Fishkeeper
Crowing
I know the recommended minimum space per quail for coturnix is one square foot, but that really doesn't seem like enough room. Maybe they'll lay eggs and won't peck each other to death, but that's not a happy life, that's a not-deadly life.
What would you say is the minimum space per quail to have happy birds? Think aviary-style keeping, in a relatively large space with plants and a sandbox and such. If I had a 5x8 pen, it doesn't seem like I ought to put 40 birds in that, but what about 20? That'd be with maybe 1 rooster per 9 hens, so the hens hopefully don't get picked on too much.
What would you say is the minimum space per quail to have happy birds? Think aviary-style keeping, in a relatively large space with plants and a sandbox and such. If I had a 5x8 pen, it doesn't seem like I ought to put 40 birds in that, but what about 20? That'd be with maybe 1 rooster per 9 hens, so the hens hopefully don't get picked on too much.