Am I stressing them out?

[Strocket]

I have a stacked quail hutch, and we recently built an uncovered quail run. We’ve been putting the quail in the hutch at night to keep them safe from predators and let them out during the day to run about and forage. They have plenty of shrubs and places to hide and dust bathe.

Could I be doing more harm than good by moving them back and forth each day? Only one is laying right now. They’re about 6-9 weeks.

 

[Green Bean Quail]

I have a stacked quail hutch, and we recently built an uncovered quail run. We’ve been putting the quail in the hutch at night to keep them safe from predators and let them out during the day to run about and forage. They have plenty of shrubs and places to hide and dust bathe.

Could I be doing more harm than good by moving them back and forth each day? Only one is laying right now. They’re about 6-9 weeks.

Are you chasing them around to catch them and put them back in the hutch? Are they okay with being handled? They may just not be used to so much interaction. What kind of quail are they?

 

[Fenrisulfr]

I think, this is too much stress doing it every day.

I gotta clean up my hutches once a week (in Germany it is forbidden to keep poultry on gratings) and therefore I need to put them into the quaratine cage for the cleaning, ... the boys and girls are upset with me for about 2 to 3 days, ... until they get their mealworms

 

[Green Bean Quail]

I think, this is too much stress doing it every day.

I gotta clean up my hutches once a week (in Germany it is forbidden to keep poultry on gratings) and therefore I need to put them into the quaratine cage for the cleaning, ... the boys and girls are upset with me for about 2 to 3 days, ... until they get their mealworms

My quail do the same thing on cleaning days! A lot of chirping and grumbling until I toss the post-cleaning treats in...

 

[Strocket]

Are you chasing them around to catch them and put them back in the hutch? Are they okay with being handled? They may just not be used to so much interaction. What kind of quail are they?

they’re Coturnix quail. When we first got them they were ok with being handled but then we had a raccoon attack two weeks ago and i think they’ve been recovering still. I’m trying to get them used to my hands by feeding mealworms in my palm.

 

[Strocket]

I think, this is too much stress doing it every day.

I gotta clean up my hutches once a week (in Germany it is forbidden to keep poultry on gratings) and therefore I need to put them into the quaratine cage for the cleaning, ... the boys and girls are upset with me for about 2 to 3 days, ... until they get their mealworms

Oh wow! they can stay upset that long huh? I definitely have been second guessing the need to have them out every day. I guess I want them to have a natural environment as much as possible, but there are just too many cats and raccoons around here. Maybe I just need to keep their outside time to once a week.

 

[le_bwah]

Any chance they could live in the ground enclosure full time? Would you be able to make it predator proof?

 

[Strocket]

Any chance they could live in the ground enclosure full time? Would you be able to make it predator proof?

this might need to be what we do if I want to keep them happy. I didn’t think about how much we’d need to stress them to get back into the hutch every time.

 

[Fenrisulfr]

Or secure the outrun against predators.

Not the easiest and cheepest project, but absolutly needed, as quails do not return to the coop.

This will become a project to me too, soon.
At the moment I have my hatches on my balcony in the 3rd floor. Not many predators can reach them.
But I've rented a lot of 450 sqm recently. Much to build and to clean up there, but wanna build an big aviary for my mixed group, now I have the room in my urban enviroment.
Main predadors here in the urban places of the cities in Germany, are mainly rats, martens, cats, foxes, hawks and sparrow hawks, which can be dangerous for quails (also racoons in some german regions).

So, ... such an outrun has to be precisely planend and the execution needs to be top notch.
A weak spot will cost to 80% to 100% of the flock.
Heard from an other Farmer on the area, where I also rented my lot, that he lost 30 chicken by a fox a few weeks ago, because his automatic door jammed. The fox killed every chicken in bloodrush. Even though, it took only one chicken with, leaving the rest.

I will update you folks, when I'm starting to build

 

[Green Bean Quail]

I haven't yet moved my quail's hutch outside (they were hatched and raised indoor, and I didn't want them in the midwest winter-brr!) but I am planning to gradually move them outside during the summer and try to cold-tolerate them in the fall. My hutch is almost completely thick wood, and small holed THICK wire with a lockable lid, and wheels for moving. It's a bear to clean but during the warm months it makes it easy to transport around. That might work for you too.