Getting into da quail!

[Nabiki]

Thank you! Very good article.

I guess the one think that I didn't see there was if its recommended to have it completely covered with a solid material like wood or some type of lightweight roofing material or only partial cover it and left the rest covered with the 1/2 HW cloth.. Not sure how smart quail are as to getting out of the rain and weather!

That's one of those things that depends on your climate and the environment. If they're outside and there are wild birds flying overhead, I would put a full roof on to make sure your quail aren't exposed to the poop of the wild birds. There are a lot of diseases that can be transmitted that way. My birds are inside a greenhouse, so they don't have exposure to the poop, so I cover part of their roof so they have shade, but that's all.

 

[Bear1978]

UPDATE! After scrolling through countless videos, articles and pics of quail aviary/enclosures and whatnot, here’s the my completed qual aviary or whatever you want to call it. It’s 4x7 with a roof that’s 6ft and slops down to 5ft. Only keeping 7 birds in it for now. Still have to put a skirt around it and put quail appropriate items inside for them to hide behind and the like. But it’s done!

 

[Nabiki]

That looks great! It has plenty of ventilation while still providing shelter from wind. The lip on the door will help keep them from just wandering right out when you open the door as well.

Keep in mind that as they get used to you going in and out of their aviary, they will not have a healthy fear of feet. I have stepped on one. I have been very slow and careful where I put my feet ever since.

 

[Bear1978]

That looks great! It has plenty of ventilation while still providing shelter from wind. The lip on the door will help keep them from just wandering right out when you open the door as well.

Keep in mind that as they get used to you going in and out of their aviary, they will not have a healthy fear of feet. I have stepped on one. I have been very slow and careful where I put my feet ever since.

Thanks! I added a few places for them to hide too along with some natural habitat items.

 

[Nabiki]

The grass won't last long, but that looks like a very nice place for them to live.

 

[Bear1978]

The grass won't last long, but that looks like a very nice place for them to live.

Oh I know! I have had 6 chickens for about 4 years now (which is the original reason why I joined BYC), and they made short work of it!

So I’m not completely new to poultry, just to the quail variety. However, one of my lifelong friends, lives about 2 minutes from and he and his wife raise quail and chickens. So they’ve given me some good advise along the way too!

 

[Bear1978]

I’m trying to get my girls to hatch eggs naturally without the use of an incubator. I’ve read on here and talked with others that the closer you can get it to their natural environment the greater the chances are for that to happen. So I added some more pine branches, as seen in the pic. Thoughts? Too much for a 4x6 area and 7 birds. The cover is only about a 12 sq ft area and the rest is open ground, minus a few extra hiding spots and their water and food. Apart from the initial fluttering about when I added the limbs, they are liking it

 

[Nabiki]

I’m trying to get my girls to hatch eggs naturally without the use of an incubator. I’ve read on here and talked with others that the closer you can get it to their natural environment the greater the chances are for that to happen. So I added some more pine branches, as seen in the pic. Thoughts? Too much for a 4x6 area and 7 birds. The cover is only about a 12 sq ft area and the rest is open ground, minus a few extra hiding spots and their water and food. Apart from the initial fluttering about when I added the limbs, they are liking it

I'm sure they're happy in there. If any of your hens are likely to go broody, that's the kind of space they'll do it in.

If you are lucky enough to have a hen go broody, mark the eggs she's keeping and take away any more that she tries to add. I wouldn't let her keep more than 6-8 of them. She may try to keep adding eggs until she can't cover them.

Have a brooder ready if she sticks with it long enough for the chicks to hatch. She may not be a good mother, or the other birds might pick on the chicks.