Pharoah Coturnix Hutch qstns

[Happy Novogens]

Next month I'll be getting some hatching eggs and hoping to have success incubating. In the meantime, I've been looking over hutch ideas to build for outside. I'm wondering if there are advantages, disadvantages to having a wire-bottom hutch raised off the ground or a hutch that is directly on bare ground.

We live outside of Phoenix, so it does get hot in the summer!! We get an average of just 7" of rain annually.

QSTN #2: Does anyone have some ideas to make use of a drip-line (our landscape plants) to provide water for the quail? I fear the bucket idea I've seen may not work since water sitting in a bucket out here in the summer (triple digits) gets too hot for even our dogs to drink.

 

[mdees88]

How big and how many quail are we talking?

Biggest advantage of a wire floor is less upkeep and a cleaner living environment especially when keeping a larger number if quail in a relatively small space. But you have to make sure the wire is of good quality and doesn't have burrs that can cut the quails feet. With wire you can design roll out egg trays. Also with wire you can put down hay or straw and basically turn it into a solid floor if you want to. I leave a dust pan in my cages so the quail can get off the wire whenever they want but they usually stay on the wire the majority of the time, unless dust bathing.

In summer heat a wire floor will allow more airflow and you can spray your quail with water to help them cool down without turning the floor into a mudhole.

Most people use 1/2" hardware cloth and I did too but I'm in the process of replacing all my floors with 1/2" x 1" pvc coated 16ga welded wire. It's a smoother surface for the quails feet, it's easier to clean, and the bigger openings let the poop fall through better when dealing with Jumbo birds. The wire is also thicker which makes the floor more rigid....

 

[Nabiki]

Coturnix quail live on the ground naturally, so if you have the space, they would be happier on the ground. Here are a couple of pictures of my setup. I move the pens around to fresh grass during spring/summer and onto my garden beds during fall/winter so they can fertilize them.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I get what you mean about heat and little rain. In January, it got up to 47.5 degrees (117.5 F) where I live. How hot does it get where you live?

Please, nobody take offence from this, but I personally don't like wire-bottom hutches. I think its cruel to the quails because it can actually hurt their feet. I don't want to start an argument with anybody. If you disagree, that's okay. This is just my opinion.

I prefer enclosures on the ground. In fact, I actually like keeping them in aviaries. I do understand that not everybody has the space for that though. One enclosure that I keep two japanese quails in is a modified dog kennel.

I have straw as the bedding and a dust bathing box full of dirt (that's their favourite part).

For water, I give my quails bowls that I replace the water in daily. I am not sure how a drip-line idea would work, someone else may be able to help with that.

 

[Happy Novogens]

How big and how many quail are we talking?

Most people use 1/2" hardware cloth and I did too but I'm in the process of replacing all my floors with 1/2" x 1" pvc coated 16ga welded wire. It's a smoother surface fir the quails feet and the bigger openings let the poop fall through better when dealing with Jumbo birds. The wire is also thicker which makes the floor more rigid....

I've ordered a dozen hatching eggs --jumbo coturnix. But it's my first time incubating, so not sure how many (if) I'll get.
Space is not a problem in our yard so I can go about any size.

I have seen your latest build with the slope and the great pvc feeding setup. I plan to use your feeding setup regardless of type of housing. I like the tips you've learned along the way to make the hutch more carefree.

thanks for the ideas!

 

[Happy Novogens]

Coturnix quail live on the ground naturally, so if you have the space, they would be happier on the ground. Here are a couple of pictures of my setup. I move the pens around to fresh grass during spring/summer and onto my garden beds during fall/winter so they can fertilize them.

Love the look of your setup! I know this may sound like a silly question, but how do you move the cage without them escaping? I assume there is no bottom. (I'm a newbie at this.)

I was wondering how this might work if we have a 'natural' landscape which means there is no grass but plenty of hard dirt/sand/gravel. (By hard, I mean that if we want to plant a plant, we use a pick-ax to dig a hole.)

 

[Happy Novogens]

I get what you mean about heat and little rain. In January, it got up to 47.5 degrees (117.5 F) where I live. How hot does it get where you live?

I prefer enclosures on the ground. In fact, I actually like keeping them in aviaries. I do understand that not everybody has the space for that though.

We get those temperatures in summer.

An aviary is a possibility as well. I guess that would mean lots of time spent hunting for eggs?My inexperience is preventing me from visualizing how all these options would be.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Further insights are welcome (and encouraged!!).

 

[mdees88]

I get what you mean about heat and little rain. In January, it got up to 47.5 degrees (117.5 F) where I live. How hot does it get where you live?

Please, nobody take offence from this, but I personally don't like wire-bottom hutches. I think its cruel to the quails because it can actually hurt their feet. I don't want to start an argument with anybody. If you disagree, that's okay. This is just my opinion.

I prefer enclosures on the ground. In fact, I actually like keeping them in aviaries. I do understand that not everybody has the space for that though. One enclosure that I keep two japanese quails in is a modified dog kennel.

