Quail on Deep Litter - Why it Works

[paneubert]

I am going to bump this thread so more people hopefully read it. I will contribute a photo as well so that this post was not a complete waste

 

[Cherhill]

Thank you Quailsong (and other contributors) for the fantastic and thorough information.

I originally didn't want to get quail because I really didn't like the idea of raising them on wire. It just bothered me and didn't seem "natural". But then I didn't want to have to go hunting for little eggs either.

I now feel confident enough to proceed with finishing the aviary and having them in my coop (in their own pen) over the winter (I am also in Canada). So they will have a summer home and a winter home. LOL

I was going to use deep litter this winter for my chickens and now with a few minor modifications, the quail can have that too. This thread makes me feel SO much better. Thank you!

 

[ketojenn]

i plan to keep quail on my balcony, will deep litter work there? or will i need to put in some initial soil microlife to start the composting process? they'll be on tiles on top of the concrete balcony to allow water to drain away

Do you have horse stall pellets available there? I use these in my brooders and it works amazingly well at keeping down odor. I hatched out 60+ quail last Monday and haven't needed to change it yet. They just stir it up and the poo falls to the bottom and stays covered. If you do try deep litter, I'd definitely add dirt to the mix. My adults are on bare ground. Again, I never need to do much, just turn the dirt over now and again. No smell or bugs hanging around.

Babies on pellets.

In my opinion shavings smell awful very quickly and need constant refreshing/changing.

Aviary with dirt floor. There was greenery until they arrived, now it's pretty barren. lol It does not smell. At all.

Good luck!

 

[peepsnbunnies]

This a nice, well written article! I think I will try this method this winter.

 

[GhislaineDel]

How tall is your coop?

 

[amandacv86]

I have most of mine on the ground in my aviary and I love the deep litter method! I just stir it in every once in a while with my garden cultivator. Only problem is sometimes the eggs get buried when they scratch. Picked up 3 roosters on Saturday and keeping them in a cage with a wire bottom temporarily for quarantine, and it smells horrible after just two days.

I'm going to be hatching about 50 eggs starting tomorrow and I'm planning on making hutches using the deep litter method for them, too.

 

[amandacv86]

That would be a great idea, except our lawn mower doesn't have a bag attached. I wish!

I ended up losing two of those roosters. Thought because I lived in the city I didn't have to worry about predators, and I found out the hard way I was wrong. One disappeared and I just see feathers, the other got it's head pulled through and chewed off. The front is lined with 1/2 inch hardware cloth now and while I had him out I put more dirt in.

 

[amandacv86]

When the deep litter was new and fresh, it was fluffier, and easier for the eggs to get buried as they scratch. I started out with wood shavings and haven't replaced it in a year. It still doesn't look dirty and doesn't smell at all. I just stir it when it's starting to look poopy. They don't get buried as much anymore.

Plus after a while you know where they usually lay their eggs, mine like the corners or under the bench I have so I can sit out there with my cockatiels. Its so worth it to me to have them happier.

 

[flg8r]

I took a few more pictures for you, maybe it would give you a better idea. A little bit of hay does get through but the vast majority of it stays put. Even what falls stays right under the cage. If it's really close to your pool though, a ledge or lip around it is a good idea.

First, super cuteness of quail excited over new, fluffy hay, there are three hiding!



With the door open. There is hay near the edge, but very little comes out. It gets stomped down. (Two of the quail above are buried right in the middle.)



Side view of the other coop that opens from the top, so all the hay is up against wire on the sides. That's about 3" deep there but only the top inch is loose.

 

[marksouth]

I have a new bedding since I've moved to deep bed. I have a bag on my lawnmower and ran over a pile of leaves and then emptied the bag and ran over it again. I repeated this four times until the leaves were mulched up to the size i wanted, the girls love pecking around in it and its free.