Best food and water systems?

[quail42]

We have almost finished building our quail hutch. We are looking to get about 8 or 9. The cage is on large wheels so can stay in the garage in the winter (gets to -30C here) and outside in the summer.

I'm wondering if anyone can suggest good systems for food and water? I'm looking for easiness, relative cleanliness, and if it is possible to have something that doesn't need to be checked on daily in case we are away for a night.

Dimensions: It has an area with caged walls (4'x3'x height of 3'), and will have an enclosed nesting area (2'x3'x height of 3') with a small opening connecting the two. One of the caged walls has 2 large doors to gain access and the nesting box will have a side door as well. We are going to try the deep litter method so the depth below where the cage starts is 4".

Thanks!

 

[bhcarnes]

I recently went through a few different watering systems. Nipples work OK but the quail splash a lot of water around. The final one I settled on was the poultry water cups attached to a PVC pipe and fed by a 5 gallon bucket. By far the best. Not only is it low maintenance but very little (if any) spillage so cleaning is easier and trays don't turn into a soupy, smelly mess. Highly, highly recommend the water cups.

For feeders, I built some gravity fed hopper boxes and mounted to the outside of my cages so the quail get more room and so I can refill without opening it. Pretty easy to build even with minimal wood working skills, especially if you use a neighbors tools like I did.

 

[pkhunter]

These half cups are by far the best system that I have tried, Have them mounted on the outside of the cage with a low pressure system. feeder are made from plastic rain gutter down spout.