HELP with Natural Quail habitat ideas

[ChickyTown]

I have been scouring the internet trying to find coop designs that are closer to a natural, on the ground habitat for coturnix quail. I seem to be finding most people prefer wire bottom for ease of cleaning etc but do quail benefit from being kept in a natural environment? Pros/Cons of keeping them on the ground, what type of plants should I plant in the coop for cover plants? do they like multiple levels in their housing, I know they are ground dwellers but would the run up ramps to higher levels with cubby boxes to hide in? pretty much looking for any and all tips to natural quail keeping and mental stimulation

 

[The Quail Guru]

I have mine in a 120x120 square pen and their doing fine. I'm not sure about the pros of housing them on the floor but mine seem to be happier than they were when they were in a wire cage. Plus I can plant things in there and they LOVE pecking at the plants, they're so cute! The quail can also forage and because mine are placed on dry dirt they seem to dust bathe often. The amount of space I give them also makes it easy for me to house more than one male in the pen - no fighting what so ever!

 

[ChickyTown]

So, what have you built your coop out of, we have a real mink problem in my area and Im worried about predators. what type of wire do you use and what do you use to cover the top?

 

[Sill]

So, what have you built your coop out of, we have a real mink problem in my area and Im worried about predators. what type of wire do you use and what do you use to cover the top?

If you use 1/2" by 1/2" hardware cloth on the sides, top and bottom the mink will not be able to get your birds. They can and will dig to eat those tasty quail so it's important to use the hardware cloth for the floor to keep them from digging in. You can cover the wire with dirt, sand, shavings or whatever you want to keep your quail comfortable and dry but the mink won't be able to get them.