Cage Enclosure-Quails

[mustangrooster]

Hi all, Today i have gotten my first Quails!

A male and a female to be exact...the female is laying.

I have constructed a Quail pen, the thing is...im only used to making chook and duck pens....

The quail pen is just one layer of chicken wire, no roof. They came without clipped wings but i have clipped them now....will they escape? fly over?They are in a large dog crate till im 100% sure they wont fly out of the pen i made...

Cheers!

-Mustang

 

[lisameow]

They can and will fly out! My Little King quail had her wings trimmed and still managed to fly out when I was cleaning their hutch and got onto the neighbours roof. Even though they can't fly long distances, they can still get pretty far. Definitely get a roof and put a padding on top in the inside because when they get startled, they forget that there's a roof and their first instinct is to fly straight up.

 

[mustangrooster]

They can and will fly out! My Little King quail had her wings trimmed and still managed to fly out when I was cleaning their hutch and got onto the neighbours roof. Even though they can't fly long distances, they can still get pretty far. Definitely get a roof and put a padding on top in the inside because when they get startled, they forget that there's a roof and their first instinct is to fly straight up.

ohh man....thats not good! What about chickens, they've been in pens exactly like the one i made for the quails ..although they can fly out, they dont. So you reckon they will fly out? Definitely ? I cant get/make a roof for a while...They are Japanese Quails

 

[Manor Hatchery]

ohh man....thats not good! What about chickens, they've been in pens exactly like the one i made for the quails ..although they can fly out, they dont. So you reckon they will fly out? Definitely ? I cant get/make a roof for a while...They are Japanese Quails

Japenese quaildont fly lol, maybe they can jump 12 inches at max but they can't fly.

 

[lisameow]

Yeas, but generally, chickens are much less skittish than quail. Also, I think quails are actually much better flyers than chickens. And I think quails don't really have a sense of where their 'home' is so they would probably wander around as far out as they can. As far as I know Japanese quail a very similar to King quail with the biggest difference being their size. Plus, there a predators everywhere. Depending on where you live means there will be different ones but the most common are crows, Hawks, snakes, rats, foxes, dogs and cats. The only defence they really have is a burst of flight and then when they land, to run for cover. With an open pen, some type of predator will try to get in sooner or later and with no roof, it will be pretty easy. Oh and congrats on getting your first quails btw

 

[mustangrooster]

Japenese quaildont fly lol, maybe they can jump 12 inches at max but they can't fly.

They dont fly? are you sure? Thats great if they cant fly...

 

[mustangrooster]

Yeas, but generally, chickens are much less skittish than quail. Also, I think quails are actually much better flyers than chickens. And I think quails don't really have a sense of where their 'home' is so they would probably wander around as far out as they can. As far as I know Japanese quail a very similar to King quail with the biggest difference being their size. Plus, there a predators everywhere. Depending on where you live means there will be different ones but the most common are crows, Hawks, snakes, rats, foxes, dogs and cats. The only defence they really have is a burst of flight and then when they land, to run for cover. With an open pen, some type of predator will try to get in sooner or later and with no roof, it will be pretty easy. Oh and congrats on getting your first quails btw

Thankyou for the great information...No, no foxes or rats are present. But they're are dogs...a naughty puppy...snakes....cats...and pretty much every living animal on the face of the earth

Thankyou again! Its exciting...maybe if they house with ducks, or silkies, would that be a good idea? or not?

 

[Manor Hatchery]

As I said they can't even jump 12 inches. A typical quail cage is 2x4x12"

 

[lisameow]

Japanese quails can fly. If they are in a closed cage that is 12 inches high, then for the most part, that's how high they will jump. My quail hutch is about sixty cm high and they seem to jump around for the fun of it. It's different to if they get spooked. It's probably not a good idea to house them with other birds as they need different type of feed to chickens with more protein and it has to be finer. Not sure about ducks. Also, they may get picked on by the bigger birds. But you can always try and just keep a watch out for any aggression. Post some pics of your quail if you can

 

[DK newbie]

Japanese quail CAN fly. In the wild, they are migratory birds, meaning they are actually good flyers. They just choose not to fly, most of the time. And of cause captive birds have no advantage from flying, so their abilities most likely isn't as good as those of their wild cousins, but it doesn't mean they can't fly.
The 12 inch cage is actually that low to prevent them from flying - if the cage is high enough for them to fly, they can injure themselves from boinking into the roof because their flight is so powerful. It is also said that if the cage is more than 5-6 feet high, they'll usually lose so much momentum that they won't get seriously hurt from boinking, but anything between 12 inches and 5 feet should have a padded roof to prevent injuries.

Clipping their wings MIGHT prevent them from flying - for a while - but eventually they'll either regrow their feathers without you noticing or, as lisameow suggested, a predator will find them. Being as small as they are, even cats are a threat, and as they do not roost like chickens they are a pretty easy prey. Covering the enclosure is by far the best option.