Does anyone raise quail on the ground?

[Crazydoglady99]

Hey that's really clever putting sponge underneath

 

[igorsMistress]

Hey that's really clever putting sponge underneath

Thanks, I've had issues with keeping the humidity high enough for a steady period of time. I'm hoping to have a humidikit by lockdown. Our climate is so dry, I'm constantly adding water to the incubator.

 

[igorsMistress]

44 eggs

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Ooooooooo how exciting!!!!!!

 

[igorsMistress]

 

[igorsMistress]

More documentation for this hatch.

44 eggs from seller, one from our birds marked 1 and 2 rather than x/o, the largest collected this morning. Others were refrigerated or too small.

I have the temperature set at 99.5 but haven't added water yet as the eggs do have an impact on humidity at first.

Seller advised he buys eggs from different reputable breeders to change his males regularly.

 

[igorsMistress]

Few pics of the aviary today. I planted tomatoes, the cages are wrapped with chicken wire. I also planted some onions and stapled hwc leftover from something else to the frame around tge bed to keep the quail out of there. The ivy in the center was in the corner. It trails so I'm going to train it up unless I decide to put pots on boards on the upper levels for herbs. Maybe some mint and oregano...I don't know yet.

 

[igorsMistress]

Next project is to recycle the center closet door. We're going to coat it with the flex seal and replace the current shade structure in there. I'm going to reduce the amount of tilt compared to the current structure and possibly grow herbs and flowers in pots on top. That will add weight to keep the door from blowing off in a storm.

 

[AnotherKim]

Howdy neighbor

I'm in Phoenix for the time being. Before long we'll be looking for somewhere a little cooler and Tucson is on the list to check out though.

This setup is actually supposed to be for my garden, but the quail are taking over Hubs is going to kill me when I tell him I still need a garden.

No smell problems but I do have to move all that stuff to rake the area and we're going to make some changes soon. We also only have 7 quail in there now, we started with 28 I think. We are raising them for meat with eggs being secondary, at least that's what my husband thinks .I like the eggs though. So there aren't a ton of birds in this space and they don't typically stay for long.

The area is 12'x16' and covered only with shade cloth. When we had a bunch of birds in there I would rake once a week as I do with my chickens. Now, it's been about a month and I'll be out there next weekend. There's not a bad smell, but after a while I can smell it. Does that make sense? You'll get to know when it's time to clean. I'm also looking to get some hay for the chicken coop and thinking about putting some in for the quail too and go with semi deep litter. I haven't made up my mind for sure.

How many quail do you want to keep for eggs? I think that would determine how large a space you'll need. You could easily keep 24 quail full time in an area this large for 8 square feet per bird living space and I don't think it would be too bad.

There are disadvantages to this setup that you might want to consider. No roof means when it rains the eggs can get wet unless the hens lay in or under something. I often find eggs under the bin or plants. Also, it's a hunt to find eggs this way vs birds penned in cages. Those issues don't outweigh my desire to offer a somewhat natural environment for them rather than keeping them in cages.

Good luck whatever you decide but do keep us posted. I'd love to see what ideas you come up with!

I'm sorry. Didn't mean to blow you off. It's been crazy around here. I was in Tempe this weekend for my son's Special Olympics basketball game. Saturday was beautiful there.
I'm liking the idea of a more natural enviornment for the quail. My chickens free range the backyard so I'm used to every day being an Easter Egg Hunt. I thought it would be nice to have a few bushes in the pen for them as well as pots like yours. I'll probably put a wood or tin roof on the cage. It gets pretty muddy where I plan to put them. I'm also going to need strong fencing to keep the goats out. Darn, curious, critters. We also have ferral cats who like my barn, so I need to keep them out as well.
I'd like to start now, but I'll probably wait until late Summer, early Fall. We are getting ready for the County Fair in April (4-H), and plan to take the kids and grandkids to Disneyland in the Summer. Just too much going on right now.

 

[igorsMistress]

I'm sorry. Didn't mean to blow you off. It's been crazy around here. I was in Tempe this weekend for my son's Special Olympics basketball game. Saturday was beautiful there.
I'm liking the idea of a more natural enviornment for the quail. My chickens free range the backyard so I'm used to every day being an Easter Egg Hunt. I thought it would be nice to have a few bushes in the pen for them as well as pots like yours. I'll probably put a wood or tin roof on the cage. It gets pretty muddy where I plan to put them. I'm also going to need strong fencing to keep the goats out. Darn, curious, critters. We also have ferral cats who like my barn, so I need to keep them out as well.
I'd like to start now, but I'll probably wait until late Summer, early Fall. We are getting ready for the County Fair in April (4-H), and plan to take the kids and grandkids to Disneyland in the Summer. Just too much going on right now.

No problem I get it! I work full time and have my grandsons half of every week. I know of what you speak!

Sounds like you have fun plans to get out of the heat a bit in summer too. Enjoy!