Quail on Deep Litter - Why it Works

[amandacv86]

Thanks! I think they're golden or a golden/manchurian mix. I forgot to say what's in there lol. I see how it looks like only hay. There's actually mostly composted leaves, aspen shavings, hay, oyster shell, and my birds food leftovers(seeds and pellets). The hay kind of floats on top while trying to mix it.

 

[quailswiss]

Quailsong, a big THANK YOU to sharing your knowledge and taking the time to answer my questions. Following on from your post I have found lots of info on the web about deep litter for chicken and learnt a lot. Am I right in observing that quail, being smaller and having smaller beaks, scratch less efficiently than chicken? I noticed that they only really scratch up light, dry, quite fine bedding. moist earth gets trampled down. Same for the wood shavings/dust, if it gets too wet it clumps up .

The ash in particular is a good suggestion! We have just installed a wood burning stove and so have lots of ash. I'll check with the wood turner about the cedar, maybe he is willing to just keep me a bag of shavings.

Can you use paper shreddings? I use them as worm bedding and they absorb moisture and decompose fairly quickly.

I too have noticed that most importantly the bedding needs to be dry. They just seem a bit unhappy when they are on moist ground. And it smells more, too.

I feed my worms just kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. The contamination happened, I think, when I got carried away and added worms from the heap that had fresh litter from the adults mixed in. Thanks for the suggestions on curing the diarrhea.

Black soldier fly are not native to my area, and house fly maggots would never be allowed by my family, but I have started a meal worm colony in some crushed dry bread I get from the bakery. They do smell, though, and I also read that they are quite fatty and not a suitable exclusive source of food for quail.

So I am reluctant to abandon the earthworms entirely. I will definitely be more careful about what I feed them, though, to keep them separate from the litter waste stream. Surely if they eat what we eat there cannot be a big problem? Ideally I would love the quail to be able to dig out the worms from finished compost themselves. The chicks are getting better at it, adding scratch might encourage them more.

 

[Quailsong]

Amanda, I understand now! I actually use a similar set-up for my nest boxes. Shavings on bottom & long grass that floats on top. This encourages my quail to nest there & seems to keep the eggs cleaner. Or I'm just lucky so far. :S

For the rest of the deep litter: Why not toss the hay on the lawn, mow over it & collect it with the lawnmower bag. This way it's chopped up all nice & short enough to mix in the DL without 'floating'.

Quailswiss, I'm glad my thoughts could help you out!

I def have noticed my quail don't scratch as much as my chickens do. However they do dustbathe more if the deep litter is fluffy enough. I figure it also depends on how early the birds were introduced to a deep litter floor. The earlier the better for sure. This is why I recommend the hand rake to toss up shavings (encouraging them) & that the deep litter be 2-4 inches deep; rather than half a foot or more with chickens. Even just a few inches is more than effective enough for quail.

Sure you can use paper shreddings, but you'd have to make sure that the ink is safe. Some countries/states/provinces have laws stating what types of ink can be used, others don't really care. I'd ask your local state/province & newspaper company. I'd leave magazines alone & any other shiny papers. Esp nothing with scents stuck in them. If you feel the newspaper is safe to put in your veggie garden, then it's probably safe for quail. The ink may stain their feet though if it gets wet!

As for worms, I don't know enough about the subject that deeply to say yes/no. But I will say this: We don't know what type of bacteria is in the worm bin. Even household foods could contain bad things (hence why we need to cook some stuff). From my understanding, the bacteria tends to sit in the worm's gut, & be pooped out, rather than fully digested (like say mealworms), this is the potentially dangerous part.

BUT, I think if a bird has a healthy immune system, beneficial bacteria in its gut, & a varied diet (like not solely eating worms) that it should be fine. Naturally, caution should be taken & a watchful eye is needed. So if you do go this way, start small & work your way up. Toss in small piles of compost with a few worms & see how they do that week. Then, add more till you feel comfy with what you're working with.

I'm sure if your quail were older & had rock hard immune systems that you could potentially have them eating your garden compost/worms as well. But of course there's more risks with that. It depends on so many factors though (esp local), so it's really up to you & what you feel comfortable with.

As an aside, I once raised baby robins as a kid & all they ever ate was garden worms + seeded baby pablum. It was disgusting watching how fast the worms would digest right through them. It was like all they had were big mouths & butts. But they were truly wild birds, so it makes sense that their immune systems were built perfectly for that. Still, super gross..

 

[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.

 

[marksouth]

Doesn't it break your heart to learn the hard way, join the club. Sorry for your birds!

 

[amandacv86]

Yes! I still don't know how a whole bird got out of there!

 

[quailswiss]

Quailsong, I wanted to thank you for putting me up to this.

I have both my brooder and my main cage on deep litter now since your post, so about two weeks, and asked a sensitive-nosed visitor how she thought the main cage smelled, and she said, nice, a bit earthy. Before even I could smell the stink at the end of the week.

I keep the litter nice and dry and once a day muss it up with a rake, plus scatter some scratch.

The littl'uns are better at scratching and digging, as they have learned that that's how they can find food. Definitely worth starting them young.

My new bag of bought sawdust for the brooder is still untouched...

Like you suggested, I used a mix of what I have on hand making sure it is neither too wet nor too dusty. The quail seem content.

 

[Quailsong]

Thank you guys for your support & replies! Also, letting you folks know I'm taking a bit of a forum hiatus this fall/winter for my artwork. I'm finally moved in enough that I can get back into my groove & need my creative attentions where it's due.

Amanda, pretty much nothing should be grabbing that quail through 1/2" wire mesh. At least not to the extent that it's getting its head chewed off. It could be possible a raccoon has figured out how to open your cage. Is it locked up at all?

Even though mine are secured in my chicken coop, I use metal latches held tight by carabiners. I'm sure if I had to worry about something opening the latches I'd use a padlock or combination lock. To my knowledge, racoons have yet to pick either of these.

A trick for those who don't have a lawnmower bag: Let the grass get a bit longer, then let the clippings fall where you've already mowed & then finally rake it up. This way you're not mowing over it again into tiny bits too small to rake.

Best of luck, everyone! Please keep this thread going with your awesome adventures in deep litter!

 

[thegoatpacker]

Really informative post and want to try it. One question: how difficult is it to find the eggs? Seems like they would disappear into the litter.

 

[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.