New to Quail.

[Pivotman94]

Hello BYC.

I new but have been reading for a while now.
I have just started raising birds and I'm loving it.

I have 7 Japanese I'm currently minding with my partner there about 4 weeks old now and if I'm right they should be out of the brooder soon. I'm a little new to this and just have some questions. I'm building a large out door area for my birds and want to know if everyone can live with on an other with out a problem. My plan is to have one coop for my quail another for my ducks and finally one for chickens. The coop will all be inside a large wired cage with a communal outdoor area. They will have more then enough space but I just want to know if they will all be nice to one another?

I just have a few questions. How much space per bird do adult quail need inside the coop? Do I have to worry about mites? Can I keep the male and female together and If so how many males do I need per female.

Also my quail are very friendly and don't seem to want to run away or anything. If fact they are able to get out of there brooder but don't seem to want to leave. I'm worried when I bring them outside that this will not be the case however, if they run off we have plenty of wild foxes that will gobble them up in no time. So I was wondering will I need to clip there wings for there own safety?

Thanks.

 

[dc3085]

Hello BYC.

I new but have been reading for a while now.
I have just started raising birds and I'm loving it.

I have 7 Japanese I'm currently minding with my partner there about 4 weeks old now and if I'm right they should be out of the brooder soon. I'm a little new to this and just have some questions. I'm building a large out door area for my birds and want to know if everyone can live with on an other with out a problem. My plan is to have one coop for my quail another for my ducks and finally one for chickens. The coop will all be inside a large wired cage with a communal outdoor area. They will have more then enough space but I just want to know if they will all be nice to one another?

Quail have to be kept out of contact with chickens and you should practice bio security between working with every different type of fowl. Diseases like coryza cannot be accurately tested for and chickens can carry it for their entire life without ever showing symptoms. Coryza transmits easily to quail and is often fatal to one or more of the flock. Once infected with coryza even if treated the bird will carry it for life.

I just have a few questions. How much space per bird do adult quail need inside the coop? Do I have to worry about mites? Can I keep the male and female together and If so how many males do I need per female.

1 sq ft per bird is sufficient for adults, more space will make them happier but it's not required.

1 male to 4-7 females is acceptable. Coturnix are covey birds and the roosters breed aggressively. Fertility lasts 5-7 days once bred so one roo can easily keep 7 hens fertile. 3 hens or less with a rooster usually leads to problems down the road with the rooster overbreeding the hens.

Also my quail are very friendly and don't seem to want to run away or anything. If fact they are able to get out of there brooder but don't seem to want to leave. I'm worried when I bring them outside that this will not be the case however, if they run off we have plenty of wild foxes that will gobble them up in no time. So I was wondering will I need to clip there wings for there own safety?

The one time you think they won't fly away is when one will, so you may want to clip wings. I don't recommend letting them out of the cage though since crows and ravens prey on them, not mention hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, skunks, snakes, house cats, weasels, badges, etc.

They have almost not wild instincts and will not flee danger. I'll link you to a thread of mine with game camera pictures of a raccoon trying to get into my cages, the quail actually come up to investigate it. Do not use chicken wire for your coop, since raccoons can pull a whole quail through 1" chicken wire. Look at these pics.

Thanks.