Does everything want to eat a quail?

[QChickieMama]

I think quail must be at the bottom of the food chain. Am I right?

I recently heard a set of quail housed in a tractor getting killed by crows and then more later by a black snake. Can this be true? I just haven't heard of crows or snakes being dangerous to quail, and we've had them for 2 years. The snakes I've seen only wanted the eggs, not the birds.

What do you think?

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

Funny, I was just looking at my quail pen today wondering if it is snake-proof enough. Last year I kept having silkie chicks disappearing and couldn't figure out what was getting them. I found a 4 ft. black snake in the barn, "disposed" of it and haven't lost a chicken since. (HOW I found it still gives me nightmares!) So yeah, I would imagine snakes would eat quail too. Don't know about crows.

 

[Nichrome]

Remember you are talking about caged birds. I live in the Mediterranean and I can assure you that wild coturnix quail cannot be caught so easily! They are fast on the ground, relatively fast in the air and also have a strong flush

 

[TwoCrows]

Pretty much everything here in the US wants a dinner of quail. Large birds included. And yes, during the day, quail can out run some critters. But come night, when quail freeze up, they are sitting ducks, if you will. They are an easy meal being that they do not roost high in trees like most birds and of course can't see worth a dang at night so they stay perfectly still so something can just grab them by the neck and make a meal out of them.

If you keep every wire space so small that only a cricket can get thru, and sink barriers into the ground at least one foot, sunk in, sturdy and built like you are protecting your own child, then you can keep the critters away and keep quail on the ground. Always build, rebuild and then build over it again. Fort knox. They are easy to outsmart as long as you are smarter than them.

 

[Quailsong]

Tractor: Make sure the gaps in the wire spaces are no more than 1/2". Usually you can find it as "Hardware Cloth" in hardware stores. If you've a lot of predators, it might be good to make sure the bottom is also on wire. Not as effective for quail 'mowing' as a larger wire bottom or none at all, but will keep your quail safer. Also give them a hide area or covered corner in the tractor where they can back away from a predator, if it tries to poke a finger or beak in there.

Aviary/Run: Like another said, you want to make sure the predators can't dig under the perimeter. So 1-2' down add wire mesh all along the sides, then cover back up with dirt or gravel. Another idea if you're building a future pen is to either add mesh along the entire bottom (under the dirt of the aviary) or have a 1/2'-1' thick layer of large hard/sharp gravel. Rats & mice can dig tunnels into an aviary to find fallen grains, but weasels will use the tunnels as well to go for the live birds.

For hawks, crows, etc..

Lots of moving things to disturb the hawks. Every day rotate your chairs around, your scarecrow, add banners & streamers. They do NOT like change. Crows may be curious by shiny things but if the can't figure out your daily routine, they will be nervous about all the changes & go to easier sources of food. Especially if they know you don't want them there. I've heard of some folks stringing fishing lines 8' above the ground in 2' sections to deter hawks (as they can see the line, even from way up), I assume it would also work for crows as I'm sure they wouldn't want to get their wings caught in that. Either way, worth a try if you're frustrated with such unwanted visitors.

Best of luck!

 

[Nichrome]

They are easy to outsmart as long as you are smarter than them.

Lol, this is a good catch phrase! Sounds like being said by Churchill