Do you have to clean poop out of the run?

[enigmachick]

We live in an urban area with a small yard, we are trying to come up with the best quail setup for us, we were thinking maybe 6 but now we're thinking maybe as many as 25.

I gather they don't tend to use the coop much and use the run much more, my question is, if you have a small run in one place do you need to clean the poop out of it? Or, if you tractor them do you need to clean up the poop after you move them? I'm not sure what to do with the poop, can it go straight on grass, does it spread disease (I have kids), do I need to compost it before putting it on the vegetable garden etc?

Sorry, I've never seen a quail run in real life, I can't let it smell really bad, we live too close to our neighbors.

ETA, I know you need to clean out the coop, I'm just not clear on what to do about the run.

 

[Nabiki]

I move my birds regularly to avoid poop buildup. As long as there isn't too much (I have about 7-10 birds per pen) it biodegrades pretty well. You will see an increase in flies, though. I've set fly traps out this year because there are a lot.

During the winter, I keep my quail on my fallow garden beds and just hoe the poop under the soil every few days.

 

[enigmachick]

I should mention, a coop/run setup I'm considering is about

I move my birds regularly to avoid poop buildup. As long as there isn't too much (I have about 7-10 birds per pen) it biodegrades pretty well. You will see an increase in flies, though. I've set fly traps out this year because there are a lot.

During the winter, I keep my quail on my fallow garden beds and just hoe the poop under the soil every few days.

I wish I could put them on a garden bed, I just have lawn back there, and not flat either, which adds to the headache.

I am thinking now about maybe 25 in a 30sqft run?

 

[Nabiki]

I should mention, a coop/run setup I'm considering is about

I wish I could put them on a garden bed, I just have lawn back there, and not flat either, which adds to the headache.

I am thinking now about maybe 25 in a 30sqft run?

That's a lot and kind of crowded. You'll probably need to shovel that out. I have 7-10 birds/20 square feet. They probably won't use the coop at all if they have to go up a ramp to get into it. That's why I just use pens on the ground.

 

[annasurbanfarm]

We live in an urban area with a small yard too. We have a 3'x7' coop and run set up, currently with 6 quail although there's plenty of room to add more. They're really quiet which works great for close neighbors. We use a deep litter method and have to rake through it about once a week, and then change out some of the pine shavings about once a month. They poop a LOT more than I expected, so I wouldn't want that all around my yard, especially with the rest of it being play areas for my kiddos.

 

[annasurbanfarm]

Here's a link to a BackYard Chickens post about quail and deep litter. This is what I follow. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-on-deep-litter-why-it-works.832431/

 

[enigmachick]

Here's a link to a BackYard Chickens post about quail and deep litter. This is what I follow. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-on-deep-litter-why-it-works.832431/

I read this article and got super excited until I saw that it wasn't supposed to get wet? Is this only for indoor runs?