Height of quail pen?

[creekrocket]

I'll Be Building My First Pen Soon. I Have My Plans Drawn Out,But One Thing Is Bothering Me.... How High Do I Need The Floor Of The Pen ToBe Off The Ground, In Order To Protect My Quail ?
ThanksEveryone!

 

[TehLizardKing]

Depends what the floor is made of and where they are. I just keep mine in an outside pen. I covered the area with concrete first, then a layer of soil. Stops burrowing critters from getting in.....I don't want to make that mistake again. I had 18 quail...now I have two....

 

[creekrocket]

I'm Building An Elevated Pen. It'll Be 8`L X 4`W X 2`H, All Wire, With Fiber Glass Roof. I'm Just Wondering The Height To Elevate The Floor In Order To Keep Them Safe From Lurking Predators Underneath. Thanks

 

[KonQuail]

My pen is about 1.5 feet off the ground. So far no problems but it's only been 3 days since I put them out there. I hate to derail the thread but what are these "underground predators" you're talking about?

 

[TwoCrows]

If you build on the ground level, then make sure nothing can tunnel underneath. I used railroad ties to build my aviaries. I completely buried one tie, and then set another tie on top of that one, for all sides. Then I piled rocks all around the base. Nothing has ever tried to dig under.

If you are going with a raised pen, then I would get it off the ground. High enough that nothing can fool with it at quail height or lurk and crawl underneath. So you might want to get it up 3 or 4 feet. You can wire off the bottom, wrapping wire around the legs all the way to the ground and bury the wire as well a foot down. If you don't want to do this approach, you can use catch pans, like parrot cages have, or some sort of baffle under the wire of the pen floor so that nothing can reach up and grab toes and claws in the night. Make sure to secure the catch pan well so nothing can fiddle with it in the night.

You also don't want critters being able to look into the pen or directly at your quail in the night. Will cause panic and flushing to the ceiling.

 

[creekrocket]

My pen is about 1.5 feet off the ground.  So far no problems but it's only been 3 days since I put them out there.  I hate to derail the thread but what are these "underground predators" you're talking about?

No Underground Predators Here..Ha...I'm Mainly Talking About Opossum And Raccoon.Don't Want To Have All My Birds Toes Eaten Off. Ha

Thanks Everyone!

 

[TehLizardKing]

hm.....well, i'm English lol, so I don't really encounter raccoons or opossums that much....the only thing I can say is that 'coons and possums are known for climbing, (obviously) and if you're gonna discourage them, you'd probably need it to be at least four foot off of the ground. Just make sure the wire is VERY small mesh. I've heard of 'coons reaching through the wire and decapitating birds with their hands....just for fun....

 

[James the Bald]

I'll Be Building My First Pen Soon. I Have My Plans Drawn Out,But One Thing Is Bothering Me.... How High Do I Need The Floor Of The Pen ToBe Off The Ground, In Order To Protect My Quail ?
ThanksEveryone!

Just my opinion, but you will need to access this cage from time to time, so you will want to make it so you don't break your back trying to access it. If you make it too low to the ground, you will have to stoop down to reach into the cage, so whatever is comfortable to you will do.

 

[Thespeckledchick]

Mine is 2 ft off the ground and the exact dimensions of creekrocket's quail pen. No fatalities.