What didn't I get myself into?

[Halfpasthen]

Still very much a work in progress

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

I love my quail and I bet you will love yours to. That coop looks like it could work for quail. I don't know if it's true but I've heard that it's hard for quail to learn to walk up a ramp.

 

[Halfpasthen]

I love my quail and I bet you will love yours to. That coop looks like it could work for quail. I don't know if it's true but I've heard that it's hard for quail to learn to walk up a ramp.

I hope so. They are so adorable. Yeah I bought the coop/ run knowing the hen house will be unlikely to get used lol. If anything it'll be good storage.
I want to try keeping them on the ground bc it just seems more natural. But it's all a learning experience and I will adjust anything I don't feel is working.

 

[le_bwah]

I hope so. They are so adorable. Yeah I bought the coop/ run knowing the hen house will be unlikely to get used lol. If anything it'll be good storage.
I want to try keeping them on the ground bc it just seems more natural. But it's all a learning experience and I will adjust anything I don't feel is working.

Mine were only inclined to use a "ramp" (more like a bark "slide") once they were comfortable getting on top of lower cover (e.g. little pet huts, boxes, stumps, etc.). Once they aren't as wary of being off the ground, you can toss their favorite treats on the ramp and hope they follow them up. It can also help to hang branches/other cover over the ramp so they feel protected as they explore.

I'm excited for you! Quail are such fun little birds. I hope raising them on the ground works out—most enjoyable to watch them when they've been given something to do.

 

[Halfpasthen]

Mine were only inclined to use a "ramp" (more like a bark "slide") once they were comfortable getting on top of lower cover (e.g. little pet huts, boxes, stumps, etc.). Once they aren't as wary of being off the ground, you can toss their favorite treats on the ramp and hope they follow them up. It can also help to hang branches/other cover over the ramp so they feel protected as they explore.

I'm excited for you! Quail are such fun little birds. I hope raising them on the ground works out—most enjoyable to watch them when they've been given something to do.

This is great advice! Idk if you can see in the picture but I have a large stack of branches behind the coop that I've been saving up from my yard. I'm going to stack them along the back of the run to help them feel less exposed. I wanted to incorporate some of them inside the run as well but wasn't sure how. I will try to arrange some around the ramp and I'll be adding some sort of traction to the ramp. Haven't quite got it all down. I do have little huts and such to arrange in their also.
If the ground doesn't work I will attempt deep litter. Worse case I'll put screen on the bottom and jack it up on cinderblocks.
Either way it will be fun! I'm super excited.

 

[le_bwah]

This is great advice! Idk if you can see in the picture but I have a large stack of branches behind the coop that I've been saving up from my yard. I'm going to stack them along the back of the run to help them feel less exposed. I wanted to incorporate some of them inside the run as well but wasn't sure how. I will try to arrange some around the ramp and I'll be adding some sort of traction to the ramp. Haven't quite got it all down. I do have little huts and such to arrange in their also.
If the ground doesn't work I will attempt deep litter. Worse case I'll put screen on the bottom and jack it up on cinderblocks.
Either way it will be fun! I'm super excited.

Deep litter worked in my aviary—the more square feet per bird, the less you have to mess with it. My 50 square feet needs turning every 3-ish days to keep 9 quails' feet clean. The birds LOVE to dig in it and take naps in the little holes they make—sometimes they even dust bathe in the more decomposed parts.

I honestly hope you like them enough to want to build a more permanent structure. If you give them space and things to do, you might even start to see their individual personalities surface!