naturalroots17
In the Brooder
Hello!
I have 80 GG bobwhite quail hatching as we speak, I plan on building them an outdoor ground run. I live in Central VA & I'm wondering how to make it as natural as possible. I was going to spread millet seeds around, in hopes they sprout and grow, obviously keep the grass as tall as possible but I've never raised them on the ground before so, curious as to what recommendations others have.
We use lumber and hardware cloth to build our coops & tractors, slant corrugated roofs for rainwater collection.
What kind of feed do others feed. I've always seen people use the same stuff they feed laying hens, but what other things would help. They are being raised for eggs & meat to sell at farmer's markets.
I don't know about the mobility of the tractor style run but it will be big, maybe 8 x 12 x 48". Is that big enough? We have breeding pens, they are rabbit hutch style, but those are obviously only temporary living quarters, we want as natural a situation as we can for them.
Also, with ground style coops, what is the best way to collect eggs? We really don't want to build a walk in sized aviary... the goal is to modify this design we use for small pullets before they graduate to the laying coops
Thanks!
I have 80 GG bobwhite quail hatching as we speak, I plan on building them an outdoor ground run. I live in Central VA & I'm wondering how to make it as natural as possible. I was going to spread millet seeds around, in hopes they sprout and grow, obviously keep the grass as tall as possible but I've never raised them on the ground before so, curious as to what recommendations others have.
We use lumber and hardware cloth to build our coops & tractors, slant corrugated roofs for rainwater collection.
What kind of feed do others feed. I've always seen people use the same stuff they feed laying hens, but what other things would help. They are being raised for eggs & meat to sell at farmer's markets.
I don't know about the mobility of the tractor style run but it will be big, maybe 8 x 12 x 48". Is that big enough? We have breeding pens, they are rabbit hutch style, but those are obviously only temporary living quarters, we want as natural a situation as we can for them.
Also, with ground style coops, what is the best way to collect eggs? We really don't want to build a walk in sized aviary... the goal is to modify this design we use for small pullets before they graduate to the laying coops
Thanks!
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