Quail flooring

[RoosterML]

Stupid question! How exactly do you wash the sand??!?

I don’t think it’s worth washing it yourself.
Cheap enough to buy new if you find a local landscape supply or quarry you can buy in bulk. Bring 5 gallon pails and fill them up

 

[NY Coturnix]

Get one of those kids beach playsets. Usually comes with a bucket, a little shovel and a sifter. I found that to work great to sift out the sand every couple days. I tried a couple of the kitty litter scoopers but found them too big. Just a cheep beach sand sifter you'd get at Walmart or the dollar store.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Stupid question! How exactly do you wash the sand??!?

I sift the sand, then I wash it in a bucket by hand, rinsing it several times. You can add a capful of vinegar to the wash if you want to disinfect. Then, dry it out in the sun and reuse.

I suppose it's cheap enough to buy a new batch, but I usually end up washing the first batch too. The sand at the store is pretty dirty to begin with. Besides, the grass loves the used sand water, filled with nitrogen for fertilizer.

 

[Quail 66]

I sift the sand, then I wash it in a bucket by hand, rinsing it several times. You can add a capful of vinegar to the wash if you want to disinfect. Then, dry it out in the sun and reuse.

I suppose it's cheap enough to buy a new batch, but I usually end up washing the first batch too. The sand at the store is pretty dirty to begin with. Besides, the grass loves the used sand water, filled with nitrogen for fertilizer.

wow! deep thinking. I never thought of that. I don't have any plants. I planted 2 potatoes yesterday in an empty pot out of curiosity ( pathetic hahaha!!!)

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

wow! deep thinking. I never thought of that. I don't have any plants. I planted 2 potatoes yesterday in an empty pot out of curiosity ( pathetic hahaha!!!)

Don't put the potatoes in with the birds. I'm not sure if they can eat potatoes, but the plant belongs to the nightshade family, so I'd opt for something else. There are a number of easy other choices, including wheat berries, alfalfa and if you can get it, malabar spinach. The birds will devour these, but the first two only take a few days to grow and the malabar spinach can be taken out to regrow leaves.

If you're growing plants indoors, get an LED grow light. They're inexpensive and don't use too much energy. The wheat and alfalfa sprouts probably don't need them but other bigger plants do.

 

[Bird_Lover_17]

Answering Original Question: I hang up my waterers/feeders to prevent them from getting it dirty

I use sand and I have no issue, I just clean it out (w/ a kitty litter scoop) during the week. I have a lot of quail, so I end up just changing the sand every Saturday. The old sand I use as pet-safe ice melt in the winter.

 

[Quail 66]

Don't put the potatoes in with the birds. I'm not sure if they can eat potatoes, but the plant belongs to the nightshade family, so I'd opt for something else. There are a number of easy other choices, including wheat berries, alfalfa and if you can get it, malabar spinach. The birds will devour these, but the first two only take a few days to grow and the malabar spinach can be taken out to regrow leaves.

If you're growing plants indoors, get an LED grow light. They're inexpensive and don't use too much energy. The wheat and alfalfa sprouts probably don't need them but other bigger plants do.

No, no. Don't worry. The pot isn't in the cage.I know they should not eat potatoes. Thank you for the reminder. The potatoes are just an experiment. I want to see if they will grow without me doing anything . I barely have time for the quails. We are again in lockdown but this time I'm from the few that works because of my specialty. Rapid test every week, cleaning and desinfecting again and again, getting home at night through empty streets with special permission papers. It's like a movie.
I'm sad. I put all the birds inside again because it's going to snow and the temperature will drop way below zero, but this time nobody is getting along with anybody and everybody is pecking at my handicap little quail. The poor thing is so stressed. She looks like she's lost the will to live. And one of her eyes is a little red. I put her alone. I had to make 5 different sections!! Should I wash her eye with chamomile?

 

[Nabiki]

No, no. Don't worry. The pot isn't in the cage.I know they should not eat potatoes. Thank you for the reminder. The potatoes are just an experiment. I want to see if they will grow without me doing anything . I barely have time for the quails. We are again in lockdown but this time I'm from the few that works because of my specialty. Rapid test every week, cleaning and desinfecting again and again, getting home at night through empty streets with special permission papers. It's like a movie.
I'm sad. I put all the birds inside again because it's going to snow and the temperature will drop way below zero, but this time nobody is getting along with anybody and everybody is pecking at my handicap little quail. The poor thing is so stressed. She looks like she's lost the will to live. And one of her eyes is a little red. I put her alone. I had to make 5 different sections!! Should I wash her eye with chamomile?

The hard part about potatoes isn't growing them, it's getting rid of them. Keep them in the pot. I planted some in a garden bed one year, and I was digging them up for the next 4 years.

 

[Quail 66]

The hard part about potatoes isn't growing them, it's getting rid of them. Keep them in the pot. I planted some in a garden bed one year, and I was digging them up for the next 4 years.

thanks nabiki, you made me laugh!

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

The hard part about potatoes isn't growing them, it's getting rid of them. Keep them in the pot. I planted some in a garden bed one year, and I was digging them up for the next 4 years.

@Quail 66 Sweet potatoes are awesome though. Although they look like potatoes, they are from the morning glory family of plants and you can even eat the leaves. Those, I don't mind digging up and seeing regrow. (As you can see, I'm better at plants than I am at quail.)