Quail and the COLD.

[thekid]

throw a tarp over it

 

[TheRealTimShady]

lol that would work, i'm building the coop now, and i'm making it half in, half out, so that they can go indoors when they want to nest...play in sand...stuff like that

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote:
I built mine in a similar fashion as I wanted to give my quail a natural setting. So I built them a large outdoor aviary attached to a small greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse, sharing the same wall as the aviary, is a large rabbit coop. I cut a hole in the greenhouse, basically a pop hole, so the quail could go in and out of the coop in the greenhouse for warmth, nesting and doing what ever it is they wanted to do in there. They tend to sleep outside in the aviary most of the year long, but come winter, they use this inside coop nearly every night.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I'm going to disagree with you on that part since mine did have a place to get out of the elements. This is their pen, closed on top, 2/3 of the floor (probably closer to 3/4), and three sides. They also have an area (to the right) that is completely enclosed except for a small 4" x 4" opening for them to go to the outside. I still lost between 7 and 9 birds.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

my coop is looking alot like yours shelley, maybe i should put a door on the open side so that if they don't move inside at night i can reach in and kinda...push them towards it, was thinking about running a light from my window to the coop(my master bedroom window will be facing the coop in the back yard) with maybe a 40/60watt bulb so i can turn it on at night, but i'm not sure how much heat those lights give off all night, might be to much?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Mine had either a 60 or 100 watt light bulb in it last winter ('09-'10) when I had one in there and they all stayed in the closed part where the light was.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

alright then, i might go with a 40/60 then b/c i am in a warmer zone then you are, should be fine, is there any lights out there that will still give off heat, but not interrupt their sleep patternss?

 

[shelleyd2008]

You can get a ceramic heat emitter but the 24-hour a day lighting didn't affect mine.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote:
I'm going to disagree with you on that part since mine did have a place to get out of the elements. This is their pen, closed on top, 2/3 of the floor (probably closer to 3/4), and three sides. They also have an area (to the right) that is completely enclosed except for a small 4" x 4" opening for them to go to the outside. I still lost between 7 and 9 birds.
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/...rnix and pen pics/broodycoturnixandpen001.jpg

Vents in near the roof to allow moisture out is a good thing. But to have a complete open side or any part of the floor renders this coop as poor shelter in cold weather. Imagine a quarter of your house open to the air, wouldn't matter where you were in the house, you would be freezing to death.

There is no bedding to snuggle into on a partially open floor, too much room for wind. You do not have a winterized coop here. Sorry.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I'm going to disagree with you on that part since mine did have a place to get out of the elements. This is their pen, closed on top, 2/3 of the floor (probably closer to 3/4), and three sides. They also have an area (to the right) that is completely enclosed except for a small 4" x 4" opening for them to go to the outside. I still lost between 7 and 9 birds.
http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/...rnix and pen pics/broodycoturnixandpen001.jpg

Vents in near the roof to allow moisture out is a good thing. But to have a complete open side or any part of the floor renders this coop as poor shelter in cold weather. Imagine a quarter of your house open to the air, wouldn't matter where you were in the house, you would be freezing to death.

There is no bedding to snuggle into on a partially open floor, too much room for wind. You do not have a winterized coop here. Sorry.

The open side and open floor are on the same area, they mainly sleep in the closed-in side when the weather is cold. So imagine it as 2 separate coops: 1 with 4 solid walls, a solid roof, and a solid floor, with just a 4" x 4" opening to go outside; then the other 'coop' having 3 solid sides, solid roof, and 1/2 the floor solid. I had them in completely open cages the winter before with nothing more than a cardboard box (with 4" x 4" openings cut out for entry) and they did fine...same basic concept.