Coturnix Quail

[JK2PC]

I have two girls who are not very tame. They have recently begun to come out of their grasses more when I'm around (I have the crickets to thank for that). They are kept separately from my chickens. When I let my chickens out to free range lately they come to their door and call. Can I let these birds out to explore and expect them to go back in their cage?

 

[preciouseureka]

Please don't let them loose, they don't come back! Quail are so very not like chickens! They like to see other creatures outside their pens but they are basically dinner for everything, and my understanding from the nice people here is that the chickens can give them diseases.

 

[Fr quail]

If you clip their wing feathers very short they cant fly and are very easy to catch so if you clip their wings you could let them out if you stay with them. I would try it with one bird at a time or one person per bird in case they go in different directions. With clipped wings, you could put them in a pen with small sides and watch them from a distance to keep predators away.

But never let them out alone, like preciouseureka said they wont come back and are easy targets for predators.

 

[nikirushka]

With clipped wings they can't fly very well, and they can't maintain flight, but they can fly. I tried it with my very first quail as I was keeping her in an open-topped pen in my bedroom. She regularly flew up to ceiling height when spooked (so around 7ft) - easily enough to escape if she were outside - and she was fast! Not worth the risk IMO to try and free range them.

 

[JK2PC]

Thanks for the advisentire everyone. I think I'm going to keep them in. Their pen is huge and not worth it. I love my quail eggs too much!!