Aviary going up!

[le_bwah]

I've always planned on keeping my quail on the ground. For a while I thought I might just buy a prefab chicken run, but a loosening of the budget and the offer of help from my family has made building a walk-in aviary possible.

I started by digging a trench for the landscaping tie base and leveling it with paving sand. The footprint is 6x8, walls 7ft in the front and 6ft in the back.

All the lumber was stained beforehand (so relaxing to do!). The walls were built off site and attached later; they're mostly 2x6 off of craigslist, ripped into 2x3 and 2x4. I went with half-inch hardware cloth at the suggestion of some of the lovely folks on this site.

Everything square so far, mostly thanks to the plywood. Might be a bit overbuilt for what it is, but I'd rather that than have it collapse at the first snow fall. Tomorrow we build the door, and the roof goes on (if we can beat the rain). I'll post update photos when it's done!

 

[Fishkeeper]

Looks awesome so far!
Any plans to add plants? If I were you, I'd put in a slightly elevated planter trough, fill it with good rich dirt, and plant more durable stuff that can stand the quail scratching it. I'd also put in a big piece of driftwood or similar for quail to perch on.

 

[Erkenstein]

Looks amazing. They're going to have a great time!

 

[DK newbie]

I'd be terribly tempted to add a few finches or small parrots if that was my aviary..

 

[le_bwah]

Looks awesome so far!
Any plans to add plants? If I were you, I'd put in a slightly elevated planter trough, fill it with good rich dirt, and plant more durable stuff that can stand the quail scratching it. I'd also put in a big piece of driftwood or similar for quail to perch on.

Thanks, I do plan on adding some plantings, both inside and outside the aviary. I want them to have as natural a habitat as possible, so logs and rocks and such will definitely be in there.

Looks amazing. They're going to have a great time!

I hope they do! If my predator-proofing is up to snuff and the deep litter method works out, there shouldn't be many concerns for these little birds.

I'd be terribly tempted to add a few finches or small parrots if that was my aviary..

I was, too, but I just don't feel as comfortable confining birds with a wish to fly. Quail, ground-dwellers they are, seem quite content with 1 square ft/bird. My 10 should be fine in this amount of space.

 

[Erkenstein]

Deep litter might be a little problematic for finding/avoiding stepping on eggs. Have you considered bark chips and sand areas, especially since you're including lots of other cover?

For my chicken run, I used clear corrugated plastic for the roof to allow in as much light as possible during the rainy/gloomy Oregon winter. I really like it, although as you wrote you need to think about the snow load as well in Idaho. Also there's the question of whether quail feel more secure with a sky above them or not.

 

[le_bwah]

Deep litter might be a little problematic for finding/avoiding stepping on eggs. Have you considered bark chips and sand areas, especially since you're including lots of other cover?

For my chicken run, I used clear corrugated plastic for the roof to allow in as much light as possible during the rainy/gloomy Oregon winter. I really like it, although as you wrote you need to think about the snow load as well in Idaho. Also there's the question of whether quail feel more secure with a sky above them or not.

I can see plastic being the way to go in Oregon. We get quite a few hawks in our area, and I'm afraid the quail would be spooked every minute of the day by shadows overhead. Sunlight shouldn't be an issue with the way the aviary is oriented, but I also wanted to err on the side of shady (as cold as it can get, summer heat is an issue).

The whole thing isn't that big when you're standing inside of it, and a little daily egg hunt doesn't sound like too much work. I've done some reading on deep litter, and I think it's right for my situation. I'll just move the scenery when it builds up. And if it doesn't work out, there's always other substrates.

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'd put stepping stones in, since that way you'd have some spots that were definitely safe to step on while looking for eggs.
Absolutely go with deep litter. With how active at scratching and burrowing quail are, they keep it mixed up all nicely, and they love having a natural ground under them. Much softer on their feet than wire.

 

[le_bwah]

So the roof is up. Birdsmouth cuts in the rafters, integrated purlins, whole thing held in with hurricane ties. All that's left is the roofing material (polycarbonate), the door, and the hardware cloth skirt. Tons of work, but so cool to get up.

 

[RosieR]

So the roof is up. Birdsmouth cuts in the rafters, integrated purlins, whole thing held in with hurricane ties. All that's left is the roofing material (polycarbonate), the door, and the hardware cloth skirt. Tons of work, but so cool to get up.

View attachment 1419606

This looks so great! I have a similar set up but yours is much more aesthetically pleasing
The roof on mine doesn’t really overhang like yours, and where the deep litter gets wet it kind of gets crust and I have to take it to break it up. But the quails seem to love the litter!