ground pens for quail

[ninjapoodles]

I'm really thinking of putting in some quail, for eggs mainly. I'm not terribly interested in having them in an above-ground or "tabletop" cage, though. There is a spot next to the turkey pen that would be perfect for a quail pen.

Can anyone share ideas for a more "natural" habitat for quail than hutches or cages? Or recommend a good reference material for me to study?

 

[Tony K T]

Hi Ninja,
I had excellent luck with bobwhites on the ground.I used masonry sand for a base,about 4".I wouldn't trust them next to turkeys though.Turkeys are a little bit on the nasty side,there pens always seem to get wet plus they are suseptable to black head.I've also found that giving my quial a dose of sulmet once a week keeps them strong and active.
In N.H.,tony.

 

[ninjapoodles]

The turks already free-range with the chickens, so if they're gonna have a blackhead problem...well, they're just gonna.

I would place the quail pen a few feet away from the turkey pen, and enclose it in hardware cloth. Is that enough security for them, you think?

What do you do for nesting boxes? Do they spend any time off the ground at all, or just prefer to stay on the ground most of the time? How much "head clearance" do you provide?

 

[Tony K T]

I also used the hardware cloth,I think it's the best to use.Remember to put an apron on the outside so varmits can't dig under.I use the 1" chicken wire for this and lay it on top of the ground and let the grass grow right threw it,I hold it down with tent stakes so I can mow the grass.I sold all of them before laying season,so I can't help you there.As for pheasants I give them different things like bushel basket trees and a piece of plywood leaned against the side of their pen.They tend to do both on the ground and perches.For the head clearance,I have 6' for my benefit.You can put perches at different levels for them.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[monarc23]

Quail will normally just lay eggs like they're pooin (anywhere).

My button quail was laying her eggs in the indoor partof her hutch, now she's laying them in the outdoor part of her hutch on the wire.

They rarely are like chickens with laying...but some do go broody.

 

[chickenzoo]

I have my cortix and button on the ground. They love it and spend all day rolling around in the dirt and singing to their hearts content. They share the pen with pheasants and do not put up with any of their bulling. for little guys they sure are tuff. They lay their eggs everywhere, under everything!

 

[Lophura]

Quote:
Here's a link to a topic on this forum a while back - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=60767

I don't like the table-top-wire bottom-mass-producing-unnatural cages either, better left to the big egg factories. So glad to see you are wanting a natural habitat!! Also check out our picture post at http://www.gbwf.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=23 , many good aviary ideas.

Dan

 

[BaJa]

I have excellent luck with raising bobwhites on the ground. I keep them in a 16'x 20' aviary, with lots of natural grasses, rocks, logs etc. they liked it so much that almost all of them went broody (very rare for bobwhite quail)

 

[Ulaidian]

I'm setting mine up this weekend, with a 4'x5' internal bit (the oul coal shed), which is connected to a 4'x6' outside run. I'll see how that goes, and decide if I want to make it a bit longer.

 

[QuailCo Eggs]

I raise California Valley and Gambel Quail to sale eggs in the spring and to raise adults to sell in the fall. My pens are quite large so my floors are dirt floors. So far I haven’t had much problem with the dirt floors. About every month or so, I’m tilling over the dirt to keep the smell down and to help dissolve the poop. Hope this helps.

Chad
QuailCo Eggs