How many cortunix quail can live comfortably in a 6'by 4' aviary with plenty of space forage and wha

[buggaboo]

Thanks! The aviary will be indoors though so no need to worry about predators. The reason why I have the option of grass is because I'm buying a deep 7 by 4 1/2 rabbit dropping catch pan as the base and wrapping about a foot up from the floor in vinyl to protect from mess also Ill be putting down a vinyl carpet cover under the entire thing. I was thiking an inch of sand then 2 in of dirt in the pan sprinkled with seeds for grass/flowers. I'd probablly change it out every month. I hope the waste they create will decompose into the soil. I was thinking of adding earthworms to aid in this process? It's a very ambitious plan for the indoors but I'm determined to do the best I can to give them a natural(ish) environment. I will be using 1/2in space wire mesh for the sides.

 

[TwoCrows]

AH....now I get it!! LOL And INDOOR, as in INSIDE aviary! Ok. Well then you can build this thing out of many things and not have to worry. And actually keeping quail inside sounds like a fun project. You need to keep us posted on how this is going. Include some pics too! I am excited to see how it turns out!

 

[buggaboo]

Hehe...yeah definately! I'm proud of my creation already, so can't wait to share. My greenhouse should be here in just a day or two!

I must say this whole project has inspired me to start being more self sufficient. Planning on having plants growing all throughout my house once this project is complete lol. Wish I lived someplace warmer so I could garden outside, but you gotta do what you gotta do. :]

 

[OC Metro Farm]

We feed our quail Modesto Milling soy free chick starter. It's an organic feed that is shipped to us. It is about the same price as a natural feed carried by one of our favorite feed stores. Peck and Scratch, I believe that feed is called. But, Peck and Scratch is not USDA organic, so we prefer the MM feed. And, quail need more protein than chickens, so we also feed split peas and lentils to boost the protein content. We have a small number of quail, so this works pretty well. The Modesto Milling feeds are described at www.modestomilling.com

Good luck! They are lovely birds to have around.

 

[MrNappy]

If you want a little side project, you could try to do this, i did it and my quails loved it:


So basically i took this cage, and opened it (separated the bottom and the top, the metal part from the plastic) then i put them on opposite sides of the cage on the bottom (bottom,bottom). So on one side would be this metal house structure and on the other side would be a stepped-up platform (put wood-shavings in this, or sand, they love sand/shavings bathing). And what the metal house would do is, provide area for laying eggs, reduce fighting (slow em down), also more shade if they want it (i covered it up). Also, i had Cots, not these Buttons, although they are mine. And, miraculously i have 1 male and 3 female buttons. (Tee-hee, i'm not telling you how)




This is basically their cage:

 

[buggaboo]

We feed our quail Modesto Milling soy free chick starter. It's an organic feed that is shipped to us. It is about the same price as a natural feed carried by one of our favorite feed stores. Peck and Scratch, I believe that feed is called. But, Peck and Scratch is not USDA organic, so we prefer the MM feed. And, quail need more protein than chickens, so we also feed split peas and lentils to boost the protein content. We have a small number of quail, so this works pretty well. The Modesto Milling feeds are described at www.modestomilling.com

Good luck! They are lovely birds to have around.

Cool thanks! I'll probablly do that instead, would be alot less hassle and I have no idea what i'd be doing anyway at this point.

 

[buggaboo]

If you want a little side project, you could try to do this, i did it and my quails loved it:


So basically i took this cage, and opened it (separated the bottom and the top, the metal part from the plastic) then i put them on opposite sides of the cage on the bottom (bottom,bottom). So on one side would be this metal house structure and on the other side would be a stepped-up platform (put wood-shavings in this, or sand, they love sand/shavings bathing). And what the metal house would do is, provide area for laying eggs, reduce fighting (slow em down), also more shade if they want it (i covered it up). Also, i had Cots, not these Buttons, although they are mine. And, miraculously i have 1 male and 3 female buttons. (Tee-hee, i'm not telling you how)




This is basically their cage:

Is there a secret method I'm not aware of? I must know! lol That's pretty clever, I'd do that with my baby japanese quail, but plastic bins are just so cheap and handy

 

[steveovergard]

Here is my input and suggestions.

Two considerations for the wire. It has to be tight enough to keep the quail in and strong enough to keep the predators out. You can get cheap garden fabric or chicken wire or a lot of things to keep the quail inside. But most raccoon and opossum can just chew right through that. You may want to double wrap it with something bullet proof for the outside and something different for the inside.

Put something not too rigid on the top in the event they fly up and crash into the ceiling. Again, something soft is not going to stop a hungry predator so the double layer may be the way to go.

I have found that quail love to go in PVC pipe to hide out, hang out, and play. Use the big stuff that is used for drain lines. Cut it about a foot and a half long and watch the fun.