Quail Aviary On Ground Any Advise?

[TinaandJohnny]

I’ve had my birds in an aviary for five years now. I really do believe they live better lives on the ground, unburdened by overcrowding.

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The current build is an add on plus the original aviary (the roofed section). The “garden side” has five grasses and a rosemary, while the oldest side has more cover clutter.

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In summer, I run sun shades from the aviary to the fence and the porch. A box fan fits perfectly into the structure by happy accident. Birds get frozen fruit and veg, and I leave a mister on during peak heat.

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For late fall and winter, I just up the level of cover and seal off the lower part of the old aviary with tarp or plastic sheeting. This is the first year I have provided supplemental heat in the form of heating pads because some of my oldies get really cold without a warm place to sleep.

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The quail usually lay in predictable nests, making harvesting eggs much easier.

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You can also get more broody behavior in a setting with more space, and especially more cover. A big space is worthless if you aren’t filling it up with “furniture” that breaks up line of sight and offers birds a means of escaping unwanted attention of all sorts.

Please raise your birds on the ground! Quail with space and security are very fun to watch, and if you habituate them to your presence they’re easy to hand feed. Good luck, keep us updated on your planning!

Hey!! So we are now onto the quail coop project on the ground! I was wondering how tall you think would be a safe height? My max height I could go is probably 8 ft just because we’re building it inside my other pen for safety. What do you think about for 6ft. I also was going to tack up some small hole netting along the roof in case they do jump, they’ll smack their heads on something a little softer. My young ones are real jumpy, not so much the older girls though. Let me know what you think!