Can I keep Coturnix indoors? & incubator question

[hac1224]

I'm actually getting some eggs tomorrow AM! Not sure exactly how many, but probably 15-20. A friend is just letting me have whatever hers laid for the past two days. She only has 10 hens, so definitely no more than 20. Incubator is up & running for one last check on temps & humidity.

 

[FowlFriend]

I bought the little yellow incubator and tried hatching quail and chickens in it--no luck. And we were diligent about the temp and humidity! I finally broke down and got a hobavator and we hatched quail in February.

We did keep our quail inside for about 7 weeks. We kept them in the bathroom and it really did smell, even though we changed the bedding 1-2 times daily. Our hens live in a big cage on our back porch now and we can enjoy them without enduring the smell and MESS! We keep an old cake pan of sand for them to dust bathe and they get it EVERYWHERE!!

Good luck!

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:

I should have read this last week. My inlaws are coming to visit in a couple of days...

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

So what kind of Coturnix are we talking about that you are wanting?

The c.Coturnix or the j. Coturnix. If the j, Coturnix are you wanting the smaller Pharoah type or Jumbos. Each requires a little different space. But yes cages - larger is better.

The c. Coturnix - what everyone calls the Button Quail, need to be inside. With them, you have more colors to choose from. They are house birds and ground dwellers. So long cages or use them as bottom dwellers of a mixed cage of birds.

The Jumbo j. Coturnix are the big eaters so they should be raised outside. Unless you don't want your mother-in-law around. And you don't mind wearing breathing masks on a regular basis.

The smaller Pharoah type - there are more colors popping up and just having a few in the house shouldn't be a problem.
No more than Parakeets or Cockateels (spelling?) and such size birds. Treat them like you would anyother house bird. But remember they are ground dwellers so will need long cages not high cages. Or add them to your other bird cages for a clean up crew.

 

[Wifezilla]

16% protein feed is not enough protein.

I had 4 quail in a cage last winter. I bought them in December and the lady I got them from had been raising them inside. They were messy. I did have to clean the drop tray every day. pine bedding kept the smell down, but you COULD NOT skip a day. I was happy to get them outside, BUT, I do miss their singing. Quail have beautiful little chirps

If you properly prepared and did not overload your cage, you could raise quail inside. I would have lined the lower part of the cage with some kind of clear plastic if I had to do it again. I used a chinchilla dusting hut for their dust baths and that worked really well. I recommend getting one or two of those.

 

[hac1224]

This was a really old post that someone bumped up from the depths. We've had quail for long enough to have 2nd generation babies now hatching. They were too smelly for the back porch, so they are outside. The back porch does still have a few cages, but it only houses babies, adolescents, and "hospital patients" until they are healed. We only have a total of 17 right now (7 adults, 3 adolescents, and 2 new babies). This hatch was a complete flop because of incubator fluctuations - only 2 chicks out of 34 eggs, and one of them has deformed feet.

At least one other late bloomer pipped last night, but it didn't make it out. It stopped peeping, so I think the egss need to go. Unfortunately, we are renting and looking at probably having to move to a house (duplex, really) that won't allow any of our quail or chickens. If it comes to that, I guess we'll be selling off what we've worked so hard for these last two years or so.

At least we can keep our dog and our cage of buttons.

 

[Stellar]

Quote:
Button quail are not coturnix...they are Excalifactor chinesis...they were mistaken for coturnix chinesis for all these years

Poor little buggers.