New to quail

[quail42]

Thanks ahead for any help! I want to get around 8 coturnix quail for eggs only. I want to build a cage that is as happy for them as possible, but also east to access and clean.

1.!for coturnix, is there any point to building an aviary or will it just be s waste of space because they don't fly/use ramps?

2. I want to build a cage with a natural floor (dirt or mulch), but want to keep it on my deck. Is there a way to do this where it is easy to clean? I'm thinking a pull out tray of some type.

3. I read about letting them roam the garden (with a cafe lid overtop) to control bugs. !anyone with experience doing this?

4. How often does a dirt/mulch cage need to be cleaned? :do you dump out all the contents every time?

5: possibly dumb question: if I have a male and some eggs are fertilized but I eat them right away, will they still be like regular eggs or are these ones inedible?

 

[DK newbie]

Hi and

!

1. In general, the birds might not make use of the height. They might occasionally fly - I have button quail and they seem to like stretching their wings a little in the morning - but most of the time they'll be on the ground. Doesn't mean the aviary is pointless though - it might add to your pleasure of having the birds! If you can walk into their enclosure, you are likely to spend more time with them, get to know them better and maybe even develop a bond to them. It also gives you more options when it comes to creating an environment for them. You can use potted trees and stuff.

2. and 4. You could make a system with a tray, if you go for a cage rather than an aviary. A tray in each half of the cage, with a separator between them, perhaps - you get the quail to move to the other half, pull out the tray, clean it, put it back in and repeat with the other tray. The trays might be quite heavy tough, with bedding and stuff in them. It might be easier without the trays.
Check out this thread for a bedding option you might want to consider: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/832431/quail-on-deep-litter-why-it-works

3. Sorry, no. It might stress them to be moved around though - and stressed birds don't lay well.

5. There is nothing wrong with fertilized eggs. You can store them for as long as any other egg, you just need to get them out of the cage quickly if it's very warm. They'll start to develop in temperatures above 85 F, I believe it is. Technically speaking, you can still eat them if they are developing, it just might not be pleasant to see veins in your egg (those don't show up right away though). And if they've started to develop, it might be best not to store them for too long.

 

[Q QUAIL S]

1. In general, the birds might not make use of the height.

1. Aviary is almost useless because what I have heard from websites that they don't produce many eggs. They will also fly up and bump their heads prone to head and neck injuries. I have coturnix quail they are pretty flighty little birds but I love them so much. Some times I on several occasions I accidentally let them out and I had to play catch the bird. Now they have become so friendly that they come up to the front of the cage.My birds live in a a plastic dog kennel until I build one. Once I forgot to shut the door and in the morning they were on the ground luckily I didn't step on them but I did step on the egg that they laid. They were so good they didn't fly else where in the garage. Also the coturnix lay 280 to 290 eggs in their life time. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

"edit" if you have low ceiling but you can still go in their aviary then it will be fine and if you do coturnix it's the best breed!!!!!

 

[Binki]

I have a six by six foot planted aviary and had about a dozen quail in there during the summer. It had a mostly dirt floor with logs, plants (they like to eat hostas haha) but their ultimate fave thing to lay by is tall grass/on hay.

The great things about my aviary is that I didn't have to clean it, I could walk in and hang out with them, it was 8 feet tall sloped to 7 feet so they never hit their head but had fun flapping around and could escape each other if there was a bullying problem and I actually had a quail go broody using the small foot high grass patch as her base for the nest. She hatched out several chicks and we would dig up the ground for bugs for her to tidbit for them

I've brought them in the garage in a modified rabbit hutch for the winter and they seemed to take to it well with wood shavings and hay spots and food and sand boxes to scratch around in

The garden idea sounds great other than moving them every day - if you made hardware cloth into a cage to put on top of the garden box, it would make a fitting habitat the quail would love they may also eat some of your leaves, hehe.

*edit* I placed a foot high piece of wood at the bottom of the aviary door so running out isn't an issue

 

[quail42]

Quote: Thanks for the advice! I like the idea of having the aviary in the summer and hutch in the winter/garage. We might start with the hutch for now and look into building the aviary later on. Are your quail coturnix or button? I heard coturnix fly a lot less and aviaries are better if you have other types.

 

[quail42]

Quote:
Thanks for all the helpful answers! I do think have 2 trays or rolling drawers would be best as they can move around while we clean. The deep litter idea also sounds good, maybe for in the summer mainly when they are outside.

 

[Binki]

They are coturnix quail I thought they might be a bit depressed not being in the aviary but I still get popcorn dances from some ^^ There's one who is unstoppable, I actually named her Popcorn

Her frisky friend is Skitter because they sprint and pop together when I go to the cage even though they don't like to be pet more than once or twice hehe.

I take my quail out one by one to another cage while I clean the hutch floor they're on - I give them fresh sand bath in the temp cage so they keep busy hehe!