Misters or shallow bowl to keep cool?

[Bluemonster107]

It’s only 80 degrees ambient temp and one of my 3 week old quail pants a bit.. I figure that one just tends to be warmer than the rest to cool itself... well... they are moving to their outdoor pen tomorrow and it’s even hotter outdoors these days... they will be in the shade but figure since that one is already hot... better find ways to cool them... so I saw some use shallow bowls and some use a misting system.... I don’t mind installing a misting system, but wasn’t wanting everything to be all wet... just tends to make things smell more and bring more flys.... so if using a mister.. how does one keep everything from getting all wet???

 

[BReeder!]

Let me preface with the fact that I do not use a mister myself currently. However, I am aware that there are different sprayer heads that produce different sized water droplets in the air. The finer the mist the greater the cooling effect and less likely things will get saturated - using less water and spreading it out over a wider area by allowing it to stay airborne longer. Certainly, solid surfaces like walls will accumulate the mist into large water droplets over a period of time and become very wet, but in an open air outdoor pen you shouldn't have a big problem with a quality, fine misting system. Think fog, not sprayers like the produce department of your grocery store.
I would also ensure the ground under the area (not sure if your quail are on wire or the ground, but either way) drains well. Adding sand or gravel will help with drainage if needed. It's likely not as wet during the spring and summer in Fresno as it is in Illinois (where I am) though.

 

[Bluemonster107]

@BReeder! ..thanks.. yea.. I hear ya.. more of a light mist .. not like heavy water drop(like a hose on “spray” ).. the quail are moving in today.. it’s an outdoor ground aviary type enclosure with sand and some areas of “forest floor” (just cypress chunks).
I ordered a mister attachment that goes on an oscillating fan... supposed to arrive today.. no idea what kind of spray I will get or if it works at all... I just REALLY don’t want everything to be all wet.. so we will see how this works and hopefully keeps them cooler. It is supposed to be close to 100 this week (central California is dry and hot)

 

[BReeder!]

@BReeder! ..thanks.. yea.. I hear ya.. more of a light mist .. not like heavy water drop(like a hose on “spray” ).. the quail are moving in today.. it’s an outdoor ground aviary type enclosure with sand and some areas of “forest floor” (just cypress chunks).
I ordered a mister attachment that goes on an oscillating fan... supposed to arrive today.. no idea what kind of spray I will get or if it works at all... I just REALLY don’t want everything to be all wet.. so we will see how this works and hopefully keeps them cooler. It is supposed to be close to 100 this week (central California is dry and hot)

The aviary looks well ventilated and well shaded. If necessary you could put trays of ice water out as well. Perhaps, experiment with an ice cave. I'm picturing a bag few bags of ice stack around a plastic container like a tote that the quail could venture into through a hole/opening.

 

[Bluemonster107]

The aviary looks well ventilated and well shaded. If necessary you could put trays of ice water out as well. Perhaps, experiment with an ice cave. I'm picturing a bag few bags of ice stack around a plastic container like a tote that the quail could venture into through a hole/opening.

Yeah.. it is ventilated very well but doesn’t help when the air flowing is hot .. yea.. showing 90 on the temp gauge I have in there so needless to say.. I haven’t moved them in yet.... but man!!! You got my wheels turning!!!! That ice cave idea is pretty cool!!! They are pretty dumb so not sure if they would even figure it out that the air was cooler there... but maybe frozen water bottles to lay against (use to do that with the rabbits)... or like your cave idea.. like a styrofoam hut with ice on top iside?? Like a make shift refrigerator.. haha... I dunno but I like the ideas... I will have to think about this one

 

[Quail-mama]

I live in Central Florida area and so it goes without saying, my quails pant from the heat. I added cool play sand in plastic shoe boxes for them to walk and lay in. I also added ice cubes to their water containers changing it out 2-3 times daily. I found that freezing fruits and veggies like, Berries, Apples, Cucumber, Squash and offer it to them during the heat of the day, they seem to get excited rushing to the door to greet me. I am thinking of adding a long piece of ceramic floor tile in a light color to as not to hold heat. I am hoping this will give them a place to lay on or cool their feet and is easy to clean the droppings off of.

 

[Bluemonster107]

@Quail-mama ... great idea about the tile piece!! They managed to do okay this past week when it hit 104!.. i had a little pan of ice water, added ice cubes to two different waterers they have and also ran a little makeshift AC fan/ice bucket thing... they seemed to like to lay inside their wood house (which I figured they would never use) and also nestle themselves into the sand (as the whole aviary is sand).... I bet the sand felt nice and cool because it sits atop concrete and I’m sure the concrete is cool).... thanks for that tile idea, as I have a big piece of granite that is always cold and could stick it in there
I did get the mister for the fan but it arrived after the heat wave and we dropped back down to 80 the past 4 days... but supposed to jump back up to 104 tomorrow so getting ready to try that... and anything else for cooling down tips

 

[BReeder!]

Another idea I didn't think of before is cooling stones. We used to have a pet rabbit and we had a cooling stone for him. It's a thin peice of marble, which naturally has cooling properties. They sell them at pet stores in the small animal section. I don't recall it costing very much. Additionally check craigslist and facebook marketplace for countertop and stone cutting business who are looking to get rid of remnant peices. I see them posted all the time. Often for free. Just make sure it's marble. If you fear its too smooth and fear the birds slipping, you could rough it up with a grinder or possibly course sand paper.

 

[Bluemonster107]

So it’s been 107.. today and yesterday.. ugh! The mister on the fan works incredibly well... water barely on and kept the birds cool.. no panting and all looked chill. Highly recommend!!

 

[Quail-mama]

@Quail-mama ... great idea about the tile piece!! They managed to do okay this past week when it hit 104!.. i had a little pan of ice water, added ice cubes to two different waterers they have and also ran a little makeshift AC fan/ice bucket thing... they seemed to like to lay inside their wood house (which I figured they would never use) and also nestle themselves into the sand (as the whole aviary is sand).... I bet the sand felt nice and cool because it sits atop concrete and I’m sure the concrete is cool).... thanks for that tile idea, as I have a big piece of granite that is always cold and could stick it in there
I did get the mister for the fan but it arrived after the heat wave and we dropped back down to 80 the past 4 days... but supposed to jump back up to 104 tomorrow so getting ready to try that... and anything else for cooling down tips[/QUOTE. Wow...yes that granite should work far better than tile. I only mentioned tile because it is cheaper than granite or marble. Anyway please let us know how it works out.