Do you have a floor in the enclosed section of the pen?

[ozzie]

I am going to re-work my quail lodgings. Currently they are in a rabbit hutch type arrangement with a closed in section (that has a door) that has a solid floor and the other section of the cage is wire covered (and has a wire floor where the poop falls onto a tray below). I have been putting newspaper/shredded paper into the closed section but boy do they poop a lot. It means I generally have to clean that section daily - I don't particularly like them lying in their poop. A fair number of them are white and well...they have splotches of brown which I'm sure is NOT feather color...

Do you have a solid floor in the enclosed section of the quail cage or do you just have wire there as well? If you do have an enclosed section, how often do you clean it and what do you put in there to keep them cleaner? Sand?

thanks
ozzie

 

[monarc23]

Hi Ozzie,
well in my rabbit hutch its a VERY simliar set up (except no tray to catch the poo). I first started out putting hay in there, the quails made a mess, it smelled like mold and I knew it wasnt healthy.. so instead I put aspen bedding in there, within a half a day it was all kicked out. So now... guess what I put in there? NOTHING. What I do now is their indoor part is where I feed them I just pour it directly on the ground of their indoor part. Some is kicked out but not much I put the feed in the indoor part as far away from the entrance as possible. They poop inthere some sure, but not a lot, I even have an A & M roo in there and he's as clean as ever

They also lay MOST of their eggs in there

 

[ozzie]

So now... guess what I put in there? NOTHING. What I do now is their indoor part is where I feed them I just pour it directly on the ground of their indoor part. Some is kicked out but not much I put the feed in the indoor part as far away from the entrance as possible.

So you just sprinkle feed in the indoor part and have it bare? How do you clean it? I've only put in newspaper in there so come clean up time I just lift the newspaper out and put a new one in. The set up is under my veranda so I keep the food and water in the wire section. Currently because they aren't fully feathered yet, the indoor section has a heat lamp to keep them warm, so perhaps that's why they are staying in there more (and therefore pooping in there more) than they would normally do if there wasn't a lamp. They should be off heat soon.

ozzie​

 

[quail newbie]

I have a wooden floor inside mine with hay on the floor and it was stinky

I was cleaning it out once a week and that was a huge pain so I started doing the deep litter method and there is NO SMELL!

It has been almost three weeks and I haven't had to do a thing I just throw some fresh peas in to get them to stir the pine shavings up and it's good.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
So you just sprinkle feed in the indoor part and have it bare? How do you clean it? I've only put in newspaper in there so come clean up time I just lift the newspaper out and put a new one in. The set up is under my veranda so I keep the food and water in the wire section. Currently because they aren't fully feathered yet, the indoor section has a heat lamp to keep them warm, so perhaps that's why they are staying in there more (and therefore pooping in there more) than they would normally do if there wasn't a lamp. They should be off heat soon.

ozzie

I dont clean it out...they barely poop in it lol. It's a wooden floor with rarely a bird poo in it feed and eggs that's it

My birds rarely spend time in the shelter though only go in there to lay eggs eat and dust bathe (or hide from me with my scary camera lol) other than that they are on the wire even in the middle of winter or a downpour.

 

[laputa]

I have a rabbit hutch converted quail cage just like that, though I do not have any quail in it yet.

This sounds like an issue I will be facing myself.

It sounds amazing Niki's birds' will not poo or stay much in the enclosed part. Was it because of the feed, or something else outside (fresh air? more lights?) that they decided to not go there much? I want to learn what made it so so my future birds will follow the same routine.

 

[monarc23]

Quote:
Honestly not sure I've always just called them "stupid" for it

Theres no lighting at all on the inside so yep darkness could be a reason why they dont stay in there. Seriously I will go out in the middle of the night and every quail is out on the wire and im like

lol

 

[ozzie]

Honestly not sure I've always just called them "stupid" for it lau Theres no lighting at all on the inside so yep darkness could be a reason why they dont stay in there. Seriously I will go out in the middle of the night and every quail is out on the wire and im like roll lol

That's just amazing Nicki.

Well I turned off the heat in the day time today to see if they stay outdoors more - but no...unless they are eating or drinking - they are all inside sleeping...in the dark...

What I might try is to just put a sheet of newspaper in there - they seem to like the shredded paper - kinda like nesting material so they snuggle up into it and I guess that means they sleep in there (and poop). Maybe if it was all 'sterile' and 'minimalist' they may decide that it's not so great and move outdoors...

What I will do to change the pen arrangement is to have some sort of drop down hinged floor in that indoor section to make it easier to clean. Currently the rabbit hutch that I have isn't ideal for quail - all the access points are from the 'roof' and I'm always paranoid that when I open the door that I'll get escapees!

ozzie​

 

[laputa]

Quote:
You don't have any door in the front?
The rabbit hutch I converted is this one, it has one door on the enclosed nest area and one door on the outdoor wired area as well for easy access to both chambers.
http://www.westcoastpetsupply.com/2/Super-Pet-Premium-Rabbit-Hutch/

The roof does open and I may use it occasionally, in which case I plan to do the following to prevent escapees: stable two or multiple pieces of fine screen mesh (the kind you use to make screen doors) to cover the roof opening. Have the two pieces overlap slight, and hang slightly loose. This way that you can push your hand through in between the two pieces, and fetch things out too as long as they are not too large, but the screen should hold tight to deflect any quail trying to jump out at a high speed. You can even tape something on the screen so the quail sees it and discourage them to try to jump up. Give it a try, it may help you too.

 

[ozzie]

You don't have any door in the front?

No, it's one of those galvanized metal ones and access points are only via the roof...don't ask me why...I don't know why they designed it that way...when we had the bunny in there whenever we wanted to let it out in the garden for a run we had to physically lift it out each time.

ozzie​