Getting them off the wire and on the ground

[Wifezilla]

My quail now have an outdoor pen and they are LOVING it. Since I got them out of the cage, their feathers are finally filling in (close quarters and an amorous roo lead to bald hens and a lot of broken back feathers), they don't pace but actually explore, dust bathing is more fun for them with the extra space, and they really are loving their new hut. Last week when I moved them out egg production stopped for a couple of days, but now they are back to laying again. Finding the eggs is harder now though

They climb on baskets, explore, dig under the straw and scratch scratch scratch in the hay, grass, and sand. I know people worry about worms, but I am willing to take the risk to see the quail able to be in a more natural setting.

The pen
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52495&id=1398880757&l=c1f81f1997

The other day Cricket (the English White) figured out she could fly! She jumped up about 3 feet and hovered for a minute or so and then made a rather graceless landing. She seemed pretty impressed with herself and strutted around after while singing her head off

 

[Bettacreek]

Awesome set up! I'm sure they absolutely love it. I wanted to do something with them on the ground, but I worried about them getting worms.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have to get a few more shots since I moved the plants in there. They lost some floor space to some water containers and shelving, but they still have way more room than they did in their cage. They really seem happy

I forgot how high they could hop when I first started putting the plants out and they destroyed a container of lettuce. That surprised me because when I put lettuce in their cage, they never ate it. I guess they only like home grown

I figure I could add another quad with plenty of room to spare.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I tried the same thing with our Coturnix last Summer.

I had approx 90 Quail in a 10' X 10' X 6' Dog kennel with Game Bird Netting on the walls and covering it.
A 4' X 8' shelter which they never use except to eat as that's where their food is. Even during the heavy
snows we had in this area they stayed out in it. :shrug:
I've found it is quite difficult to keep the enclosure clean. Perhaps because there were too many
in there to manage their waste.. I have been building cages the last few weeks to get them out of there.

Good luck on your setup it looks real nice.
David

 

[Wifezilla]

I've found it is quite difficult to keep the enclosure clean.

I also have ducks. Compared to ducks almost anything is easy to keep clean!

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
I also have ducks. Compared to ducks almost anything is easy to keep clean!

I KNOW THATS RIGHT! LOL

If you are worried about internal parasites (and you should be...) they can be wormed on a regular basis using wazine 17 that is available at most feed stores.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Quote:
I also have ducks. Compared to ducks almost anything is easy to keep clean!

O heavens yes.... Lol
We have 30 Khaki Campbells and they are terribly messy...

 

[Quail_Cottage]

Quote:
I also have ducks. Compared to ducks almost anything is easy to keep clean!

We have built an outdoor enclosure too, wanted to go the more natural route like you with the birds on the ground...but don't have any birds out there yet (still in the brooder). This is our first time keeping any birds and so I'm wondering... how do you clean up? I see you have straw on the floor, anything else (like woodshavings?), I was planning on planting grass and other plants for cover.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

Grass won't last long... Depending on how many you have in there Maybe a month.
You can't reseed as most grass seed is coated with chemicals and the Quail would eat the seed.
Thereby no grass as the seed was eaten and no Quail as the chemicals killed them.
If you can afford to buy sod every month or so you could but who can afford that?

David

 

[Bettacreek]

There's always astroturf.