enclosure break! pic added

[fowlsessed]

I see that you keep yours on wire bottomed pens. What size hardware cloth do you use that their feet don't go through it?

 

[mochicken]

I'll measure it when I get a sec but I think its either 1/4" or 1/2"

 

[rittert3]

Those are cots that mo has on wire floors I wouldn't try that with buttons, from what I read on here from all the "pros" that is a big no no. Cots are ussually more comfortable on a solid floor but they can handle the wire and it's alot more economical for alot of us but it has been stated many times that the buttons can't handle it. If you wan't to use a setup like mo's you could look at parakeet and finch feeders and waterers that work just like the pop bottle version mo has.

 

[fowlsessed]

It's been a while since I had internet acces. But, out of the three button quail that got out, the male returned the next day! I wasn't able to catch him though. Anyway, Ive lost 3 more of my 9 quail since then, due to them being outside in the cold, I think and one killed by a dog. By the way, one of my coturnix got out and our new 3 month old hound/american bulldog puppy caught it, I thought I lost it but, amazingly it's alive and well.

 

[fowlsessed]

Here is my permanent coop. 100% free, built with materials rummaged from the shop. Originally for bantams, but works well for quail.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

Quote:
once my birds get 6 weeks they outside into a growout pen with 1/2 cloth floor, i've never had any issues with them hurting their feet(something else grabbing them is another thing)

 

[mochicken]

Quote:
Looks GREAT, I have been scavenging for spare scraps around here, my dad is a great resource since he is always getting pallets, 2x2. 2x4, and 2x8 boards and scraps as well as HUGE sections of tarp that is used to cover grain piles. The tarp he brought me yesterday is 100ft wide by 400+ feet long, I cut sections off to cover my chicken runs and quail cage shed.

My intention is to build a 10 foot long wood "shelter type" setup similar to yours, I will have 18" wide by 24" deep cages for trios or quads of my Coturnix. I am thinking of doing a design similar to the one below that I drew up on Google SketchUp real quick. I will do cage bottoms made of wire like my current setup that then fall through to a catch drawer type setup under each cage that I can just open up and empty. I am using a similar setup now but not on that scale, it will have to be 10' long which is not a problem.

 

[wbruder17]

I've had severla of my Coturnix "fly the coop" while I was cleaning. They have ALWAYS come back, pacing the coop and run to get back in. The females I catch and put back...the males I let go....and they eventually disappear. Most likely food for varmints. I feel bad, cuz they really want back in....but I can't have that many males, and we have found we can't cull them...so freedom for the males it is.

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
Have you tried finding homes for your males? Like ads on Craigslist or such?

It's illegal to just turn them lose in most places, and starving, the elements, and falling prey to something doesn't sound like much of a "freedom".

 

[wbruder17]

Quote:
Have you tried finding homes for your males? Like ads on Craigslist or such?

It's illegal to just turn them lose in most places, and starving, the elements, and falling prey to something doesn't sound like much of a "freedom".

Finding homes for the males is practically impossible around here, as everyone has too many males. I always provide food and water for the ones that get let go, so they don't starve... and food for the other animals out here is a fact of life.... so as much as I don't like to let them be eaten, its food for something else. They also have plenty of coverage from any "elements", b ut seeing as how our climate is very temperate, they don't have much to worry about there....

I will start to advertise unneeded males for food for people if I ever get too many.... but as others have said, life is tough for the roos, and they have it pretty darn good here until they fly the coop.