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The floor is only 2" higher at the BACK of the cage. The floor then slops toward the front of the cage until it is even with the bottom of the sides and front of the cage. The piece that you use for the bottom is wider by about 4-5 inches than the top of the cage so it actually extends out BEYOND the front of the cage. You then bend up the very front edge of the bottom wire so that you end up with what looks like an "L" laying on it's back. This stops the eggs when they roll to the front. Then you cut out sections of wire from the bottom edge of the front of the cage (not the front of the egg tray that you just made). We cut out sections about 1" high and about 5" long, but you need to leave little 1" sections in between for stability and so you have something to secure the front of the cage to the bottom of the cage with. The eggs roll through the openings and into the "catcher" out in front of the cage. If you have Jumbo quail the openings along the bottom front for the cage may need to be slightly taller, as their eggs are bigger than the pharoah size eggs. Since you don't want a 2" gap in front, make the 1" sections as before, then snip each of the sections at each end and bend them up just enough to give the larger eggs clearance. I hope this makes sense. It's kind of hard to describe. We also made a "lid" out of the same wire and hinged it with the J-clips (just as you would the cage door) and fastened it so that the hinge is just above the openings so that the "egg tray" that sticks out in front is completely closed in. Some of my quail will lay along the bottom edge of the cage with their feet and legs stretched through the egg opening and into the egg tray. The "lid" still keeps both them and their eggs from being pecked at by chickens, bugged by my kids, or bothered by predators (we hope), but it isn't absolutely necessary. Make sure that you use the 1/2" x 1" hardware mesh NOT the 1/2" x 1/2" mesh. We made the upper two cage bottoms from 1/2" by 1/2" hardware cloth and it was a mistake. The smaller mesh is not as sturdy and tends to sag in spots after a while so the eggs "pool" in the low spots instead of rolling to the front. We also only raised the floor in the back by 1" instead of 2" and it wasn't enough of a slant to have the eggs roll out reliably. The bottom two cages we did a 2" height in back for a bigger slant and used the 1/2" x 1" hardware cloth which is much sturdier and does not sag over time. This works like a charm and the eggs roll to the egg tray immediately after being laid (provided the quail didn't insist on laying them in the dusting bowl!
).
The divider between the cages is indeed to keep the males from fighting (or trying) to between the bars. It also makes for calmer females as well, as they can't see the other females or male in the next cage. This was just a bonus as I initially put them up to give the quail a place to hide behind when we get those really high winds and dust storms. If my descriptions of the cage don't make sense or you need a visual, just let me know and I'll try to get some detail shots of the floor and egg tray of the cage. HTH
The floor is only 2" higher at the BACK of the cage. The floor then slops toward the front of the cage until it is even with the bottom of the sides and front of the cage. The piece that you use for the bottom is wider by about 4-5 inches than the top of the cage so it actually extends out BEYOND the front of the cage. You then bend up the very front edge of the bottom wire so that you end up with what looks like an "L" laying on it's back. This stops the eggs when they roll to the front. Then you cut out sections of wire from the bottom edge of the front of the cage (not the front of the egg tray that you just made). We cut out sections about 1" high and about 5" long, but you need to leave little 1" sections in between for stability and so you have something to secure the front of the cage to the bottom of the cage with. The eggs roll through the openings and into the "catcher" out in front of the cage. If you have Jumbo quail the openings along the bottom front for the cage may need to be slightly taller, as their eggs are bigger than the pharoah size eggs. Since you don't want a 2" gap in front, make the 1" sections as before, then snip each of the sections at each end and bend them up just enough to give the larger eggs clearance. I hope this makes sense. It's kind of hard to describe. We also made a "lid" out of the same wire and hinged it with the J-clips (just as you would the cage door) and fastened it so that the hinge is just above the openings so that the "egg tray" that sticks out in front is completely closed in. Some of my quail will lay along the bottom edge of the cage with their feet and legs stretched through the egg opening and into the egg tray. The "lid" still keeps both them and their eggs from being pecked at by chickens, bugged by my kids, or bothered by predators (we hope), but it isn't absolutely necessary. Make sure that you use the 1/2" x 1" hardware mesh NOT the 1/2" x 1/2" mesh. We made the upper two cage bottoms from 1/2" by 1/2" hardware cloth and it was a mistake. The smaller mesh is not as sturdy and tends to sag in spots after a while so the eggs "pool" in the low spots instead of rolling to the front. We also only raised the floor in the back by 1" instead of 2" and it wasn't enough of a slant to have the eggs roll out reliably. The bottom two cages we did a 2" height in back for a bigger slant and used the 1/2" x 1" hardware cloth which is much sturdier and does not sag over time. This works like a charm and the eggs roll to the egg tray immediately after being laid (provided the quail didn't insist on laying them in the dusting bowl!
The divider between the cages is indeed to keep the males from fighting (or trying) to between the bars. It also makes for calmer females as well, as they can't see the other females or male in the next cage. This was just a bonus as I initially put them up to give the quail a place to hide behind when we get those really high winds and dust storms. If my descriptions of the cage don't make sense or you need a visual, just let me know and I'll try to get some detail shots of the floor and egg tray of the cage. HTH
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