quail coop

[chickbird]

YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE A SOLID WOOD FLOOR AS IT WILL NEED CLEANING ALMOST EVERY DAY. THE POOP WILL STICK TO THE WOOD AND YOU WILL LOSE YOUR QUAIL TO DISEASE. BOTTOM,SIDES CAN BE DONE WITH 1/2 INCH HARDWARE CLOTHE FROM LOWES OR HOME DEPOT. THE TOP UNLESS INSIDE SHOULD BE OF TIN OR SHINGLES SO THAT IT IS DRY. I GET THE CARDBOARD TRAYS FROM WALMART THAT DRINKS COME IN AND I PUT ONE OF THESE IN EACH CAGE SO THEY CAN GET OFF THE WIRE AS NEEDED. WHEN THEY BECOME SOILED, I THROW AWAY AND PUT IN A FRESH. ONE. THE 1/2 INCH HARDWARE CLOTH WILL PREVENT RATS,MICE, SNAKES FROM GETTING IN . GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LOOK ON THIS SITE AT THE QUAIL COOPS/PENS PEOPLE BUILD AND GET SOME IDEAS, SOME EVEN USE THE WOOD SLATS FROM PALLETS AS THE FRAME FOR ATTACHING THE WIRE AND THESE CAN BE FOUND TO BE FREE OF CHARGE.

 

[jbobs]

I too highly dissagree about quail being on solid floors. A solid floor is okay if they have deep bedding that is changed frequently and the density of birds in low (ie you have 2 or 3 in an indoor cage as pets) but if you want a number of quail and plan to keep them outside, a wire floor is the best option. It keeps the feces away from the quail, prevents it from sticking to their feet and causing hard fecal balls that can rot off your birds' feet and toes if not removed right away, and access to feces and dirt can cause a buildup of coccidia, giardia, parasites and other pathogens that will affect the health of your birds. The best option in my opinion is to have a wire floor with boxes of hay and boxes of sand that they can go into for bathing and sleeping and nesting. These boxes can be thrown out when they get grungy and the bedding inside changed as needed. I have a long article on my blog all about the pros and cons of housing methods for quail and what to consider when building a quail pen:

http://epicquailblog.blogspot.ca/p/housing-for-quail.html

Use 1/2 inch hardware cloth for the floor and for the sides as well - chicken wire is not sturdy enough to keep predators out.

 

[Nathanya]

ok thank you very much i will not make a sold floor with shavings anymore. I will make plans for a coop with a wire floor, so that cleanup will be a lot easier.

 

[mossypath]

Quote:Jbobs

Jbobs,
Very nice article.
Thank You!!
Tammy

 

[Nathanya]

thanks everybody for the help

 

[TheRealTimShady]

one of my coops is a 1/3 solid floor and 2/3 cloth bottom, i keep it pretty heavily bedded in there with about 30 birds in the coop. it requires cleaning about every week, i move the bedding around so its not just poop on the top part

but yea, cloth bottoms are the way to go no doubt.

 

[Nathanya]

ok thaks i will try to make mine with 1/4 inch gauge wire with should work pretty welll

 

[TheRealTimShady]

use 1/2" on the bottom, promise me, i used 1/4" to start on the bottom, poo doesn't fall thru, i would have to scrape it off with a grill brush. Ended up ripping it out and putting 1/2"

 

[Nathanya]

oh ok thanks for the tip i will return the roll of quarter inch before i open it and switch for half inch thanks a lot

 

[TheRealTimShady]

yea its a good idea, the 1/4" was a nightmare.