Cage space for raising birds

[MommaZoo]

I have a parrot cage I would like to see if I can use to raise some Coturnix quail indoors.
Its 36"x18"x18" and I can add hardware screen to the removable bottom pans to prevent the birds from getting into the poop and easy cleaning.

I'm mostly looking to have a small number of birds for eggs for snacking for the kids and maybe some cooking.

Wondering if this is really feasible? Number of adult birds I should expect to house in this size? Any other good suggestions?

 

[feedman77]

Most figure 1 sf a bird so that cage would do 4 birds comfortable. Others are .5 sf a bird. So if that route 8 birds.

The more room they have the better.

I have never kept them indoors. But they are little poo machines.

 

[dpenning]

Most figure 1 sf a bird so that cage would do 4 birds comfortable. Others are .5 sf a bird. So if that route 8 birds.

The more room they have the better.

I have never kept them indoors. But they are little poo machines.

I don't do math but I have had parrots in the past and I'm thinking that is 36" in height?

 

[feedman77]

If that's the case 2 birds.

I was thinking length width height.

 

[Binki]

I have a parrot cage I would like to see if I can use to raise some Coturnix quail indoors.
Its 36"x18"x18" and I can add hardware screen to the removable bottom pans to prevent the birds from getting into the poop and easy cleaning.

I'm mostly looking to have a small number of birds for eggs for snacking for the kids and maybe some cooking.

Wondering if this is really feasible? Number of adult birds I should expect to house in this size? Any other good suggestions?

I can tell you what I do and a bit about coturnix

They prefer a longer cage to a taller one - think rabbit cage or hutch

For my indoor pet group of coturnix, I use a Living World XL cage I got from Kijiji (online local buy and sell) for $40 CAD. There's a shorter width version with one lid instead of the two seperate ones I show in the pics.

The lid being askew is my fault, there are tabs you turn to lock it and they're wedging one of the lids up since I don't keep it locked

I have it on a 2 foot high shelf so I interact with them by bending over and putting my hands inside, I have 4 hens and two of them love to be snuggled in my hands/sleeve.

I used to use hay but have found wood shavings to be way more absorbant which helps with drying their poop and keeping it from sticking to their feet. You can get a huge compressed bag of it at TSC for about $6 CAD, don't get the tiny bags at the pet store for $10.

I've since removed the shelf and added a cardboard Pepsi box with holes cut out so they go through it and hay is stuck in some holes, they also climb on top of it sometimes. When it's dirty I can make a new one.

A bit of organic with the mother apple cider vinegar can help with poop smells, mine have hardly smelled since they became mature and I keep a fan on low and usually the window at least cracked which I'm sure helps.

I can honestly tell you that the two cats and dog each smell way worse than the quail if you consider their farts and litter box and wet dog smell

The quail love dustbathing in the shavings and sand and that gets thrown out of the cage so vacuum or sweep regularly and you could also use plexiglass or something as a barrier so they don't throw so much stuff out.

I love having mine around and in the summer they go in the breezeway in front of an open window to the backyard/forest. I don't even eat their eggs much - I give them to family and friends/neighbours or feed them back to the chickens or quail

 

[dpenning]

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I can tell you what I do and a bit about coturnix

They prefer a longer cage to a taller one - think rabbit cage or hutch

For my indoor pet group of coturnix, I use a Living World XL cage I got from Kijiji (online local buy and sell) for $40 CAD. There's a shorter width version with one lid instead of the two seperate ones I show in the pics.

The lid being askew is my fault, there are tabs you turn to lock it and they're wedging one of the lids up since I don't keep it locked

I have it on a 2 foot high shelf so I interact with them by bending over and putting my hands inside, I have 4 hens and two of them love to be snuggled in my hands/sleeve.

I used to use hay but have found wood shavings to be way more absorbant which helps with drying their poop and keeping it from sticking to their feet. You can get a huge compressed bag of it at TSC for about $6 CAD, don't get the tiny bags at the pet store for $10.

I've since removed the shelf and added a cardboard Pepsi box with holes cut out so they go through it and hay is stuck in some holes, they also climb on top of it sometimes. When it's dirty I can make a new one.

A bit of organic with the mother apple cider vinegar can help with poop smells, mine have hardly smelled since they became mature and I keep a fan on low and usually the window at least cracked which I'm sure helps.

I can honestly tell you that the two cats and dog each smell way worse than the quail if you consider their farts and litter box and wet dog smell

The quail love dustbathing in the shavings and sand and that gets thrown out of the cage so vacuum or sweep regularly and you could also use plexiglass or something as a barrier so they don't throw so much stuff out.

I love having mine around and in the summer they go in the breezeway in front of an open window to the backyard/forest. I don't even eat their eggs much - I give them to family and friends/neighbours or feed them back to the chickens or quail

Love your setup!

 

[Binki]

Love your setup!

Thank you very much it's went through a few variations!

I forgot to mention that they are dusty, you can get show chinchilla sand that is dustless to help with that.

Also forgot to say that I've zip tied (could have done it prettier!) some bird netting a few inches below the domed lids so if they jump they bounce back mostly harmlessly