Cage Dimensions

[underground chickenman]

I have read many different opinions on cage size for coturnix quail. What size (length, width and height) cages do you use for brooders and full grown quail, and how many birds do you keep in each cage?

I am mostly interested in wire top cages, so it will be greatly appreciated if you would include your opinion on optimum height to provide sufficient room, but not enough height to allow flight acceleration sufficient to cause broken necks.

Thanks in advance for the info.

UGCM

 

[Emilys3guppies]

I'm using a rabbit coop...it's 4'x2'x18". I also have a rodent cage, made with 1/2" hardware wire, that is 4'x4'x4'. I'm not sure which will work better...we'll see, I guess.

I think I heard that if you're going to use a wire roof you should make it tall enough to avoid boinking altogether, or short enough that they don't get enough momentum to injure themselves if they do boink.

All the best,
Emily

 

[laputa]

If you use a solid top, or cover your wire top with something solid, they will rarely jump because their instinct would be to run side way when they feel no chance to push through the top. And you only need about 1 foot of height. Something a local quail person taught me and worked well in my case. I posted part of his comments here a while ago.

If you use open wire top, either you go 3 feet or higher, or you could try tie a soft mesh in the cage somewhere below the wire top as a soft landing for their head.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have 11 jumbo brown coturnix in a cage that is 30" x 36" and 11" high. 4 tuxedo coturnix are in a 2'x2'x2' cage, 6 A&M (white) coturnix are also in a 2x2x2 cage, 5 various colored coturnix (pharoah sized) are in a cage that is about 2' long by 16-18" wide by about 16" high. I have 4 others in a cage that is just a bit bigger than this one.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Shorter roofs are better for non-boinking, they gain speed the higher they go. Coturnix only need about 12" height since they don't roost.

 

[Emilys3guppies]

Quote:
Shorter roofs are better for non-boinking, they gain speed the higher they go. Coturnix only need about 12" height since they don't roost.

So my rabbit hutch should be OK. I wonder if I can seperate the 4' tall cage into two...mmm. Gonna have to think on that. Coturnix aren't as boinky as button though, right?

 

[shelleyd2008]

No, not at all. I have a few that are flighty, but most of them just peck me when I go in their cage

 

[tumra]

This is a fact sheet that the Agricultural ministry in Aust has put out.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/145346/Raising-Japanese-quail.pdf

based on their advice you should provide 125cm2 of floor space per adult bird if you are putting them on wire.

 

[Emilys3guppies]

Quote:
That seems like a lot to me, unless I'm doing my math wrong. That's just over 4 square feet of floor space per bird?

ETA: I don't think I'm doing the math right...cause then it says that a cage that's 5"x8" is suitable for two birds? Wow, I've really confused myself.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

We house no more than 20 mature (not jumbo) Coturnix quail hens in a 2' x' 2' X 9" high cage made of 1" sq welded wire mesh. The floor is PVC coated 1/2" X 1" welded wire mesh. Thgat provides them with about 29 sq inches of floor space each.
They have 8" of feeder space through the side of the cage. Two nipple drinkers in each pen hanging through the top mesh.