Quail Aviary 2.0

[le_bwah]

Late to the party, but wow @le_bwah your quails are so lucky! When I set up my quail enclosure I want to do something similar but much shorter. I especially like the muhly grass - it gives kind of a desert vibe of sorts.

This is an helpful thread, especially for planting ideas. Originally I wanted to make a quail biotope, with grass species native to wild quail habitats, but they would be difficult to source, not to mention potentially introducing invasive species into my area.

The quail seem to love it so far. I have a feeling they'll love it even more next year, when all the grasses are a bit bushier. Muhly grass grows well in sandier soil and drier climates, which is fine for where I'm at.

Depending on how short you want your enclosure, you might get quicker inspiration searching for people's "quail tractors" rather than quail pens. You could build something short over a raised bed for better viewing/maintenance/egg collection.

As great as it would be to plant them a tiny native habitat, it's more practical and feasible to plant what's bird-safe and grows well in your climate. If the plants are native to your location, all the better.

 

[le_bwah]

Got more muhly planted today. Turns out each pot contained two grasses—seems I have six for the price of three .

They've left the grasses mostly alone, only a peck here or there out of curiosity. Everything else is given much more "attention."

Will be a bit difficult to walk in here once those grasses fill in—might have to take a shovel to the ones closest to the "path" a year or so from now. Colorful and nice-smelling things will go toward the front, potted until I can tell which ones the quail leave alone.

Here's Lady hanging out under some coleus.

Cooked and ate my bad roo today—I feel a tiny bit better about killing him now that I know he was delicious. Also made some polymer clay "eggs" that will hopefully get the girls to lay in the more accessible nesting spots. I'll get around to painting some test patches of hardware cloth on the weekend—it's been rainy lately but I want to do the painting outside.

 

[le_bwah]

Little Lady loves her leaves.

 

[Fishkeeper]

That's adorable! If they leave it alone, I'd plant the coleus in the ground, let it get big, for them to hide under.
Where did you get the mushrooms, again? They're really nice. I would have thought they were real if not for how big they are.

 

[Sky5678]

@le_bwah Under the assumption that you'll be using a deep litter system for your new aviary (correct me if I'm wrong!) how would you add new litter in or mix it up when the grasses fill in?

 

[le_bwah]

That's adorable! If they leave it alone, I'd plant the coleus in the ground, let it get big, for them to hide under.
Where did you get the mushrooms, again? They're really nice. I would have thought they were real if not for how big they are.

Thanks! I love how coleus looks, but between the slugs and the quail it doesn't look like it'll survive in the ground. I'll move some of it into taller pots—others will have to be put outside the aviary. The metal mushrooms are from Fred Meyer (parent company is Kroger).

@le_bwah Under the assumption that you'll be using a deep litter system for your new aviary (correct me if I'm wrong!) how would you add new litter in or mix it up when the grasses fill in?

If I do deep litter in the "garden room," it will only need turned over once a week based on how active they are in there. I'd add new material every two or three weeks, and only really turn it over where there's a lot of poop. Also, these species of grass have soft and flexible leaves that can be held out of the way if need be.

Edit: It'd be more of a deep bedding than a deep litter. That's another method to look into!

 

[el dorado quail]

If those mushrooms glowed in the dark that would be stupendoussss

 

[le_bwah]

If those mushrooms glowed in the dark that would be stupendoussss

Once they got really rusty, I was going to repaint them like Amanita muscaria for that classic toadstool look. But a bioluminescent mushroom—that's way more fun! As long as the paint is non-toxic (or sealable) it'd be fine for the birds/plants.

Can you imagine a giant clump of these "growing" from that log... because now I can .

 

[el dorado quail]

Once they got really rusty, I was going to repaint them like Amanita muscaria for that classic toadstool look. But a bioluminescent mushroom—that's way more fun! As long as the paint is non-toxic (or sealable) it'd be fine for the birds/plants.

View attachment 1733298
Can you imagine a giant clump of these "growing" from that log... because now I can .

Definitely super cool.

 

[le_bwah]

The yard itself is starting to come together. I designed the aviary to be a focal point—now we're arranging the rock rings around specific lines of sight.

The other ring should take a day or two to level, then we can move in the rest of the gravel, then we rake over the dirt, then we plant. Whew! Work is almost done.

Birds never seemed to mind the noise/movement. They've been eating everything I put in there (aside from the Muhly grass) quite happily. I'm testing Rustoleum on the cloth tomorrow—will report the results a few days out.