Do you keep a sand bath in your quail cage all the time?

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

I've been leaving a sand bath in my cages all the time but they poop in it a ton and it turns smelly pretty quickly. Do others keep a sand bath all the time? Or just add it in for a day or so each week etc?

 

[FloorCandy]

I've been leaving a sand bath in my cages all the time but they poop in it a ton and it turns smelly pretty quickly. Do others keep a sand bath all the time? Or just add it in for a day or so each week etc?

I used to, but I started buying a new brand of chips that has a lot of saw dust, and I found they started ignoring the sand and just dusting in the chips all over the pen. So I removed the sand and they all happily bathe in the dusty chips. They should have something, dirt, sand, dust to bathe in any time they want.

 

[Nabiki]

I keep my birds on the ground, so they always have dirt to bathe in.

 

[FloorCandy]

I keep my birds on the ground, so they always have dirt to bathe in.

I should have specified, mine are on the ground too, I filled the boxes and hides with the dusty chips and they treat it like sand, but they also dig big pits and roll around in the dirt.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't give them a dustbath. Honestly, they never used it when I did have one, and it gives them some more space in their pens

 

[shrimpsilkies]

My birds are on the ground and if their dust bath is not full they will just dust in the ground. I have a cheap wire kitchen sifter that I use to sift the poop out of the dust in their “official” dust bath once every few days.
I think quail should have free access to dust, mine dust bathe 2-3 times a day (once in the morning, once after laying) and if it’s too cold or wet to dust bathe then once the dust returns they swarm to it and fight over it! They seem calmer if they can dust bathe frequently

 

[vall]

In my wire cages, I use half sand half dirt, and once a week I sift it and add more dirt/sand since they kick half of it out.

If yours are inside or someplace with less ventilation you might want to add PDZ.

 

[NY Coturnix]

mine are in a pen and I leave sand in most of the year. I switch to wood chips during the winter. I use a beach sifter and shovel from a dollar store beach kit to clean them out. Works perfect. I found the litter box shovel was too big.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

In my wire cages, I use half sand half dirt, and once a week I sift it and add more dirt/sand since they kick half of it out.

If yours are inside or someplace with less ventilation you might want to add PDZ.

What is pdz?

 

[vall]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sweet-pdz-stall-refresher-25-lb?cm_vc=-10005