californian quail

[shimzilla]

Hi, I was keeping Italian quail before, I am looking into getting a pair of Californian quail, any tips for this species would be great. also have people had much success in keeping them in outdoor avarys? im getting the impression they might not be to hardy. I was going to make the aviary half borded up for the outside run so they have plenty of shelter from the wind and some bark and sand on the bottom as it seems grass is not recommended and we are on clay soil.

any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[dc3085]

They'll do fine outdoors. California has some of the most diverse climate zones in the US. I've seen valley quail in all of them. They don't love snow, but can survive it just fine. You never see them when it snows but come spring they are always back, so they are living somewhere. They occur naturally all the way up to 4500 ft above sea level here, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them higher up than that.

So yes they are quite hardy.