first time with quails...

[pipkins]

im looking at getting some japanese quails,
people say they are a hardy bird..they will be kept outside in a coop. will i need to put in some heating for them in the winter. its been minus 5 here in norfolk. our garden is protected all around and was wanting to let them free rome, but don't want them to fly off. would clipping there feathers be ok.
what sort of size coop. was thinking of a rabbit hutch type but with a mesh floor for the droppings to fall into, do they need a dark area to go to and do they need perches.
any help greatly appreciated

 

[dc3085]

im looking at getting some japanese quails,
people say they are a hardy bird..they will be kept outside in a coop. will i need to put in some heating for them in the winter. its been minus 5 here in norfolk.

As long as you block the draft out with plastic sheeting, you don't need to heat them. The only problem you may have is how they've been kept up to this point. If you heat birds with a heat lamp they won't grow enough down feathers and will freeze if the heat lamp stops. If they've been raised in the same weather you have now then they'll have sufficient down to protect themselves from it. You may end having to keep them under a lamp this season if that is how they are kept now.

our garden is protected all around and was wanting to let them free rome, but don't want them to fly off. would clipping there feathers be ok.

Everything you can imagine eats coturnix. Ravens, crows, cats, dogs, snakes, raccoons, badgers, weasels, foxes, bobcats....You get the point. To make it worse coturnix have been domesticated for so long a period they have almost no instinct to flee danger. They also have no instinct to stay near their food source or coop, they'll just wander off. They are also migratory birds by nature so it's possible they'll get the urge to migrate as well. If you let them out, you will lose some. Regardless you should also check local laws regarding what species you are allowed to free range in your area.

what sort of size coop. was thinking of a rabbit hutch type but with a mesh floor for the droppings to fall into, do they need a dark area to go to and do they need perches.

They don't need perches, they're ground birds and will only go vertical out of fear. A rabbit hutch is perfect, coturnix can get by with 1sq ft to the bird. One roo per cage or you'll have problems. They like to waste food so you should probably research a waste free feeder that works for you, BYC has many threads on the subject that shouldn't be hard to find. When something startles them they fly straight up with a lot of force so make sure the ceiling is either very low, very high, or padded.
any help greatly appreciated

To discourage you from free ranging them here are some pictures of my quail trying really really hard to get eaten.




This went on for more than an hour before the raccoon gave up. I'm sure this happens constantly I only put the camera up that night because I had lost 21 quail in two weeks and I couldn't figure out how or what was getting them. The raccoon would pull them through the 3/4 and 1" wire in pieces and then the next quail would step up to the plate so to speak. So not only should you keep them in a cage you should remember that a predator can pull an adult quail through any wire larger than 1/2" mesh.

 

[Bryam]

Oh! That is amazing info! Thanks!,,