Quail housing help

[angiec]

I'm really new at this. I have my first batch of bobwhite eggs in the incubator now. My cage is now in progress. I've sectioned off about a third of my orchid room. They'll have plenty of ground area. It currently has a pebble floor but I plan to cover it with a mulch media that I can replace to clean. I want to add some branches for a more natural habitat. We're building them a housing area within the cage. Hope to finish this weekend. All this work - I sure hope my eggs hatch!!!

 

[Sethc]

They look brilliant and have a better idea about the design now. Still deciding whether I want a raised hutch or a ground based hutch.

dmb13 I would recommend a raised hutch so you wont have to sit on the ground to clean it and if you live somewhere with snow It won't get as much snow inside with your quail. That is just my opinion and I don't know what conditions you have so I wish you the best of luck and hope you get your perfect hutch.

 

[DMB13]

dmb13 I would recommend a raised hutch so you wont have to sit on the ground to clean it and if you live somewhere with snow It won't get as much snow inside with your quail. That is just my opinion and I don't know what conditions you have so I wish you the best of luck and hope you get your perfect hutch.

Thanks Sethc I am in the UK. We have had a few cold winters lately and lots of snow so think you are right may be best to have a raised hutch. It would be easier for cleaning you are right.

Hopefully will pick up or build something soon can't wait to get started

 

[DMB13]

Just to check with everyone. Would this sort of design be suitable for keep quail?

http://ana-white.com/2012/05/plans/frame-chicken-coop

 

[Weirdness555]

Hi there, I'm also in the uk with coturnix quail We keep ours in an aviary with budgies on top, mostly because we already had the budgie aviary and we wanted something for the floor. If you keep your quail on wire, make sure that they have places where they have a solid floor, because being on wire full time can lead to feet problems.

Also, coturnix should be kept with other coturnix, keeping one on it's own isn't a great idea, as it might cause her to be stressed and reduce egg production.

 

[Weirdness555]

Also, that chicken house, the quail will almost certainly not go up into the coop part, so that's a bit of a waste of space. I'd say you might be better with a hutch, due to ease of access more than anything. Also you'd need to make sure that predators and rodents can't dig into it from underneath.

 

[DMB13]

Thanks for the reply Weirdness! Good to see somebody else from the UK.

I am thinking if getting around 5-6 so just looking for something small scale. Have read the ground vs wire debates and think I would like to keep them on the ground.

Maybe a different designed ground hutch would be better?

 

[DMB13]

Also what type of quail do you keep?

 

[Weirdness555]

If you don't want something the height of an aviary, I've seen someone on here who keeps their quail in low, square cages on the floor... If you're going to keep them on the ground, it's important to put wire in under the soil to stop predators digging in, as quail are tasty and easy to catch inside a cage. It's easily done, just make/buy a cage completely enclosed with wire and put a 2' layer of top soil on top of the bottom wire so they can't hurt their feet. However, with these cages you can't make an airlock so when you open the top you risk a quail jumping out and making a break for it.

If you build/buy an aviary, you can get inside easily to clean and egg collect, however it will be more expensive.

A lot of it depends on your situation, and since you seem to prefer the low cages I'd say that might be better for you. I'll go and find a link to the ones I saw.

 

[Weirdness555]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/280575/show-me-you-quail-pens The pens I mentioned were in this thread somewhere, and there are loads of other options too, so have a look through