Introducing new females to lone male...

[TwoCrows]

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As far as a roof on the aviary, it really depends on your situation really. My aviaries have become devoid of all plant life as not only has it been trampled, but is has all been eaten. So it is a bare dirt floor. I have found that when my floor gets wet, it turns to mud. So maybe if your dirt is of a drier consistancy, it might be ok. However birds stepping in lots of wet poo will cause disease within the flock. I have found that the drier I keep the floor, the healthier the birds stay. And again with the mud clumps on the feet...very bad. They can lose toe nails and entire toes from mud being stuck on the feet too long. It can cause damage to the scales of feet also. So it is up to you on the roof. I also like to keep the hot summer sun off of the birds especially during heat waves. The lower half of my walls are all metal and it really heats up in the aviaries without the roof on.

As for the dog house, he/they will probably use its during the colder months. I don't know your winter climate there, but if you experience temps below 20 degrees, then you may need a better shelter. My birds don't use their winter shelter either, not until fall and winter when the temps will get down below freezing.

But it sounds like you have a great set up and I wish you all the greatest of luck raising your new quail. Enjoy your new birds!

 

[FenDruadin]

Cool, thanks! We're in NC, so we don't really get cold winters--20 degrees would be super cold here.

I think, based on your information, that I'm probably okay without a roof over the whole thing for right now. The area is highly shaded--our backyard is pretty much wooded, and the aviary is under a particularly dense canopy, so sun is not a problem. The plants that grow in there are all wild, shade-tolerant varieties--honeysuckle, wild strawberries, English ivy, Virginia creeper, a little bit of shade-loving grass. It's not heavily planted yet, because it housed ducks as recently as last summer, and ducks are murder on anything living, but it is recovering quickly with a nice little growth of honeysuckle he likes to hide under.

I don't like the ground to be poopy either, so if I need to throw some straw in there periodically, I'll gladly do that. However, I also really like the fact that there's enough space in there that he doesn't tear up all the plants (he digs up some, and nibbles at others, but not enough to keep it from continuing to grow). So that's why I want to keep the population as low as possible without making anyone lonely or unhappy. Of course, company is more important than having a pretty planted aviary or fewer cleaning duties, so I think I'll start with three girls (plus whatever females hatch out of what appears to be a doomed hatch in my incubator) and see what that does to the area.

Thanks again for all the feedback. This is all VERY helpful.

Oh, and I do have some girls lined up for him. I'll be going to pick them up next Saturday morning (I have to drive about 45 minutes to get them--urgh--that's what I get for living in the city). Yay!