escape prevention

[COsteveo]

I am planning to start raising coturnix this summer and I’ve read over much of the material here, but I haven’t seen much discussion of building housing with escape prevention in mind. I was able to search the forum and find some threads about escaped quail, but there weren’t that many. Is it just not a big problem? I volunteer doing education with non-releasable raptors, and the standard there is to use a double-door system. For them, an escape is the worst possible thing that could happen (these birds can’t survive on their own) so I’ve always been hyper-vigilant about it. 

Would clipping their wings make it a moot point? I have a privacy fence in the back yard, so there’s not much chance of them running off before I can chase them down. I just wouldn’t want to chase birds all over the yard every time I clean their cages or collect eggs. Plus I have a pointer who may get to them first, and I have seen at least 3 cats who frequent our property. 

 

[foreverlearning]

Double door is the best way. Most of us do not worry about it because they will stay close if they do not know the area. Also, with you having a fenced yard they will go back to their coop at dusk. You could chase them down and stress both yourself and the bird or you could just wait until they go back on their own and put them in. They like to bee near others so about 1/2 an hour or less they will be found pacing their pen trying to get back in.

 

[dc3085]

They aren't too hard to catch. Honestly I love the birds for what they are, but they're kind of stupid from a 1000 years of captive breeding with no oversight. They usually don't go far assuming they even leave. I leave doors open all the time when filling feeders, they have no real desire to escape. One got out in my yard and lived at least a whole month under my construction storage pile. I'm still finding eggs but I haven't seen her in a few months. Another time one flew like half a block into another yard. My dog was carrying it around within a half hour (She can't overcome her desire to retrieve...), it had walked back into the yard, no idea how it found a way, unless it cruised down the street.

 

[James the Bald]

Steve, Welcome to the Quail forum on BYC. If you get the jumbo variety of Coturnix, you won't have to worry about a thing. On occasion, I will mis-handle one when I am cleaning the cages, and it will "try" to fly. My girls will get airborne, and get maybe 5 - 10 feet. Then another attempt, and maybe get half of that distance. Several more, and they are plumb exhausted. I get a good laugh, and they get tired. The Jumbos don't have the distance to get very far, compared to bobwhites in the wild.
If there is anything specific you are looking for, you can do an advanced search and type in what you are looking for and narrow your search down to which forum you get your answer from (you don't want a search topic from one of the chicken forums).
James

 

[COsteveo]

Thanks, all. I was leaning toward jumbos anyway so I think I'll go that route.