do quail have to be raised in cages?

[sprout]

do quail have to be raised in cages, or will they fly away? what about a 6 foot tall fence? would that be high enough to keep them in? if they fly away, would they come back? would lack of cages make it hard to find the eggs?

i am considering starting a small urban farm in salt lake city, ut. i would be raising quail mostly to eat their eggs.

o, and does anybody know of a farm in utah that sells quail eggs for cooking? i'd like to buy from the farmer, and not a store, if possible.

 

[MoodyChicken]

6 foot tall means nothing to a quail. They need to be caged, not necessarily a wire floor cage though. I have mine in a small 4x4 aviary with a sand bottom.

 

[sprout]

ooo! that sounds better! i just don't like the idea of anything that looks like bondage or birdie prison. thanks!

if i start this urban farm thing i'm dreaming about i would most definitely end up selling my eggs & produce at the farm. i just don't think a row of small cages would look very friendly to customers. i mean, maybe the birds don't care, but i'd like for them to have some room to fly and be free!

do you think the birds care?

 

[MoodyChicken]

Be sure to use fine mesh wire! Baby quail can squeeze through anything. Two just got out of my brooder today. My Nana couldn't figure out what was running lose through the house till one stopped in front of her.

Honestly, I don't think they know better. A friend of mine adopted two spent battery hens, and when she put them on the soil they didn't even know what to do. They were utterly lost. The cage was all they knew. It took them quite a while to figure out the range idea. Runs are nice, but batteries are not cruel when cared for properly.

 

[tumra]

the good thing about quails is that a large number of the birds can be raised in a relatively small space. If you are going to let them roam free outside they will jump the fence or become an easy meal for cats and foxes etc. Putting them in cages is more to do with safety for the quails as well.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I'm in the process of finishing up a small aviary for 25 Bobwhite quail. When I have the time I will be making larger aviary kind of on the lines of a "Hoop Coop" and will use hardware cloth or heavy duty chicken wire to cover it.

I raise all my Bobwhites on the ground in some kind of pen or other.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
I'd love to see photos, if you have the time to share.

We're getting ready to put up 3 new flight pens, and could use some ideas.

 

[Boyd]

I've got a hoop coop and would show pics but vzw is being a pain right now

 

[monarc23]

Once I get more hardware cloth to line atleast 5 inches of the bottom of my "flight pen" I'm going to be putting a bunch of coturnix back in there again and THIS Time they wont get out!

they are so fun to watch on the ground

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Here are my current quail setups.

My breeding group is housed in a "modified" playhouse coop.

After building a few more Quail Tractors, I will be moving them in there. I still have to put the wire on. That's tomorrows job.I'm thinking of getting a few bantams to put in the playhouse.

This is the coop I'm putting my new Bob's in. It's 8ftx4ftx6ft with a tin roof. Needs to have the door put on and another layer of paint and then the little guys go in. Also tomorrows job if it stops storming!!

ETA--dunno if you can make him out or not. but that red thing to the left of the pic is my neighbor Bob on his mower. Bob and his wife by organic corn from the health food store to feed my chickens that are allowed to free range in their yard in the evenings. They even bring their grandson who lives in the city over to see the chickens, lol