Beginner Questions - UK Based

[KareninQuails]

My first quails arriving soon, so very very excited.
What should i put on the bottom of my quail house over the wire? (Its a chicken house with an extra wire frame underneath as ground is uneven so wanted it to be rat proof?) Would it be easier for me to get some sort of plastic sheeting (think commercial table cloths!) so i could easily pull it out and put fresh one down (as wooden panels would be too much of a pain) or would quails peck through/eat the plastic?
Also i have a house 5x2 and the top of the house where the quail would be at night is 2.5x2, is this suitable for 10 birds (2 of them males)?
Whats the best organic feed?
Whats the best resource for natural quail keeping using herbs/essential oils etc?
If im selling them, i understand i cant sell them commercially but can sell on my doorstep - what are the rules around advertising them (for eating eggs) on my FB page and other FB groups or putting posters in shop windows?
Loads of questions i know! Any advise appreciated.

 

[dc3085]

My first quails arriving soon, so very very excited.
What should i put on the bottom of my quail house over the wire? (Its a chicken house with an extra wire frame underneath as ground is uneven so wanted it to be rat proof?) Would it be easier for me to get some sort of plastic sheeting (think commercial table cloths!) so i could easily pull it out and put fresh one down (as wooden panels would be too much of a pain) or would quails peck through/eat the plastic?
If there is plastic in the cage they will consume it if they can.
What is stopping you from keeping them on just wire? Any sold floor you put down is a health concern. Coturnix poop is very wet for a bird and them pooping on a sheet of wood or plastic is bound to lead to coccidosis or enteritis or at the very least really nasty poop balls you won't enjoy removing. It's best to keep them over wire or sand, since most quail from arid habitats with loose well draining soil.
Many hundreds of thousands of quail are raised on wire every year. I raise mine on both sand and wire floors. Wire floored cages are not as pretty or natural as a ground cage but considering that your birds will have no immunity to poultry diseases and there isn't a place in the UK you can find that hasn't at one time had poultry on it a wire floored cage wouldn't be a bad idea. It drastically reduces disease aquisition and transmission.
Also keep in mind that chickens carry many diseases that they are resistant to but are quite fatal to quail. If this house has been used by chickens you should spray it down with disinfectant and allow it to sit in direct sunlight for a couple days to kill any potentially harmful bacteria or disease. You should maintain a separation between chicken and quail at all times and wash your hands between handling each species.
Also i have a house 5x2 and the top of the house where the quail would be at night is 2.5x2, is this suitable for 10 birds (2 of them males)?
It really isn't a good idea to run multiple quail roosters in the same enclosure. If you have large aviaries or commercial sized cages you can get away with it but in hobby type in enclosures it is never worth the hassle you'll go through with them fighting.
Whats the best organic feed?
There isn't a popular feed that is truly organic as of yet. Your basic feed requirements for quail are 20-24% protein for adults and 30% protein for chicks. You can't feed them chicken food and get healthy quail.
Whats the best resource for natural quail keeping using herbs/essential oils etc?
If im selling them, i understand i cant sell them commercially but can sell on my doorstep - what are the rules around advertising them (for eating eggs) on my FB page and other FB groups or putting posters in shop windows?
I'm not at all familiar with the rules in the UK but in the US only a few states have any restriction on selling live coturnix. Processed meat birds obviously are a different deal but it's usually no prob selling live birds.
Loads of questions i know! Any advise appreciated.

 

[KareninQuails]

Thanks for your reply, i have more quesitons based on your response if your open to offering more ideas.

The reason i thought no wire was a. it would not be that comfortable for the quails, b. i want them to be warm enough and c. cleaning the wire and the uneven ground underneath would be alot of work.

I dont have any chickens but good idea, i did clean cage but not with anything hardcore. Is there a natural disinfectant i can use. I was thinking to invest in water gun/blaster type thing would you recommend that?

Below is the product i have found and its for all poultry - Do you think its ok?

