Can I keep Coturnix indoors? & incubator question

[hac1224]

Could I keep up to 8 Coturnix in a cage indoors?
Do they smell much, and how often would I have to clean to them from smelling? Daily? Weekly?

Has anyone sucessfully used one of those tiny, yellow classroom incubators for quail?

 

[Quail_Cottage]

I wouldn't...we had to move the brooder with only 4 birds in, out of the house into the garage at 3 weeks old. The smell was just too much.

I was changing bedding morning and night too.

 

[fishfarmer]

You can keep as many quails as you want... you just need the space for them. How big is the cage? I think you can keep up to 1 bird per 1/2 to 1 square foot, depending if they're all females and how many males.

Yes, their poop smells very much. The more you clean up, the less you'll notice the smell. I currently have 6 chicks and they poop a lot. I change their bedding every 3-4 days to keep the smell down. With newspaper covering, I change it daily.

 

[kingmt]

You will probably get a few to hatch but a little better bator will probably increase your hatch rate. The smell of these little birds is unreal.

 

[Atlchick]

A generous amount of DE will help with the odor...

 

[optic1]

The best thing about keeping these birds indoors is that they help deter unwanted guests.

Mother-in-law stopping by to much, no problem. Don't clean the boxes for a week. Close all windows a few hours before her arrival. Once that doorbell rings, just open it wide and yell "MOM" "come on in we've missed you". As she runs for her car gagging across the front yard, just be polite and yell for her to stop by anytime. This works "trust me".

Oh and make sure you stock up on a couple cases of endust. If not the kids will be finger painting "WASH ME" all over the tables in the house.

 

[macnugget]

I keep mine indoor only during the brooding once they hit 3 weeks They are out of here. However I have found if you use a rabbit bottle instead of the quail waterer it helps keep the smell down by keeping the litter drier. They catch on quickly we use it for chicken chicks as well . My brooder is a long clear tupperware tote I use the top with hardware cloth on it to keep the little birds in the brooder they fly well at 2-3 wks

 

[Valeriemichelle]

About the little yellow classroom incubator..

I just recently bought one, and i don't really recommend it. I got the four eggs with it and none of them ended up hatching.

But luckily, I emailed them and they are sending me 4 more. So I made my own incubator.

Your better off just making one yourself. People get a better hatch rate by doing that. and usually its cheaper then those crappy yellow incubators.

I had most of the stuff needed to make it so i spent a maximum of $10 on it.

Good luck!

 

[borgie29]

Hi

With the little yellow school incubator, I bought one and had it sent down under from the states. It was ok, I had 4 button quail eggs in it and 3 hatched, my problem was keeping the temp down and turning the eggs, I ended up buying a thermostat and had that running the light, for the water i had a bottle cap in there that I re-filled out every 2-3 days, check it as you turn the eggs.

 

[sengduo]

I wholeheartedly endorse indoor quailing!! I started with two females in a cage about 2'x4'x2.5'. Newspaper bedding with sand from sandbags and some crushed oyster shells (mixes with food for more calcium) - changed weekly. After 4 days smell was somewhat strong. Then I got three more female so I now have 5 female in an area roughly 4'x6'. I sweep every other day and they are great. THese quails really need some hiding spots when they get shy. I feed them 16% protein laying crumble and they munch up and finely chopped kitchen scraps (mostly greens).

go for it!