Can quail be tamed enough to free-range?

[Oblio13]

Quote:
I had some, and they used to follow me around the yard waiting for me to shake bushes so they could go after the beetles. It was a blast to watch. But they were so loud I got rid of them. Didn't want to bug the neighbors.

As far as the quail: I have a covered 12' x 20' run with a few pullets in it. I'm going to put all the female quail and a few males in there as well, and hopefully they'll get along. Then I'll let my excess males go outside the coop. If they stick around, I'll move on to the next step. If they don't, at least not much was lost.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I thought of letting a spare male or two loose to eat the excess feed that fall through the floor of the cage.

I think what I'll be doing instead is fencing the bottom portion of the cage, using the cage legs as posts. Once it's fenced and quail proof, I think I'll place a few quail underneath the quail hutch to eat spare food and to stir the poop into the dirt. Usually my free-ranging roosters do this, but because of the dogs I've had to block the bottom of the cage off and I know the feed on the ground is feeding the rodents.. grr..

I think some quail would stick around, especially you still kept the others caged. Whether they would survive or not or whether it is legal is a completely different story.

Have fun and let us know how it works out for ya!

-Kim