Padding ceiling

[Skerry]

I'm getting my first few coturnix quail later in the week. They'll be kept in a rabbit hutch, and I know it's best to have padding on the ceilings so they don't hurt themselves. I was wondering if thick styrofoam would be soft enough padding to stop them from getting hurt?

 

[dc3085]

Nope, it's not going to absorb enough shock, styrofoam is to hard. Best bet would be to attach a piece of window screen to the cage as a "false ceiling" a few inches below the real ceiling so that it absorbs the shock if the birds hit it.

 

[Skerry]

Thank you - I ended up acquiring some proper foam in the end. Another question I had was, I'm getting about three and will probably be keeping them in a rabbit/guinea pig hutch (padding the ceiling, adding a pan of dirt or sand for dust bathing, adding appropriate litter of course) and I just wanted to make sure they'd have enough space, it's approximately 3x1.6'. I know the usual space requirement is 1 square foot per bird, but in a smaller cage than most will there be any problems? In other words, they'll have a bit more than 1 square foot each but I wanted to make sure it'd be enough. Thank you!

 

[dc3085]

3 will be fine in there. Just don't crowd in too many more than that or their feathers will start to look bad and you may see some aggression.