Just getting started.

[Dan888]

Hello. Today is my first day in BYC. Earlier today I posted a new thread asking for advice on building a quail cage. I figured I will get more answers if I put it in the "Quail" forms. Here it is.

This is my first post on BYC. I am going to start raising a small flock of quail for eggs. I have read a decent amount of information on them, but decided to have my plan looked at by others. I have decided to feed purina game bird startena 30% protein and supplement them by feeding bugs i catch occasionally. I will have a bowl of sand for the quail to dust bathe in. I will also have a bowl of crushed chicken egg shells for them to eat in order to have enough calcium to constantly lay eggs. The cage will be 5 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot tall. It will house 10-15 quail. The cage is going to be elevated off the ground with cinder blocks. Most of the cage will be wrapped in stainless steel welded poultry netting. A 4 feet wide and 1.6 feet long section will become a fiber glass box that the quail will go in when it rains, gets windy, or snows. This part will have a wooden floor covered in hay. I have live traps i am going to use to remove raccoons and foxes from the area. Any advice or comments on my plan? Thank you in advance for any responses!

 

[pkhunter]

Hello. Today is my first day in BYC. Earlier today I posted a new thread asking for advice on building a quail cage. I figured I will get more answers if I put it in the "Quail" forms. Here it is.

This is my first post on BYC. I am going to start raising a small flock of quail for eggs. I have read a decent amount of information on them, but decided to have my plan looked at by others. I have decided to feed purina game bird startena 30% protein and supplement them by feeding bugs i catch occasionally. I will have a bowl of sand for the quail to dust bathe in. I will also have a bowl of crushed chicken egg shells for them to eat in order to have enough calcium to constantly lay eggs. The cage will be 5 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot tall. It will house 10-15 quail. The cage is going to be elevated off the ground with cinder blocks. Most of the cage will be wrapped in stainless steel welded poultry netting. A 4 feet wide and 1.6 feet long section will become a fiber glass box that the quail will go in when it rains, gets windy, or snows. This part will have a wooden floor covered in hay. I have live traps i am going to use to remove raccoons and foxes from the area. Any advice or comments on my plan? Thank you in advance for any responses!

I would not build a cage 4' deep unless you are going to put doors all around it cause it will be hard to reach inside to collect the eggs. all of my pens are 2' deep and my new ones are made so the eggs roll out the bottom front. 10-15 quail in 20 sq. ft is plenty of room but if you have more than 1 rooster in there you will have problems with fighting. Welcome to the Quail site, lots of helpful people here

 

[eHuman]

Sounds like you've done your homework. I use the same feed and give the girls back their own egg shells. Works fine.

 

[thiaseel9876]

What type Quail are you raising?

 

[thiaseel9876]

Reason I ask about 10 years ago I raised Pharoah Quail Jumbo. My ratio was 4-5 hens per rooster.Purina feed is best I know of good feed.Don't know if that helps.

 

[jojackc]

I would also agree that 4ft wide is to wide. Mine are also only 2ft wide. My cages are 2ftx3ft and it is hard enough to reach everwhere. I put 4 to 5 quail in each. Only one male if old world quail and pairs if new world quail. I also quit putting doors on the front of the cages. They just aren't big enough to do what you need to. I now will put one or two large doors on top of the cages. I can take photo's of my set up tomorrow when I am making the feeding/watering rounds.

 

[eHuman]

I would also agree that 4ft wide is to wide. Mine are also only 2ft wide. My cages are 2ftx3ft and it is hard enough to reach everwhere. I put 4 to 5 quail in each. Only one male if old world quail and pairs if new world quail. I also quit putting doors on the front of the cages. They just aren't big enough to do what you need to. I now will put one or two large doors on top of the cages. I can take photo's of my set up tomorrow when I am making the feeding/watering rounds.

If a cage is on the ground then doors on top are helpful. If they are elevated off the ground then they are useless.

My wall mounted cages are 2ft x 4ft x 16" tall, solid bottom, each with a 1ft x 2ft door centered . Plenty of room to manage birds, feeders and waterers, and cleaning.

My portable cages are 2ft x 3ft x 8" masonry tubs with a 12" cage built on top. One has the door on top and two of them the door on the side. After using both styles I can only use the top door cage if it is low to, or on the ground.

Dan, you may find that the 4ft width makes it hard to manage birds. You can put a divider down the middle with a pop door that can be latched open or closed to fix this plus it allows isolation of groups if it becomes necessary. I do this with my wall mounted cages so they can be two smaller cages or one bigger cag per level.

 

[Dan888]

Dan, you may find that the 4ft width makes it hard to manage birds. You can put a divider down the middle with a pop door that can be latched open or closed to fix this plus it allows isolation of groups if it becomes necessary. I do this with my wall mounted cages so they can be two smaller cages or one bigger cag per level.

Thank you for that idea. I will put a divider in dividing it into 2 cages each 5 feet by 2 feet.

I would also agree that 4ft wide is to wide. Mine are also only 2ft wide. My cages are 2ftx3ft and it is hard enough to reach everwhere. I put 4 to 5 quail in each. Only one male if old world quail and pairs if new world quail. I also quit putting doors on the front of the cages. They just aren't big enough to do what you need to. I now will put one or two large doors on top of the cages. I can take photo's of my set up tomorrow when I am making the feeding/watering rounds.

Good idea. It sounds easier to clean the cage, feed the quail, and give them water with 2 large doors on top. I will be putting in 2 doors on top instead of any side doors.

What type Quail are you raising?

I will be raising Cortinux quail.

I would not build a cage 4' deep unless you are going to put doors all around it cause it will be hard to reach inside to collect the eggs. all of my pens are 2' deep and my new ones are made so the eggs roll out the bottom front. 10-15 quail in 20 sq. ft is plenty of room but if you have more than 1 rooster in there you will have problems with fighting. Welcome to the Quail site, lots of helpful people here

Thank you for welcoming me to the site! I do not plan on having any roosters because i will not be hatching out new quail so the eggs don't need to be fertile. Thanks for the advice anyway!

I can't wait to get started building this cage. Thank you all fro helping me out with any flaws in my plan!

 

[eHuman]

The divider doesn't need to be solid. If you have cage wire or even plastic wire that looks like 1" mesh HW cloth it will work fine. It needs to keep birds in not predators out.

 

[mike1501]

Just thought I'd jump on the band wagon. I have a 3mx3mx2m aviary. I have 9 pairs of different finch breeds and 8 button quails (2 males and 6 females). Some of the finches have eggs and one female quail has been sitting on 7 eggs for a solid week. Fingers crossed she sees them through to hatching cause quails have lost the instinct to brood naturally.

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