Organic Poultry Grower/Finishing Pellets Composition

ORGANIC POULTRY GROWER FINISHING PELLETS Product Code 3521
The Organic Feed Company, IP25 7SD. Tel: 01362 822903
A COMPLETE FEED for POULTRY
Ideally feed from 6-8 weeks up until 16 weeks or to finish. Feed on an ad lib basis. For birds that are to be kept as laying hens, introduce Organic Layers Pellets gradually from 16 weeks.
Available in 5kg and 20kg bags

Protein 16.0% Oil 4.0% Fibre 5.0%

The Lysine and Methionine in this feed are from natural sources - synthetic amino acids are not used in this feed.

Composition:
Organic Wheat, Organic Full Fat Soya, Organic Peas, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Maize, Yeast, Di-Calcium Phosphate,Calcium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Organic Linseed

Soil Association approved organic P2517 GB-Org-005
• 100% organically grown, agricultural ingredients
• Rich in Omega 3 oils
• There are no synthetic vitamins or minerals in this feed.
• The Organic Feed Company only source identity preserved (Hard IP) Non-GM ingredients.
• The Organic Feed Company feeds are made from natural ingredients which can result in the feed changing colour slightly through the seasons.

 

[yallapilko]

The food you've listed is too low in protein. My advice would be too read a lot on this forum for each top, food, housing etc, or even invest in a good book. (I've listed my top favourite books in another thread, ). It is very easy to get a whole lot wrong at the beginning, which would spoil your quail keeping. So keep asking and invest in a good book, would be my advice.
I use wood shavings from Tesco on the floor and sometimes wire, but only if they have a sand bath too.
Good luck!

 

[dc3085]

I use 10% bleach solution and sunlight to clean. UVs are great disinfectants. Some people say ACV but I don't see how clean you can get something wiping cultured bacteria all over it.

If you can't find game bird feed, try looking for turkey starter. Also make sure if you have quail roosters that you are feeding feeds with less than 1% infused calcium.

 

[cotquail]

Vinegar with a ph of 3 or less is a qualified disinfectant been used for years, created by fermentation like most antibiotics,UV from the sun is a, fairy tale regards disinfecting, hardly any short wave Utraviolet reaches the earth, Wikipedia re ultraviolet explains this and the germicidal wavelength necessary for disinfecting.The atmosphere absorbs pretty much all short length uv. Stick with the vinegar .

 

[dc3085]

Provide the research so that I may fully understand the extent of the fairy tale please.

 

[cotquail]

Ultraviolet C

UVC
280 – 100 nm 4.43 – 12.4 eV
short wave, germicidal, completely absorbed by the ozone layer and atmosphere
The atmosphere blocks about 77% of the Sun's UV, almost entirely in the shorter UV wavelengths, when the Sun is highest in the sky (zenith). Of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface, more than 95% is the longer wavelengths of UVA, with the small remainder UVB.[18] The fraction of UVB which remains in UV light after passing through the atmosphere is heavily dependent on cloud cover and atmospheric conditions.
The shorter bands of UVC, as well as even more-energetic UV radiation produced by the Sun, generate the ozone in the ozone layer when single oxygen atoms produced by UV photolysis of dioxygen react with more dioxygen. The ozone layer is especially important in blocking UVB and the remaining part of UVC, since some of UVC and all wavelengths shorter than UVC are already blocked by ordinary air.

1. David Hambling (29 May 2002). "Let the light shine in". The Guardian.
2. Solar radiation
3. Solar constant at ground level
4. "Reference Solar Spectral Irradiance: Air Mass 1.5". Retrieved 2009-11-12.

 

[dc3085]

Good stuff. I love learning new things but I'm never going to take someone's word for it without empirical data to support it.

 

[cotquail]

Ya kinda like weapons of mass destruction. Moisture, temperature, are the common variables with germs and bacteria that naturally are effected , the sun affects these drying and warming ,but it is considered that there are more effective means . Alot of sanitizers use ph balance , acids and bases,since most communicable germs and bacteria are surface borne, liquids are considered the most effective coverage and penetration to surface indentations,Oxygen based sanitizers and rinse free types are becoming the thing. user safe and food safe, less caustic and environmentally risky.I use alot of these in fermentation .Idophor , Five Star products like powdered brewery wash. Most edible type vinegar is in the range of 5 % cleaning grade is 10 % available at walmart and other places if you look hard.