ordered the "new" jumbo celadon eggs from thieving otter farm-

[CliftonQuail]

I'm currently on a break from raising quail, but would generally only use paper towels for the first few days in the brooder. After that, I used pine shavings in the brooder (plastic tote with a window screen cover). I'd start with about 2 or 3" of shavings and run a hand garden rake through them once a day, maybe add a layer of shavings if necessary. Then I'd move the birds into an identical tote with fresh shavings and use that one for a few days before moving them back to the other tote with new shavings in it. When they were three weeks old, I'd move the birds to their grow out/breeder cages which are wire bottomed (Wynola Ranch). I put a paver stone in each cage so they could get off the wire at times and to give them something to rub their beaks and toes on to help keep them trimmed. Adding the paver helped reduce bumblefoot issues, but I'll probably go with a different cage setup when I get back into the game. I'm considering an aviary setup or even quail "tractors", but will see how it goes.

 

[lindy]

I'm currently on a break from raising quail, but would generally only use paper towels for the first few days in the brooder. After that, I used pine shavings in the brooder (plastic tote with a window screen cover). I'd start with about 2 or 3" of shavings and run a hand garden rake through them once a day, maybe add a layer of shavings if necessary. Then I'd move the birds into an identical tote with fresh shavings and use that one for a few days before moving them back to the other tote with new shavings in it. When they were three weeks old, I'd move the birds to their grow out/breeder cages which are wire bottomed (Wynola Ranch). I put a paver stone in each cage so they could get off the wire at times and to give them something to rub their beaks and toes on to help keep them trimmed. Adding the paver helped reduce bumblefoot issues, but I'll probably go with a different cage setup when I get back into the game. I'm considering an aviary setup or even quail "tractors", but will see how it goes.

did you like the wynola, i cant afford those but found something similar with pvc wire flooring, 2x3 layout.

 

[CliftonQuail]

did you like the wynola, i cant afford those but found something similar with pvc wire flooring, 2x3 layout.

I did like them and had the PVC flooring. They're probably adequate for grow out cages for meat birds, but I don't plan to keep breeding colonies in them in the future. I'd rather make my breeders more comfortable even if it makes for more work having to hunt for eggs and change bedding more frequently.

An additional note about the Wynola is that they aren't predator proof and need to be in an area that is. Due to the egg roll out, there's plenty of space for rodents, etc. to get in at the birds. I didn't have that problem since my cages are in my garage, but I wouldn't set them up outside without additional predator proofing.

 

[lindy]

I did like them and had the PVC flooring. They're probably adequate for grow out cages for meat birds, but I don't plan to keep breeding colonies in them in the future. I'd rather make my breeders more comfortable even if it makes for more work having to hunt for eggs and change bedding more frequently.

An additional note about the Wynola is that they aren't predator proof and need to be in an area that is. Due to the egg roll out, there's plenty of space for rodents, etc. to get in at the birds. I didn't have that problem since my cages are in my garage, but I wouldn't set them up outside without additional predator proofing.

thanks, plan to put cages in a shed. I think building an outside enclosure is out of the question for awhile, so many other things to do and we have a high predator load living right next to forest area.
- did you like the size or would you have longer cages? how many did you put per cage? and did you use their water system?

 

[CliftonQuail]

thanks, plan to put cages in a shed. I think building an outside enclosure is out of the question for awhile, so many other things to do and we have a high predator load living right next to forest area.
- did you like the size or would you have longer cages? how many did you put per cage? and did you use their water system?

I initially listened to MyShire and other commercial breeders and had a pretty high population in each cage. I bought the 36" Triple tier setup with the top being split into two sections by a divider. They actually sent me an extra divider, so I put it in the middle cage. So I had four sections that were basically 1.5' x 2' and used them for breeding stock with a typical 5:1 ratio. The bottom cage stayed 2x3 and I used it for grow out with up to about 20 birds at one time.

In hind sight, I would have preferred longer cages and would probably do away with the dividers in the breeding cages, while keeping the 5:1 ratio, in order to give the birds more room.

I did use their water system with some modifications over time. The cups provided were these:

https://quailcage.com/products/automatic-drinker-cups-10-clips-to-attach-the-drinker-to-wire

It came with the cups and tubing already installed on the cages. They had put the cups on the inside of the cages. With that configuration, the poop trays were always full of water. I moved the cups to the outside of the cage where they could still stick their heads through the wire and drink and that resolved the flooded trays, but only one bird could drink at a time and the water was now going on the floor instead. I decided to go with another cup which was wider and allowed multiple access. It was also gravity fed instead of filling only when the birds pecked the valve.

https://quailcage.com/products/6-auto-float-drinker-cups-drinker-cups

Those worked great and I stayed with them until I paused my quail raising and sent them all to freezer camp.