how much space do quail need?

[rita2paul]

i think quails deserve as much space possible, they are a great little bird. 1 ft sq is not enough, they use to keep chickens in tiny metal cages, they said that was ok, we all know it's not. so i would say give them as much space as you can, and keep them with sand/dirt boxes they love them and branches to lie under, it makes them feel safe, you will be rewarded with some very happy quails.

 

[pigeoner]

probably 15 to 20

 

[Back2Roots]

1.5 ft x 8 ft = 12 sq ft; 1 sq ft minimum per bird = a maximum of twelve quails in that area, IMO.
I share the "more is better" school of thought.
I originally had 3 quail in a 3 ft X 6 ft pen (this space does not include their quail house, which is 5 sq ft). I've recently acquired 5 more quail, and had to divide the pen into 2 sections due to problems with integration. Now I have two 3 ft x 3 ft areas, one for each of the two groups. I consider 8 to be the maximum number of quail I will keep in this pen in order for them to be healthy and happy and productive egg layers.

 

[bahamabanty]

My experience is that birds from the same hatch that were placed in a pen from young and grew up together in that pen can be in smaller spaces without problems than new birds that are introduced in new pens.

 

[For my girl]

I have some pens that ate 1.5 x 8' - I build them to fit the 3'x8' steel roof panels. Mine do best with 8 in it (2 males and 6 females). If you do a full 3x8 then 20 are happy together. With bigger pens the square foot per bird goes down - but when I've gone to 32 birds in a 4x8 then there were more injuries. I seem to have the fewest injuries with 8 to 24 birds. They are also happier if they have more stuff to run around - boxes with sand, boxes with hay, things to go under...