considering getting some quails

[sailor_v]

Today while I was surfing in the forum when I was looking at quails, I started to think about them and now I’m really want to start raising some quails and scrap the idea about raising duck due that fact I’m just so concern about the noise the duck will make in the the town and I have could some space for them. there is this particular area where I want the coop/pen to be for the quails. Since the swamp cooler is elevated I could turn the bottom part into a coop/pen for them. The coop would be 4’ L by 4’ W
And I was wondering how much quails could I put in their.

i woudl love to have the coturnix quails
and also can coturnix quails and button quails live together?

 

[Heather J]

I've seen pens where they put coturnix and buttons together, but I haven't raised buttons myself, so I don't know if it's a great idea or not. It looks like you need around a square foot of floor for each bird, or something close to that, so if it's 4x4 you could have around 16 quail.

I would be concerned about the possibility of the swam cooler draining water on the quail hutch all the time, so if you put it there, make sure you have some plastic sheeting or something between them to protect them from the water. Quail don't do really great when they get wet, at least not when they're small.

 

[ButtonQuailBoy]

good luck finding some...

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have 1 button and 2 A&M cortunix that are living happily together right now. They all hatched around the same time, and don't seem to notice that one is smaller, or 2 are bigger, whichever view point you take! The button likes to cuddle in between the A&M's that are twice its size. monarc23 has pics of buttons and jumbo cortunix living together in her quail info thread, plus there is all sorts of good info in there. Good luck!

Edit>> The cayuga ducks would be a good choice for suburb living though, as they are very quiet, and they can't fly very well. I have ducks and quail, and I love them both. I don't know what I would do without my ducks!

 

[monarc23]

4' by 4 ' ?

Well I have had 30-35 in my hutch pen, that measures something like 5ft long by 2 ft 7 1/2 inches wide. something like 4 ft of it is wire floor (hardware cloth), the upper portion is chickenwire, but 6 inches from the "floor" up I have hardware to reinforce it, to make sure my quail don't stick their heads through.

You have to make sure the ratio of male to female is decient though males WILL overbreed hens and can kill them very easily. 1 male to 5 females will insure fertility while also insuring the hens aren't being overbred. I have personally seen what a male over bred hen looks like it's very sad....(one i could see her skull through the blood mess on the back of her skull and her back was just a big gore mess)<---not my birds.

spring is the best time to buy chicks (as that's the start of coturnix's natural breeding season) but many who keep theri coturnix indoors have birds for sale (and hatching eggs) for sale all year round.

You can visit my post below (on coturnix care) if you haven't already it's pretty informative if i do say so myself lol....it took me hours to complete and im still not done with it.

 

[sailor_v]

thanks.
oh my goodness I forgot all about the draining water part. I will make sure the cage will make sure it covered.
I also have a question, um since the cage will be on the ground and the ground is under concrete, will their be still a possible of them catching parasite? And it also between my mom gardens(I hope their is no possible of them catching parasite)
or maybe i will stick to a new plan. my dad shed has room for a second coop when i get more chicken in the future and i could some how make the coop three story, one just for the quails and the second and third story will be just for the chickens in the future but that if my dad approves.
And it look like I have to have permit for them
and is summer the best time to buy quails?

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
spring is when teh quails will start laying so you can buy them as early as the spring, but yep all summer long you should be able to readily find coturnix quail eggs!

Cement might be really cold for them, but if its what you've got to work with try and give them an area that is solid wood (like an inner part of the pen) so they can be in an area that's up off the cold floor. What would worry me is them getting way too cold to frost bite but maybe im wrong. As for parasites I guess if they deffinatly weren't on soil that that might be a different situation....but I can't tell you for sure. YOu can always worm them just to be safe.

If your dad approves i think a raised pen for the quail is a much better idea...cleaner and very minimal threat of wormies.

 

[sailor_v]

I will ask before spring comes.maybe on my brithday.
and i forgot to mention the concret will be covered with hay(if it okey to put the quails on them)
yet i hope one day when i ask my dad i really hope he approve it because i like the other option i mention eailer.i think i could pull off this one well haha.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
I think they'll be fine whatever way you choose to have them, just take good careof them and all should be well

I see your in cali...they'll be in heaven there and you'll have eggs probably year round...well as long as it stays warm and sunny!

 

[sailor_v]

speaking of warmth, at what temperature quails cannot stand in summer and winter? in the summer it get awfully HOT where I live. Temperature rise above 100 degrees F and im kinda worried about that.