Quail on Deep Litter - Why it Works

[falconertomt]

i turn it twice a day and shift stuff around. I'll try adding some other stuff and see if that helps. Also, the pen has a dirt floor but our soil doesn't drain will here so the dirt underneath is almost always wet. I try not to stir that in too much. I think I'm going to put a wood floor under the coop and just let them have dirt/grass yard outside.

Turning it will actually help dry it out. it exposes the wet areas and breaks them up, creating more surface area for evaporation. It also helps prevent mold from growing, which can be fatal to birds (especially asper). Allowing airflow beneath the floor will help dry it out as well.

 

[titika]

Turning it will actually help dry it out. it exposes the wet areas and breaks them up, creating more surface area for evaporation. It also helps prevent mold from growing, which can be fatal to birds (especially asper). Allowing airflow beneath the floor will help dry it out as well.

i toss scratch grains around in there too so the quail dig around more and help stir things around. The litter itself is dry, just the grind under it is a little wet during the spring

 

[falconertomt]

So I made the mistake of showing the wife the first video in this thread, with the quail bathing and foraging in the DL. Now I am building a DL pen for my quail........

Frame is 2x6 with 2x2 uprights.


The door at the end opens for easy cleaning/shoveling



I have added an enclosed area for shelter, the roof of the rest of the pen will be corrugated plastic sheets you use for patio roofs.



The lid on the enclosed section also lifts



As does the roof that will have the plastic corrugated roof.


Now all it needs is the corrugated roof, a couple of wheels (I am building this tractor style), and a handle.


Another question, I have quails hatching today, do you start them on DL or slowly introduce it over the first 4 weeks? I never found anything definitive in the thread.

Thanks!

 

[falconertomt]

i toss scratch grains around in there too so the quail dig around more and help stir things around. The litter itself is dry, just the grind under it is a little wet during the spring

Depending on the level of moisture in the ground you may want to raise your floor a bit to help keep it dry.

The ideal ratio you want is 2:1 carbon to nitrogen. One thing you may try is mixing in some aspen bedding with the pine. It is often chipped bigger, so it will not compact the same way as pine, and give you more airflow. Poultry manure is really "hot" meaning that it is high in nitrogen. This is why you do not want to put it directly on your plants (it will burn them), but rather compost it first.


This is a decent primer on composting, and will get you pointed in the right direction.
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/making-compost-black-gold-for-your-organic-garden.html

 

[Quailsong]

So I made the mistake of showing the wife the first video in this thread, with the quail bathing and foraging in the DL. Now I am building a DL pen for my quail........

Another question, I have quails hatching today, do you start them on DL or slowly introduce it over the first 4 weeks? I never found anything definitive in the thread.

Thanks!

That's a wonderful pen! Just make sure when you lift the lid, you go very slowly. Quail tend to 'flush' at times - which means they can startle easily and fly straight up & out of the pen when it opens. Good that your lid has two parts, so you can open one end to grab stuff while the quail are on the other side. If I could suggest, have a rope you can attach to pull the tractor. I've got no handles or wheels on my tractor but boy would I love a rope to stand further back then use my whole body to gently lift the near side & pull (I'm a tiny person).

As for DL & chicks, sorry to be so late with a response! I hope you found something that worked for you.

I started mine on 'puppy pads' the first couple weeks because they were indoors (a spare bedroom) & kept knocking over their food onto the pads (my fault as I didn't have proper feeding trays at the time). I needed to make sure they knew food comes from the bowls (as chicks) so they wouldn't eat the pine shavings (it's the same colour as their feed). Once they understood that, which took about 2 good weeks, I put them straight on a layer of shavings & then let the DL grow naturally over time.

Next week I'm going to be hatching some BSLW (chickens) & doing the same method above with pads & shavings. Only difference is my brooder will be in another room which ISN'T next door to the bedroom. Oh boy did my DH not like the chirping, or the smell...

 

[Quailsong]

i toss scratch grains around in there too so the quail dig around more and help stir things around. The litter itself is dry, just the grind under it is a little wet during the spring

Any way you can raise the soil level in your area? A wet coop/pen floor is not safe for most birds in the long-term.

I'd say instead of using moist litter, include as much dry litter you can every time you rake & mix it in good. Shredded toilet paper rolls, pine shavings, crunchy/dry leaves...anything that can suck up the moisture & balance it out. Also, make sure if you use cardboard with cells to shred it good - otherwise mites can live inside the cells; much like they tend to do in the hollow cores of straw.

 

[falconertomt]

I used a piece of marine carpet on the bottom of the brooder, and put them in that, then after 3 days I started adding small handfuls of shavings, after a week I swapped them out to nothing but bedding, and they are doing great. I just need to work out some issues with their water supply. I got some horizontal nipples, and am getting them installed this weekend, which should fix the issue.

 

[titika]

Any way you can raise the soil level in your area? A wet coop/pen floor is not safe for most birds in the long-term.

I'd say instead of using moist litter, include as much dry litter you can every time you rake & mix it in good. Shredded toilet paper rolls, pine shavings, crunchy/dry leaves...anything that can suck up the moisture & balance it out. Also, make sure if you use cardboard with cells to shred it good - otherwise mites can live inside the cells; much like they tend to do in the hollow cores of straw.

I am moving the pen to higher ground soon. building it around some bushes in the back yard. I am sure they will love it.

 

[dc3085]

I usually don't bump threads but this one is missing some key info about ants.

Ants are a great potentially source of parasite infections in your flock. Basically attracting them on purpose is a good way to increase your risk of tapeworms and other parasites the ants may carry.

"All poultry tapeworms apparently spend part of their lives in intermediate hosts, and birds become infected by eating the intermediate hosts. These hosts include snails, slugs, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, earthworms, houseflies and others. The intermediate host becomes infected by eating the eggs of tapeworms that are passed in the bird feces."

Quoted from this article.

 

[bdfive]

Well, here in the Texas Hill Country there must be 50 million jillion trillion ants on our 5 acres so what ever will be, will be. I worm all me birds twice a year and hopefully that will protect them. We have sooooooooooooo many other insects to deal with too. I think most of us just learn to live with them. It's that or take chances with pets and livestock using insecticides.