Quail Aviary 2.0

[le_bwah]

Almost into the swing of things now—more and more hens are hopping on the egg-laying train every day. This is what five days worth of collection looks like. Pretty, but also confirms I've got two celadon layers in the flock. Now to figure out who lays what...

 

[le_bwah]

Had my first ever escape—Peggy the scaredy-hen made a run for it. Luckily she hit a window before getting far Big nets are handy when keeping quails...

 

[le_bwah]

The hens are handling early summer well. Frozen treats and their "wading pool" seem to help. They spend most of their downtime these last few months under the shade of freshly-watered grasses. When they aren't resting or sunbathing, they're quite active: digging holes, climbing the scenery, and scratching for loose bugs and seeds.

But a few look skinnier than I'd like, and one has what appears to be slight feather loss over her hips. No other indication of illness/parasites, but I'm keeping an eye out...

 

[le_bwah]

If I go a day without gathering eggs, guaranteed a few of my girls will start sitting on them. Poppy seems to be the best candidate for mother hen—I'm sorely tempted to order some hatching eggs to see if she can take them all the way.

I've got a fly problem for the first time this year—probably all the melon rinds I've been leaving in the cage . The birds don't seem to notice (or eat) them, but I'm cleaning up and putting traps out to be safe.

One of my hens has a broken/dislocated wing—splinting doesn't appear to be an option. Not an emergency yet, but just in case...anybody here ever hear of amputation working for quail?

 

[ozzie]

I love your aviary. Have you had any problems with rats digging into the run area?

Also do they sleep in the covered roofed area or do they just sleep wherever?

 

[le_bwah]

I love your aviary. Have you had any problems with rats digging into the run area?

Also do they sleep in the covered roofed area or do they just sleep wherever?

Thank you!

Zero problems with rodents. We live along a canal and by a field—I was worried at first, but no sign after three years. The aviary has a wire skirt, mostly for neighborhood dogs, but they haven't been an issue either. Both the birds and their eggs are safe.

The gals sleep in the grasses and along the 2x6 base closest to the fence. They seem to have favorite spots and muscle each other out of the way if another bird encroaches. I have a couple pairs of hens who sleep with their wings tucked together, nestled head-to-tail. It's pretty cute.

Random photo from today—they expected me to bring treats, not a camera:

 

[ozzie]

Thank you for your reply (And the pics). We had quail a while back and had them in a tractor system over garden beds (I prefer keeping them on the ground rather than raised on cages). I did have hardwire cloth underneath the tractor but something dug under the tractor and pulled all their legs off one night. I had to cull them all. The poor things were just flapping around amputated. I think it was likely a rat. The hole wasn’t big enough for a cat. I was too traumatized to try quail again. But your set up gives e hope that I can do so with the wire skirt around the perimeter to deter rats. Currently have bantam chickens but am thinking about venturing back into quail again some time soon. Thanks again.

 

[le_bwah]

Thank you for your reply (And the pics). We had quail a while back and had them in a tractor system over garden beds (I prefer keeping them on the ground rather than raised on cages). I did have hardwire cloth underneath the tractor but something dug under the tractor and pulled all their legs off one night. I had to cull them all. The poor things were just flapping around amputated. I think it was likely a rat. The hole wasn’t big enough for a cat. I was too traumatized to try quail again. But your set up gives e hope that I can do so with the wire skirt around the perimeter to deter rats. Currently have bantam chickens but am thinking about venturing back into quail again some time soon. Thanks again.

No problem, and happy you're looking into quail again. I'm pretty sure there are a handful of users here who use a garden bed system—if you start a thread on the topic, you could probably get help specific to your setup, too.

 

[ozzie]

I converted the chicken run to the Quail Lodgings. Bag End . The chickens have full run of the backyard right now. Anyway it looks a bit barren on the inside. They have all the necessary essentials but I noticed you use fake Christmas trees in your aviary? I have an old fake tree that I am thinking of getting rid of anyway but the fake pine needles fall out (hence me wanting to get rid of it)? Do you have that problem with your fake trees? I am just worried the quail will eat it - mistaking it for grass. Every year when I put the tree up I have to sweep under it for the fake pine needles falling out. It will probably end up in the run. At the moment there’s only 4 quail (Frodo, Bilbo, Merry and Pippin) in there. Haven’t worked out if they are boys/girls - they aren’t feather sexable. I have another dozen in the incubator. Hoping to keep about 10-15 in there depending on the roo/hen ratios.

 

[QuailTail]

If I go a day without gathering eggs, guaranteed a few of my girls will start sitting on them. Poppy seems to be the best candidate for mother hen—I'm sorely tempted to order some hatching eggs to see if she can take them all the way.

I've got a fly problem for the first time this year—probably all the melon rinds I've been leaving in the cage . The birds don't seem to notice (or eat) them, but I'm cleaning up and putting traps out to be safe.

One of my hens has a broken/dislocated wing—splinting doesn't appear to be an option. Not an emergency yet, but just in case...anybody here ever hear of amputation working for quail?

This has been a super interesting thread, thanks for sharing everything! Those are super sweet cane houses you have in there, where did you get them?

Did you have any luck with your hen with the injured wing?
And how are the plants faring? I'm about to plant out my aviary and would love to know what you'd suggest now that you've lived through a few varieties!