Cage Height

[freeflyin]

I have searched through the forum a few times and see a lot of discrepancy between all of the recommended heights. So far I've come up with a minimum of 7" and if you are planning on going over 18" you need it to be a lot taller so that they will not hit their heads when startled. For below 18" the idea is that they will not gain enough momentum to do serious damage to themselves. If there is anything I misinterpreted about that let me know.

My real question is if 8-9" height will accommodate the jumbo variety of coturnix. I'm not sure how large they are, so it makes it difficult to decide. I really don't know if I will be getting jumbo coturnix, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to make the cages large enough for them just in case.

 

[laseterlass]

I did a foot and the can stretch up and flap but not boink. My new breeding bins wll be 3 feet with a net at 2 feet. The roof will be solid to keep the weather off but can be lifted up on nice days for air flow and for easy access.

 

[freeflyin]

That's good to give them extra room, but do you think 9" would be too short?

 

[laseterlass]

I did a foot and the can stretch up and flap but not boink. My new breeding bins wll be 3 feet with a net at 2 feet. The roof will be solid to keep the weather off but can be lifted up on nice days for air flow and for easy access.

 

[James the Bald]

I think the size of the cage all depends on the builder, and what you are doing with your quail. My quail won't be used for dog training; mostly eggs and meat. If I had bobwhites that I was going to use for dog training, or for releasing for hunting, that would be a totally different story.

The height of my first cage was 18", but my next 2 cages were no higher than 12". Everywhere I read, the sizes varied from 9 - 18", so I maximized the size for my first cage, but picked a length in between for my next 2 cages. Alll of my cages have the same Length and Width and I plan on building a shelf to maximize the area I have available for quail. I also figured that the Quail Cage Inspectors won't be stopping by to give me a citation for improper cage size.

Had I given it a lot more thought before I started building, all of my cages would have a height of 12".

 

[Chick Charm]

If you keep it under 12'' you avoid the boink factor. For Cots you really don't NEED anything taller.

8' X 3' X 12'' TALL. Never had a boink

3'6'' X 2'6'' X 9'' WALL HEIGHT. Never had a boink.

 

[Chick Charm]

So no I don't think 9'' is too short. I just like building mine at 12''. Gives them the opportunity to flap and frolic.