Creative quail bedding ideas

[Susan Skylark]

Let’s hear your favorite and least favorite bedding ideas (also mention type of housing!). Pine shavings and sand (and wire bottom cages) are all popular and cedar is a big no no, what else have you tried? A friend of mine uses crushed black walnut shells for cat litter (but it can cause founder in horses) so I’d guess this would be a bad idea in quail (like cedar)? Be bold, be creative, what have you tried or want to try?

 

[Nabiki]

Plain old garden dirt seems to make mine quite happy.

 

[Susan Skylark]

I love the idea of dirt but we have horrid clay soil, it has been the death of many a potted plant (turns to cement when dry and is called ‘gumbo’ when wet) and can only imagine what it would do in a quail pen! Good option for areas with reasonable dirt

 

[Nabiki]

I love the idea of dirt but we have horrid clay soil, it has been the death of many a potted plant (turns to cement when dry and is called ‘gumbo’ when wet) and can only imagine what it would do in a quail pen! Good option for areas with reasonable dirt

My old place was on adobe. I didn't use the adobe for the quail, but I had raised garden beds there too.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I love the idea of dirt but we have horrid clay soil, it has been the death of many a potted plant (turns to cement when dry and is called ‘gumbo’ when wet) and can only imagine what it would do in a quail pen! Good option for areas with reasonable dirt

I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.. and I don't raise quial. (so there's that).. but for the sake of discussion or consideration I've used peat moss in my nesting boxes.

Other things I've used are rice hulls, and compressed wood pellets like for the fireplace or sold as horse bedding.

I don't agree with everything in the following link, for example after all the great things I read about it and invested in a whole dump truck load.. I HATE sand for my set up and weather conditions.. NO matter what's said after you sift poops out, the poo juice is left behind and it stinks like any litter box.. but the link may still be useful for you to look at and get some ideas..

https://www.thefeatherbrain.com/blo...of all the chicken,but still better than most.

I've also seen folks use used coffee grounds, but have seen mixed reports with regards to safety.

One person in the following link says they use artifical turf..
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-beddings.1552120/

In the end, and for chickens.. my preference is a mix of materials and sizes that result in the forest floor mulch type setting.. sometimes called cold composting or deep litter/bedding..

Best wishes figuring out what works for you!

 

[Susan Skylark]

Thanks for the insight, mostly just curious what people use, maybe unique ideas available in certain areas (feeding chocolate waste products to cow near Hershey PA!). I love how people either love or hate sand. I have clay soil so a bit in the compost heap won’t hurt anything but we went through 150 pounds in 6 weeks for a dozen quail! Not very efficient but the birds love it and it isn’t a disaster when rained on (like pine!). I was just wondering about smoker pellets (probably similar to your horse bedding/stove pellets). Might be interesting to try, have certainly used them on quail post Mortem

 

[DAttard]

I've begun deep layer method/composting within my aviary. I used a blend of: Autumn leaves, pine needles, garden dirt, pine shavings, hemp, BIO-CHAR, and occasional STALL Dry.
Right now it's 4-6" deep in areas, and I turn it thoroughly every other day and add something new.
I have no ammonia odor, and no mites.

It's working great for me so far, it was disgusting before and I was wasting lots of expensive bedding "cakes"

 

[GeraldineDbird]

has anyone tried raising quails in their garage? what kind of litter bedding have you used to keeps ammonia odor down? we tried paper, pine shavings, sand. But none worked.