Does anyone have a landscaped Aviary for Quail? What did you use?

[D3invertebrates]

In a cage I used to have quail in I planted some ground juniper its evergreen it doesnt get very tall which is nice in a short cage the quail dont mess with it so they wont kill the plant or anything like that. One thing I liked about the juniper is that I positioned it as a wind blocker to give them a bit of extra protection from that northern wind in winter. Other than that I would think tall grasses would be good but Ive never had a chance to try that myself. Goodluck!

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
No,
I don't want cactus. But thank you for the suggestion.

I will be in and out of the aviary, don't want to deal with cactus.

I do realize the birds will be rough on what ever I put in there.

What about a metal cactus? LOL

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
No,
I don't want cactus. But thank you for the suggestion.

I will be in and out of the aviary, don't want to deal with cactus.

I do realize the birds will be rough on what ever I put in there.

What about a metal cactus? LOL

I like rusty objects, but not sure I want them in the aviary.

 

[rittert3]

Personaly I would just rake in some milo and/or millet for them to eat but the juniper and tall grassed sound good too.
You might try outsidepride.com for some grasses, I really love the little bluestem and big bluestem we have around here.

 

[bfrancis]

We put empty flower pots on the sides. It gives the quail something to run around as well as a "hiding" place for eggs or if they need a break from the other quail. Seems to work ok for us.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote:
Quail love to hide around Juniper branches. I have tons of Juniper trees around the valley here and I cut branches for their brush pile when the old ones dry out. They do occasionally nibble on the branches, bark and berries. Juniper is from the cedar family and when they are not locked up with it, the smell will not hurt them.

And Juniper does not need hardly any watering. Once a week in the summer, only a few times in the winter and they grow like gangbusters!

 

[The Critter Place]

Hi Rittert3~ I was planning on some planting bird seed of various kinds, but it is very short lived, even if they don't eat it.
I'm looking for something more permanent.

As far as Juniper goes...
I have found it on several lists as a poisonous/toxic plant. So I wont be using it .
And I don't care for the look of it.

bfrancis~ Thank you..
I was planning on logs and other structures for hiding and interest.

 

[peewee]

Well lets see, my aviary is about 8't x 8'w x @ 16'l and I have had all sorts of plants in it for my qualies. Hibiscus didn't last long, they ate it. The ferns didn't last long, again they ate it. The grasses, the elephant ears, the herbs, the hostas, the iris's, the pony palms and even the mini banana tress didn't last long. They ate them!!!

And yes, I did feed the little feathered piggies! I finally decided that they are only getting fake plants for the ground and keep all the living plants in hanging baskets that I can take down and give them for a little while then hang back up at the end of the day.
Wishing you luck on your planted aviary. Would love to see pics of it when you are done.

 

[rittert3]

If you deside to plant the bluestem it will last, provide natural cover and some seeds for the birds to snack on, once you get it established it will last forever, and gets a beautiful orange fire like hugh in the fall. I would give it a few months without any birds then just be careful not to over populate it. I would add some type of evergreen tree or shrub for shade as well though.

 

[The Critter Place]

peewee...
They do sound like little piggies. lol... Sorry your efforts weren't appreciated.

I'm planning on lots of grass and seed type grass for them to eat. I also sprout seeds for them, so hoping all the greens that they are "allowed" to eat will do them.

Rittert3~
I've never seen bluestem around here. I appreciate the info, but if I'm not going to mail order something if they might eat it.

I did find some nice ornamental grass for them.

I do have a guava bush that almost died this summer and is starting to come back . I figured I could put it in there and see what happens. It's a pretty tough bush if it can survive me!

I also found 2 , 6 packs of Rosemary ground cover! If they eat that, I figure were half way there to seasoning them! ROFL! Plant some thyme, sage onions and were good to go.

We have a very long growing season, almost 10 months that I can plant greens like lettuce, spinach, swiss chard and others for them to eat.