New to raising quail, housing question. ..

[Champion]

Hey there I just got into keeping quail about two months ago. I started out with 7 but I have purchased more and have 15 hens now. At the moment I keep them in a 7x3ft cage but I'm moving next week into a house with a barn

I was wondering if I could just put down some wood shavings and let the quail live in the barn without being caged? I want to get a lot more of them and this seems easier than building lots of cages. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Free Feather]

I think they would be a lot happier with that housing.

 

[dc3085]

Predators can pull them through any hole larger than a nickel so check for that first but yeah they'll be fine on shavings. Just keep in mind roosters are going to cause you problems if they're all loose together.

 

[Champion]

Predators can pull them through any hole larger than a nickel so check for that first but yeah they'll be fine on shavings. Just keep in mind roosters are going to cause you problems if they're all loose together. 

So far I only have hens. I have a separate room I could use for roos if I decide to get some.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

There may be a problem with picking up eggs every day since they will lay all over the place. You may miss some eggs and several days later you can't be sure if an egg is fresh or not. Just something to think about. I have that issue with my chicken eggs sometimes.

 

[Champion]

There may be a problem with picking up eggs every day since they will lay all over the place. You may miss some eggs and several days later you can't be sure if an egg is fresh or not. Just something to think about. I have that issue with my chicken eggs sometimes.

That is one concern I have. Right now all my ladies lay their eggs in 5 heir dirt pans but I doubt I would get that lucky once I have a lot of birds.