Coturnix quail run issue

[Keeperofmunchkins]

I am new to quail and have 4 coturnix I hatched in December last year. Well I finally decided to move them outdoors to their enclosure which consists of a 6ft x 6ft run on grass with a 3ft x 3ft hutch on ground level attached at the back. The hutch is insulated wood and has a lockable door so is more secure and warm/dry. The run is covered with a tarp but is set directly on grass that is pretty cold and damp at the moment and there are all sorts of drafts cutting through it.

Now silly me I presumed the quail would retreat to the warm, dry and enclosed hutch at nightfall, but for the last two nights since I moved them outside they have just hunkered down on the grass in the run to sleep. I had to go out and shoo them all into the hutch part one by one which was a bit difficult.

Is it normal for quail to sleep so out in the open like that? Surely when the freezing weather comes it would not be good for them to be sleeping directly on the ground with no bedding? How can I encourage them to want to sleep in the hutch part of their enclosure?

 

[Nabiki]

I am new to quail and have 4 coturnix I hatched in December last year. Well I finally decided to move them outdoors to their enclosure which consists of a 6ft x 6ft run on grass with a 3ft x 3ft hutch on ground level attached at the back. The hutch is insulated wood and has a lockable door so is more secure and warm/dry. The run is covered with a tarp but is set directly on grass that is pretty cold and damp at the moment and there are all sorts of drafts cutting through it.

Now silly me I presumed the quail would retreat to the warm, dry and enclosed hutch at nightfall, but for the last two nights since I moved them outside they have just hunkered down on the grass in the run to sleep. I had to go out and shoo them all into the hutch part one by one which was a bit difficult.

Is it normal for quail to sleep so out in the open like that? Surely when the freezing weather comes it would not be good for them to be sleeping directly on the ground with no bedding? How can I encourage them to want to sleep in the hutch part of their enclosure?

It's normal. Mine seem to prefer small, individual hidey holes (small boxes, planters, etc) rather than a hutch/coop. Their body head will warm up a small enclosure pretty well, and they can handle freezing temperatures that way quite nicely.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Thanks for the response! As someone used to keeping chickens, it just seems so strange for the quails to be so exposed when they sleep. I'm going to have to make some alterations to the run to make it more predator proof if they are going to sleep there through.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I don't think my japanese quails even go to sleep. They seem to walk around all night.