay/grass almost everywhere in my enclosures but I read that quail will lay where the dry grass is, so maybe use some free lawn clippings or little pile of hay/straw in a corner near the door or again in a Tupperware (I also use the cheap but handy wooden cartons that oranges and other fruit sometimes come in) and they *should* direct their eggs there for you to pick up easily

How are your birds doing?? You sound like you're on top of the problem

 

[domore]

UPDATE:

All quail feet are no longer bleeding and torn. A temporary solution has been to place a strip of gutter guard over one-half of the cage bottom. The openings on this plastic mesh are 1/4 x 1/4 and the poop tends to build up in this area so it has to be removed and soaked clean every couple of days. Also note that the plastic is slick. One quail died when the dust bin slide down the cage bottom and trapped her head outside the wire. All solutions have problems! However, all cut and bleeding feet are gone.

It is my opinion that the wire concentrates the loading on the quails foot(the large ones had the most foot problems). When that is combined with dried poop stuck on the wire a pretty effective abrasive agent is created. Likely the poop has micro-fine particles from the grit and sand which are the abrasive agents. Normal movements then gradually wear away the foot tissue until and ulcer is formed.

As time and resources allow, I will try a larger mesh to see if the improvement remains and the poop chore is relieved somewhat. If an improvement, I will report back.

For those contemplating jumbos on wire, I don't recommend it. Standard sizes may do better since the load pressure is reduced on the foot. Also, after learning more about what these birds need to be happy, I am trying to come up with a way to get them back on the ground as much as possible. In my environment, this may not be feasible and I may just have to give up on the little guys. They have been much more work than chickens.

Thanks to everyone who offered their experiences.

 

[eHuman]

Deep litter. Where else are you going to see a 4 day old A&M dust bathe?

 

[firestomp]

I have had quail for several years now, I even bought the special coated wire, breeder battery for quail. I also used galvanized wire (harp point down). With the coturnix quail BOTH WIRE TYPES CAUSED BLOODY FEET. I now use the heavy plastic rabbit rest pads, they have nice oval punch outs in them and lock down to the wire. I also use the ornamental grass cut in long strips and put in with them. they rest on it and seem very content, and it's easily changed. With the rabbit guard they are easily hosed off or brushed off. I agree with all on a dusting box. They seem to enjoy a water bathing pan as well. If you have the room add these items, or do an add on area to your pen. simple and makes for some healthy happy birds. I now have Bob whites as well. I add pine bows to it for a natural cover and they roost on it and hide in it. Just chage with fresh when needed. Good luck.

 

[jozieb]

I so wish I had read this about the quail on wire not being a good mix. Now I am dealing with trying to heal my poor birds feet. The first one I noticed too late and it died. Going out tomorrow to cover all the wire with something to make it a solid surface and bedding. These quail are hard work so far. I never anticipated so many issues but we still love them.

 

[eHuman]

I so wish I had read this about the quail on wire not being a good mix. Now I am dealing with trying to heal my poor birds feet. The first one I noticed too late and it died. Going out tomorrow to cover all the wire with something to make it a solid surface and bedding. These quail are hard work so far. I never anticipated so many issues but we still love them.

For a quick fix, cover the floor with cardboard and then with, chopped straw, wood shavings, peat moss, sand, dirt, or most anything but nothing that has been dyed or contains cedar. When you can afford to do it, get a sheet of treated plywood ($26 at Home depot around me) and put more permanent flooring in. My aviary is on the ground but my cages have plywood bottoms.

 

[jozieb]

​For a quick fix, cover the floor with cardboard and then with, chopped straw, wood shavings, peat moss, sand, dirt, or most anything but nothing that has been dyed or contains cedar. When you can afford to do it, get a sheet of treated plywood ($26 at Home depot around me) and put more permanent flooring in. My aviary is on the ground but my cages have plywood bottoms.

Thank you! I temporarily put some plastic shelf liner in there with hay and wood shavings until I can get some plywood down. Now treating their feet. I hope they are ok. I'm never doing wire again for quail. Feeling bad that I did that to them.

 

[eHuman]

Thank you! I temporarily put some plastic shelf liner in there with hay and wood shavings until I can get some plywood down. Now treating their feet. I hope they are ok. I'm never doing wire again for quail. Feeling bad that I did that to them.

That will work too. Good luck with your babies! It's a learning process. Some wire is higher quality than others. Some have tiny barbs. I chose from the beginning to never have them on wire and couldn't be happier. It is a little more maintenance for me but a healthy bird is a happy bird and a happy bird is a tasty bird.

 

[jozieb]

How in the world do you wrap a quails tiny foot? It seems impossible. It's sooo small!!

 

[bantylover66]

I have experimented and have found that my birds are extremely happy when I create pens that are large, allowing for big groups as long as they are 4-5:1 female to male ratios within those large groups and I create their habitat as closely to the native environment as possible. For Cortnix this means that I create a large area for dust bathing with sand, wood ash, and D. Earth. Create small rock caves that they can also get on top of (I've read that in nature the males stand lookout on top of these rocks & had mine doing just that within 10 minutes of placing them in this kind of pen), plant non toxic plants, use grasses to create blinds, as well as, sticks to create blinds, and I usually place anything I put in with them a little bit away from the walls except on one back corner so that it creates additional hiding places behind and along both sides. For the non-dusting part of the floor I mix sifted dirt, sawdust, leaves, and grasses. I also mix straw and small sticks and put them around and on top of part of the roofs of the rock caves. To keep their food and water cleaner I have been using a thick piece of plexiglass mounted on 4 wheels to give it height and it also allows me to move it a couple of time a week. I have also found that they like to get in the water when it's hot and feel most comfortable doing this when I use a see through container (some birds will only get in the water in see through containers). I've never had a problem with feet. I don't put any roosts in with them but many of them like to sleep higher but seem to like flat surfaces to do this. I am experimenting with small shelves placed here and there and placed tote lids on top of cement testing cores with straw and sticks on top to be their favorites and currently I'm trying out raised refrigerator drawers filled or partially filled with different things to see what they like