(pic) Is this quail cage too tall?

[Pineapple]

I have been building this for several weeks. It is 23" tall.

Today somebody told me that it is too tall for quail.

I had planned to build it very sturdy so that it would last a long time and I could use it for finches or diamond doves at a later date if I wanted to.

Do I need to cut it down for quail and forget about finches/doves? If so, to what height?

How real is the possibility of a bird breaking its neck by hitting the ceiling?

 

[DK newbie]

The possibility is pretty real, but you don't need to cut it down. You can pad the top so they won't get hurt if they boink. Foam rubber works well and you should be able to figure out a way to make it easy to remove.

 

[Pineapple]

Thank you. I am stupid, so I want to make sure--what exactly do you mean by "foam rubber?"

 

[DK newbie]

http://www.rollsheetrubber.com/html_l.aspx?id=490
something like that. probably doesn't have to be as thick and it doesn't need the wave pattern. We took an old couch apart a few moths ago and I used the foam sheets in it to pad a cage

 

[ChickenLegs13]

You can staple in some of that orange or green plastic garden/construction fence like you get at HD and TSC as a ceiling below the roof.

 

[UniqueQuail]

My cages I made are that size and the birds are doing great.

 

[QuailSoup]

I've been digging around looking at quail runs and the majority of cages are much taller to prevent the birds from hurting themselves, but as DK Newbie said, rubber foam should prevent serious injuries

As for the likely hood of the quails getting scared and hurting themselves, it is a factor that is dependent on how tame your quail is but is also partially to do with the breed also, for example, Bobwhites are more susceptible to becoming frightened and boinking than a Coturnix quail (they can still boink too though!)

Good luck with your quail!

 

[eHuman]

I currently keep mine in 8" tall 2'x3' masonry tubs with 1' tall cages built over them, with 3" of deep litter. They were dust bathing by 5 days old. I just started on my aviary today, it will be 8' deep by 16' wide with a 32" roof overhang where the doors are when it is finished. A wall will separate it into two 8'x8' sectons one for breeders community run and one for meat grow out. The cages will be used for selective breeding and medical/aggression isolation kept on a shelf at the rear.

 

[Pineapple]

Thank you all. This is very helpful. I plan to keep Coturnix although I did see some really pretty dark reddish bobwhites recently.

 

[mporche]

I keep mine in these.4x10.