Newbie raising Coturnix Quail on grass!

[CaloosaBirds]

I would love to do as you have! What a great aviary. Congrats on your new adventure, too!

 

[chickengr]

Hey everyone. I’m new to BYC but have been an avid reader for months now, fantasizing about raising some birds! I got the chance to contact a local vendor and purchased 20 Coturnix Hens for eggs( my goal at the moment). I put in A LOT of work building my quail run. It took me about a week to build, working hours on it everyday but it payed off! I’m still working on it but would love any advice on what to add to their environment to provide a more natural environment and entertainment!
It’s a 14’x11’aviary style run built with 2x4’s/4x4 posts and ALOT of wire. We made it as predator proof as we possibly could and we think it’s going to be effective. I know its not ideal from a financial viewpoint and I could’ve just thrown them into a wire cage but I‘m a poultry raising enthusiast and I don’t mind spending on it because I genuinely love it!

if anyone is interested I’ll keep updating you all on my journey and hope it helps anyone who wants to take on this approach to raising quail. So far the girls love it!

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welcome to byc!

I am interested in raising quails on grass. I do appreciate any information.

 

[FloorCandy]

I find my quail feel better about crossing open spaces and leaving the sides and corners if I have cinder blocks placed in the open areas for them to stop in for cover. Also the ladies go into the cinder blocks when they aren’t “in the mood” it seems the males can’t get on them in there and they dont try.

At the very least they are going to kill the grass in their favorite corner and hang out spots, and you may need to add bedding or sand, or turn the dirt over, because it will literally form a slick area coated in poop.

I keep mine on what was once grass haha, I’ve been using deep litter method since the grass died, but I’m about to rake it all out and put in sand, the chips get wet and last week I picked up a mushroom thinking it was a muddy egg bleh yuck.

I really like how much space you have, the plants are great ideas, I’ve seen people have great results using little fake Christmas trees as shelter as well.

 

[JessiLogs]

Thank you all for the constant advice and experiences you have all had! I’ve had the girls(20 hens at the moment) for about a whole week now and they have been quickly acclimating to their surroundings and expressing their natural behaviors. It’s been so awesome to see them be genuinely happy birds. They just started flapping and flying 2 days ago! Almost touching the ceiling (6ft)!

so far I have been hosing down the manure into the pasture once a day and the grass has been growing vibrantly. It’s a chore but it keeps me and them happy and clean. No burn-out yet.The space is helping and I’m sure the constant addition of plants will help too. I’ll post more pics once I get a chance but they’re super happy birds! Here’s some pics of them enjoying some grass and sprouts.

 

[Teneniel]

Oh my gosh the sand bath is so cute!

 

[rsb911411]

I plan to put grazing boxes in for mine so they have access to fresh greens but can't kill the roots so the plants just keep growing. You can actually probably install them now and the grass under those boxes will just keep growing.

 

[JessiLogs]

I plan to put grazing boxes in for mine so they have access to fresh greens but can't kill the roots so the plants just keep growing. You can actually probably install them now and the grass under those boxes will just keep growing.

I’ve been doing 2 grazing frames at a time and letting them rip it apart and then repeating the cycle. They love it! They don’t kill all of it though some makes it and provides shelter .

 

[JessiLogs]

Here’s an update for anybody that’s interested!
The grass has been keeping up with their never ending poopfest. It has been almost a month since I have had them in here and the grass is actually getting thicker and more vibrant! The pictures don’t do it justice. I just make sure to heavily water/break down their droppings once a day. I do grazing frames to bring up different healthy grazing greens for them and as you can see, they don’t kill all of it which is nice because it becomes a shelter as well! I have little “homes” set up for them but I took them out to show the grass.

 

[Dinoroar]

Wow! So verdant. The grass in my aviary got worn down pretty quick so it’s just deep bedding with some plant tufts until it gets redone. (We’ve been ‘about to move’ since January so I keep putting it off lol)

 

[CaloosaBirds]

This is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing the one month update!