I have straw as the bedding and a dust bathing box full of dirt (that's their favourite part).

For water, I give my quails bowls that I replace the water in daily. I am not sure how a drip-line idea would work, someone else may be able to help with that.

I don't think anyone will take offense to you not liking wire floors, it's just your opinion. Different strokes for different folks. But they might take offense to you calling it cruel, I think unnatural would be a better word. I have solid floors and wire floors in all my cages and the quail spend WAY more time on the wire. If all my quail piled on top of each other to stand on the dirt and never went out on the wire then maybe you could consider it cruel.

I'm not against keeping quail on wire floors or keeping them on the ground. They both have their pluses and minuses. I do agree that keeping quail on the ground is more natural but it has its risks as well, here's a few....

1) Keeping quail on the ground leaves them a lot more susceptible to diseases like Ulcerative Enteritis and Coccidiosis.
2) I live in the "rainiest" city in the US and we average 70" a year. A dirt floor would be more difficult to keep dry and a wet dirt floor would also increase the risk of diseases.
3) I deal with coyotes, foxes, hawks, raccoons, and opossums on a pretty regular basis (though the suppressed 22 has knocked a pretty big dent in the raccoon/opossum problem). I've had a hard enough time protecting my quail from predators in cages that are 42" off the ground. It would be even more difficult with ground level cages.

These are all things the OP has to consider when building the hutch....

I actually have a 200 sq ft area that the previous owner fenced off for their dogs. I've had the intention of turning it into a fly pen/aviary (with a natural floor) for the last 2 years. I will probably do that one day but the amount of predator proofing I will need to do has kept me from starting on it....

 

[Quailobsessed]

I don't think anyone will take offense to you not liking wire floors, it's just your opinion. Different strokes for different folks. But they might take offense to you calling it cruel, I think unnatural would be a better word. I have solid floors and wire floors in all my cages and the quail spend WAY more time on the wire. If all my quail piled on top of each other to stand on the dirt and never went out on the wire then maybe you could consider it cruel.

I'm not against keeping quail on wire floors (quality wire) or keeping them on the ground. They both have their pluses and minuses. I do agree that keeping quail on the ground is more natural but it has its risks as well, here's a few....

1) Keeping quail on the ground leaves them a lot more susceptible to diseases like Ulcerative Enteritis and Coccidiosis.
2) I live in the "rainiest" city in the US and we average 70" a year. A dirt floor would be more difficult to keep dry and a wet dirt floor would also increase the risk of diseases.
3) I deal with coyotes, foxes, hawks, raccoons, and opossums on a pretty regular basis (though the suppressed 22 has knocked a pretty big dent in the raccoon/opossum problem). I've had a hard enough time protecting my quail from predators in cages that are 42" off the ground. It would be even more difficult with ground level cages.

These are all things the OP has to consider when building the hutch....

I actually have a 200 sq ft area that the previous owner fenced off for their dogs. I've had the intention of turning it into a fly pen/aviary (with a natural floor) for the last 2 years. I will probably do that one day but the amount of predator proofing I will need to do has kept me from starting on it....

I understand there are advantages and disadvantages for both. Sorry if I offended you by calling it cruel. We've both expressed our opinions so lets just leave it at that. Thanks

 

[mdees88]

I understand there are advantages and disadvantages for both. Sorry if I offended you by calling it cruel. We've both expressed our opinions so lets just leave it at that. Thanks

No offense at all

I've ordered a dozen hatching eggs --jumbo coturnix. But it's my first time incubating, so not sure how many (if) I'll get.
Space is not a problem in our yard so I can go about any size.

I have seen your latest build with the slope and the great pvc feeding setup. I plan to use your feeding setup regardless of type of housing. I like the tips you've learned along the way to make the hutch more carefree.

thanks for the ideas!

Glad I could help. I just hatched around 80 quail yesterday, haven't got a final tally yet. Here's half of them....

So I used to run the humidity at 50% until lockdown then 65-70% during lockdown. I had very high hatch rates but I usually had a couple splay legs or curled toe birds hatch towards the very end. This time I kept the humidity between 35 and 40% and then kept it around 60% at lockdown and didn't have any splayed legs or curled toes.

I highly recommend buying a separate thermometer/hygrometer and checking it's accuracy. A lot of the ones on incubators are not very accurate.

Wish I knew what to do about the hot water. Did you see my float valve in the 2 gallon bucket that drains to chicken nipples on my 2.0 cage? You might could do the same thing but skip the bucket and mount the valve inside a 12" long piece of 3 or 4in PVC pipe instead. You could then mount the nipples to the bottom side of the PVC. It would hold less water than the bucket and if you bury the water hose they might drink it fast enough so it doesn't get too hot. Maybe.... here's a pic of what I'm talking about....

Surprisingly my water doesn't get too hot in the summer, The bucket only holds an inch or two of water in it and all of it is in the shade, plus with 20 nipples and 25 birds drinking off the same line, they keep the water moving a little bit. Burying the water hose feeding it or at least keeping it in the shade made a difference.

Good luck with your hatch. If you have any questions let me know...