Looking for input of potential quail coop

[Snowpony]

Hello all, I previously kept chickens in here but no longer have any. Considering switching to quail and possibly also pheasant next spring and would like some input from more experienced quail keepers on whether this would be an acceptable home for quail. I have a 10x12 shed in the back yard that has the back 4 feet of it partitioned off with wood & chicken wire, and a human sized access door into the area so the enclosure floorspace is approximately 4ft x 8ft, and probably about 8ft tall.

In the very back is a small hatch/door for the previous chickens to exit to a large outdoor run, which no longer exists, but I plan to create a new outdoor space before adding any new birds, be it quails or chickens. The outdoor space would be approximately 4ft wide by 18ft long, L-shaped to wrap around the outside of the shed between the fenecline. I would be planning to make use of our existing 8ft fence as 'walls' which border the outside of the shed, with added reinforcement above & below to avoid escapes & predators.

Main questions.... Is this a suitable home? I see most hutches are quite small and raised, more like rabbit hutches. Should I instead remove this large area and build hutches into the back of the shed? Do they need the outdoor space? If this is a suitable enclosure, how many would live comfortably in here? I do not want to crowd them.

Thank you in advance for your time! I am sure these are completely noob questions, but I am just starting my researching for this new adventure and am absolutely a noob.

 

[cavemanrich]

I don't have quail but think your setup will be just great. It is also versatile, so if you decide on different birds, you are all in.
Reason I do not have quail, even though I like to........ I cant free range them, and do not want to contain birds in large cages.
WISHING YOU BEST......

 

[Snowpony]

Thanks cavemanrich. I would love to fully free range but live in a neighborhood, and also have dogs/cats who would LOVE to get a hold of a bird! lol... I did let my chickens roam the back yard a few hours a day or longer. Surprisingly my animals learned to leave them alone, but even then I would not trust to leave unattended for more than a few minutes. And yeah, unfortunately quail just can't be free ranged at all. Still researching & debating on whether they will be a good fit for our little backyard farm

 

[feedman77]

Space is more than adequate. Quail would love the outdoor room but if you wanted them inside you would have to catch them all.

I keep my quail in the rabbit hutch type pens. They do fine.

Figure 1 square foot a bird for quail. But I know some that do 1/2 sqf. They have no problems.

What do you want to do with your quail? Meat,eggs, hatching.

What type of quail are you thinking about? Bobwhite or cotournix

Takes about 6 quail eggs to equal 1 chicken egg.

 

[dpenning]

That is very similar to what I did with my chicken coop! My quail, as you said are in a much smaller elevated hutch inside of a 10 x 10 chain link dog run. It would be a fabulous space for quail but you will have to work hard to close all the holes small enough for the quail to fit through. Inside my dog run I put hardware cloth around the bottom so they cannot escape. Not sure how to tie into a chicken pop type door and keep it secure enough. Also, mine don't go into cover so they wouldn't go back into the coop most likely. they would stay outside. They don't have the nesting instincts like chickens do to go back to the roost every night. In fact most of the time they don't even use the little hide holes (boxes and such) I provide for them unless the temps drop into the teens.