New member

[Saltyu]

I've be lurking for a few weeks, and used some ideas found here to build my first quail hutch. My 5 week old quail hens arrived 3 weeks ago from a local farm and they seem like their new digs. I'm located on Long Island, NY. I have 2 kids who are (so far) exited to have the birds, and have been feeding, watering, and handling them daily. Decided to register with this site, as I'm sure I'll have some questions, which I will post in the Quail forum.

Anyway, good to be aboard.

-Sean

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Nice pen

 

[Saltyu]

Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Very nice! I keep Bobwhite Quail as well as chickens. Quail are fun little birds to keep, they sure have a lot of personality packed into such a tiny body! You might add some fake or real foliage to this pen? Quail are ground dwellers and love to spend their day lurking under brush and such. Some added foliage will keep them much more calm and feeling secure and it helps stop them from flushing upwards when they feel threatened.

Stop by our Quail Forums as well!! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/quail.48/

Welcome to our roost!

 

[drumstick diva]

Nice to meet you Sean. Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock. I really don't know anything about quail. Do they usually stay in a rather open coop like yours or do they ever go in a covered run?? I would guess if free ranged they would go wild, or feed predators.

 

[N F C]

Hi Sean, nice looking quail pen.

 

[Saltyu]

Hi Diva!

Quail would love to forage in the open, but unfortunately, they would skedaddle, and/or quickly become hawk food. I tried releasing some on some acreage I have in upstate NY, and I never saw them again. I keep them in my hutch at most times, and I built a simple PVC and snow fence 4x4 run that sits on the ground to give them some foraging opportunities(and fertilize my grass) in my yard during the day on weekends. They love it. Outside of that, they are quite happy in their hutch with a dust bath and some stray bush clipping I throw in for cover.

 

[Saltyu]

Hi Debby,

Looks good now, but I'm sure it will be covered in dirt and poo in a couple weeks. Thanks!