Future king quail parent

[Esther87]

Hello!

My name is Esther and I am from the Netherlands. At this moment I don't have any chickens, but I am planning to keep King Quails in my backyard (or maybe even inside, when the weather gets too cold).

In my search in how to keep them in the right way (like an enclosure to keep them as naturally as possible, with enrichment and other things THEY like, instead of enclosures convenient for humans) I stumbled upon a Video about 'stopping neglecting your quails'. With that I found the right topic and hopefully the right People to learn and read more about.

Lots of love,
Esther

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, Esther, and welcome to BYC!

We have a Learning Center here with a whole slew of articles on Quail keeping that our members wrote. Something here should help you!

We also have a Quail Forum where you can post questions if you ever have any.

We have a Europe thread too you might like to check out or just say "Hi" in.

We're glad you're here!

 

[PeaShack]

Hello!

My name is Esther and I am from the Netherlands. At this moment I don't have any chickens, but I am planning to keep King Quails in my backyard (or maybe even inside, when the weather gets too cold).

In my search in how to keep them in the right way (like an enclosure to keep them as naturally as possible, with enrichment and other things THEY like, instead of enclosures convenient for humans) I stumbled upon a Video about 'stopping neglecting your quails'. With that I found the right topic and hopefully the right People to learn and read more about.

Lots of love,
Esther

Hi Esther,

King quail (Chinese Painted Quail) are fun, lovely little creatures. I find the wild type males to be absolutely stunning.

I had hatched mine and then kept them with some of their babies. They love hidey spots, ramps, ground branches or rocks to step up on. I kept mine in a large soft dog crate indoors. I decorated it as above and with fake plants that are washable (they poop on everything). I have used shredded cardboard or fine dried pine shavings as bedding.

They love leafy greens and mealworm treats too. They need high protein gamebird layer feed. I think the biggest mistake people make when using them in aviaries is thinking the detritus and leftovers from other birds will be sufficient. It is not. These hens have the highest egg to bird weight ratio than any other bird and may lay daily at times. In their first year mine would lay >200 eggs each. The layer feed helps keep up their calcium and even then I added fine flaked oyster shell. This is essential to prevent egg binding. My roos never had kidney issues with the layer feed.

They are so much fun and such darlings!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello Esther, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[triciayoung]

Welcome Esther: So many people here have wonderful things to say about having quails in their family, it makes me want to get some. However, I have a chicken rescue/sanctuary with several disabled chickens, so I cannot add anything else.

 

[Bsmac]

Hello Esther! Welcome to BYC! Best of luck with your quail adventure!

 

[CCsGarden]

Welcome to BYC!