Inside Button Quail and dirt!!!!

[gwboolean]

I would like to know what other people do that have button quail that live inside. I will just say this. Ground birds in the house is really a mess problem. The biggest issue is that these little guys love dirt baths and when you let them have one they throw that crap all over the place. They have to have ground and dirt.
What kind of cage can you keep them in that will keep the house from ending up such a nasty mess! Most of my quail live outside and this is not a problem... or at least less of a problem. I believe that most of the answer can be found in construction of the right cage. Any ideas for allowing them to keep their dirt and have it stay in the cage?

 

[Nabiki]

I keep an air purifier running next to their pen. The pen also has a deep base that I filled with dirt.

 

[PeaShack]

I kept my button quail in a large soft dog crate (mesh “windows”) for ventilation and good visualization. I used an orange juice bottle to make a covered dust bath. I cut the plastic and used a soldering iron to melt the plastic edges so it wasn’t sharp. I used all-purpose sand with a little DE mixed in for the dust bath. This worked well to minimize mess outside the crate.

 

[gwboolean]

I really liked the pen, but it appears to me that there is still going to be a mess in the area around the pen. Also, just curious about how often the dirt would have to be changed. I really liked how the bottom was constructed. Thanks for that!!!
The pens I am thinking about would be for some pairs I have for inside pets, so the pens will be about 18WX24HX36L. These will both be sitting in a metal rack. I think that your pen shows me what I need to do.
I think I am going to go with a bottom similar to the one in the video. From there, I think I will just go with an acrylic sided box with no bottom that will set into the dirt bottom. I can just periodically catch the birds and put a new bottom in. A bit of a pain in the bazoobie, but I think that will do wonders for my house. Got any thoughts on that?

 

[gwboolean]

Whoa!!!! A covered dust bath!!!! I never thought of that!! Gonna have to make that part of my plan!!!! The bathing is where the worst of the problems come from.

 

[Nabiki]

I really liked the pen, but it appears to me that there is still going to be a mess in the area around the pen. Also, just curious about how often the dirt would have to be changed. I really liked how the bottom was constructed. Thanks for that!!!
The pens I am thinking about would be for some pairs I have for inside pets, so the pens will be about 18WX24HX36L. These will both be sitting in a metal rack. I think that your pen shows me what I need to do.
I think I am going to go with a bottom similar to the one in the video. From there, I think I will just go with an acrylic sided box with no bottom that will set into the dirt bottom. I can just periodically catch the birds and put a new bottom in. A bit of a pain in the bazoobie, but I think that will do wonders for my house. Got any thoughts on that?

There is usually some mess around the cage, but I either sweep or vacuum daily, so it's not a big deal. It's the dust they throw into the air that's the worst. That's why I have the air purifier.

Edit: I don't have a set schedule for changing the dirt. I'll bring in a 5 gallon bucket, scoop most of the dirty soil from the surface, then take it out to my compost. Then I'll grab a bucket of fresh dirt from the garden to pour over the top of the button pen.