Housing for coturnix quail

[SandraMort]

I'm interested in starting up with quial in the spring but don't have a place to put them. What kind of housing do you recommend for a beginner? I don't want to spend a ton of money but would need (guessing) 100sq feet or so? I don't see much point in raising under 50 and 100 sounds more practical if they're more than one per serving.

 

[sandspoultry]

We built our quail house and attached it to the side of the barn. The bottom is about chest high so you can reach in easy. We made it deep enough that you can reach in all the way to the back and collect eggs. About every 2 feet there is a small door to reach in. It's about 14 inches high in the front (so a 1 gallon waterer will fit thru) and 18 inches in the back. We use a 3 pound size hanging feeder.

Since it's up in the air it really doesn't take any room. We used hardware cloth for the bottom and sides so the poo drops right out. You can make it as long as you want to fit your birds in. The only thing is when we hatch out a new batch and put them in it some of them get vertigo or something since they can see thru the wire on the ground below. It freaks them out for a day or so.

Some people just use old rabbit hutches to keep the quail in

Steve in NC

 

[SandraMort]

How many quail do you keep in this? How did you build it --- are there plans online? How tall is the roof and what do you make it with to prevent them from killing themselves flying up?

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[monarc23]

my quail rarely ever bonk their heads...now my buttons on the other hands can be pros at that but even they don't bonk anymore. I have a foam roof for my buttons and nothing more than chicken wire up for my coturnix.

 

[sandspoultry]

I knew were going to ask that lol

This isn't a great pic but it will give you an idea, we covered the roof with tar paper, 3 layers it's been there about a year now and holding up well. The one I built is 8 feet long and right now has about 50 ish in it. As soon as they finish growing out we will process about 30 or 40 and breed the rest again for the next batch. I built the box on the left side thinking they might want to get out of the weather but not to many use it other than to lay in. It has a door on the front and a window on the side to air flow.

To date we haven't ever had any bash their heads on the roof.

Steve in NC

 

[SandraMort]

Quote:
Thank you! That was very very helpful! Where did you get the pattern?

The one I built is 8 feet long and right now has about 50 ish in it.

Ok, here's where I get confused. That's nowhere near a foot per person. That would be 5'x10', not 8 x 1.5.

As soon as they finish growing out we will process about 30 or 40 and breed the rest again for the next batch.

OK, so you process all but 10-20, leaving a ratio optimal for breeding, then start to collect eggs, hatch and once they're <how big> they are added to the adults? And what about the eggs you collect before that point? Or are there none?​

 

[monarc23]

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I love the quaily enclosure!

 

[sandspoultry]

I pretty much made the plans as I was building it, its a salt treated 2x4 base with floor/wire supports every foot. And the rest is 2x2's. I had a broken ankle when I built it so I had plenty of free time. lol

We haven't had any problems due to space or crowding, I think because it's open air and all the droppings fall right out the bottom.

Once they start laying we usually grow them out a few more weeks, go by feel to see how filled out they are. Then process the majority, we do collect the eggs, pickle some and Sharon likes them hard boiled in salads and if you aren't in a hurry for breakfast crack about 30 and they make a really good omlet.

When we are ready we will set about 100 eggs and once they hatch and are growing well we process the rest of the original batch, so basicly you are starting over every time. We raise about 4 or 5 batches a year and that is plenty for just the two of us.

Steve in NC

 

[SandraMort]

Ahhhh, ok, so you process off the rest of the original batch, gotcha. That's what I was wondering!

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
I love the quaily enclosure!

Thanks, it's worked our very well. We did start with a rabbit feeder as the feeder and they were wasting alot of food so we went with a small hanging feeder and that was the ticket. There is almost zero food waste now.

Steve