Quail indoors?

[omw2help]

Greetings!

I've been lurking for several months now, but would like to chime in on my indoor quail.

Here's what I have found to work so far. I have 2 girls in a generic white wire bird cage 24"x18"x16". Fake plants have been wired to the top inside the cage for a sense of security and bonk cushioning. It has a wire floor with a plastic tray under to catch droppings. The tray has wheat scoop cat litter at the bottom, and I sprinkle in some extra baking soda to help with odor control. I scoop up droppings daily from the pan, and spot clean any poops that didn't get pushed through. I took some plastic placemats from target, cut them in half and they are wired around the sides of the cage to prevent poop from popping out the sides, and helps contain the food/water/grit/shells from flying all over the house. Inside the cage is a hanging feeder, a rabbit water bottle over a tray to catch the drips, a cuttlebone, a dish of oyster shell, and a dust bath box with a lid. The dust bath contains bird grit (mostly sand), organic potting soil, oyster shell, and I sprinkle a seed mix in daily to give them some fun. Recently they have both been laying in the box! The whole cage is placed on a bath mat on the floor which prevents sand/food/seeds that escape the above plastic barrier from bouncing too far. (I'll post a pic once I figure out how haha)

I know this setup sounds small, but I live in a 1 bedroom apartment in the city. My girls get to "free range" around the apartment hallway and kitchen whenever I am home. Their out of cage time ranges from 1 hour to 12 hours. They love to peck and bathe on the floor mats, and even more fun is exploring a pile of dirty laundry on the floor! Yes, they poop, but it picks up easily from the tile or wood floor. I adore their cricketing and peeping! Their faces look at me expectantly when I come home to hurry up and open the cage door. They come bouncing out immediately and give a good wing flap and leg stretch.

I bought them as adults at 5 months, one tolerates picking up and petting, the other will run They aren't really afraid of me though, I can't say they boink much, only if I surprise them somehow. They're now used to the dishwasher and vacuum cleaner and other urban noises. I'm in love, and I didn't even hatch them myself. I can't imagine how much more tame they would be if I had raised them myself from chicks! My next project will be to start raising them some mealworms...

I get an egg per day from each girl. Per everyone's recommendations on the forum, I feed Purina Game Bird Growth and Plumage. I had to drive an hour away to get it, but that's what you get for living in the city.

Also... I tried the "hay over wire" concept thinking it would enhance comfort.. with my size cage it just does not work. The poop gets smeared EVERYWHERE, on the nice clean hay, on the bars, on their feet, which quickly stunk up the room. No bueno.

Cheers, and thanks to everyone who has posted about quail before me. Your advice has been fantastic.

-omw2help

 

[Rokashan]

my fiance and I keep our quail indoors, and we now have 1 male and 4 females. We have found that a good way to control odor is a mix for the dust bath of 8 parts sand and 2 parts dried coffee grounds works very well for keeping the odor of the birds themselves down. another thing we do is add 2 tablespoons of water to a 1 gallon jug of water and use that when we fill the water dispensers. this seems to help control the smell from their poop. we have had them indoors since we got them with no problems, and I also have a very sensitive nose.