Quail on Deep Litter - Why it Works

[Quail Jailer]

Thanks! It´s not an insult, it´s a reflection. I think the law here isn´t made up out of nothing, so that could be another reason if you are considering DL. I don´t think the winters are to blame for the law either, actually it´s much milder where I live than in many states in USA, the laws about keeping quails and other animals are to be sure that the animals have a good life with their natural behaviors intact. That is simply not possible on wire mesh floor.

With coturnix in captivity, that ship has sailed. 1000 or so years ago.

 

[dc3085]

Wire mesh will keep disease contraction and transmission to a minimum, you can't say that about deep litter.

The instincts of all captive raised quail have long been too damaged to be repaired by keeping them on dirt with some fake bushes. Bobwhites included.

That said, I don't think deep litter is in any way a bad method of keeping birds, but to say it is better than a wire floor is incorrect and unsubstantiated. They each have their benefits and downfalls.

 

[titika]

I have my quail on an open floor aviary and they lay better and over all seem much happier then when i had them in wire cages. They hunt bugs and play in the dirt. Regardless of how long they have been a captive species, some instincts have stayed with them.

 

[dc3085]

I have my quail on an open floor aviary and they lay better and over all seem much happier then when i had them in wire cages. They hunt bugs and play in the dirt. Regardless of how long they have been a captive species, some instincts have stayed with them.

95% of commercial of gamebird operations raise their breeders over wire floors or in small batteries. They still experience a normal level of thrift per bird in those settings. No one has proven birds to be more thrifty in different types of cage settings. How well quail lay, if all other things are equal (feed, water, space allowed, genetics), will relate directly to the stress level of the birds. Things like positioning of the cage in your environment (i.e. next to a busy street) or what the birds can see from their cage can easily cause enough stress to hamper thrift. It is easier to stress birds kept on wire but that is all on the keeper no the birds.

I raise birds over both sand and wire and over their life there is very little difference. The birds raised on sand tend to look a little nicer because the ground doesnt abrade their feathers like the wire does.

 

[titika]

95% of commercial of gamebird operations raise their breeders over wire floors or in small batteries. They still experience a normal level of thrift per bird in those settings. No one has proven birds to be more thrifty in different types of cage settings. How well quail lay, if all other things are equal (feed, water, space allowed, genetics), will relate directly to the stress level of the birds. Things like positioning of the cage in your environment (i.e. next to a busy street) or what the birds can see from their cage can easily cause enough stress to hamper thrift. It is easier to stress birds kept on wire but that is all on the keeper no the birds. 

I raise birds over both sand and wire and over their life there is very little difference. The birds raised on sand tend to look a little nicer because the ground doesnt abrade their feathers like the wire does.  

i don't think either way is better. I just prefer open ground to wire. It seems to be less stressful in the long run. I have bushes and shelters for them which probably helps. And they have more room.

 

[Quail Jailer]

Both ways are better, one is better for the birds, the other better for the farmer. I treat my birds much better than just "humanely"

And I do not like to kill them. but the fact is that they are raised as a foodstuff. You can have happy coturnix on wire.

 

[bdfive]

My White Bobwhite quail are pets therefore I want them to have the best of life. All 9 love their 8 by 28 foot aviary that is 9 feet high. They share it with 2 Red Golden pheasant they chase around much of the day when they aren't taking dirt baths, digging for bugs, up on a high roost calling or munching on fruit and veggie treats. No one could convince me they'd be happier or as happy on wire. IT JUST AIN'T SO!! I worm them twice a year as I do all my birds. I'm not knocking anyone that keeps their quail on wire. Most breed them for meat and eggs.......I understand that. I love my poultry and beef I get at the store but just can't bring myself to end a life for a meal.

 

[Quail Jailer]

My White Bobwhite quail are pets therefore I want them to have the best of life. All 9 love their 8 by 28 foot aviary that is 9 feet high. They share it with 2 Red Golden pheasant they chase around much of the day when they aren't taking dirt baths, digging for bugs, up on a high roost calling or munching on fruit and veggie treats. No one could convince me they'd be happier or as happy on wire. IT JUST AIN'T SO!! I worm them twice a year as I do all my birds. I'm not knocking anyone that keeps their quail on wire. Most breed them for meat and eggs.......I understand that. I love my poultry and beef I get at the store but just can't bring myself to end a life for a meal.

.

 

[dc3085]

I'd rather end a life under what I know is humane supervision than trust an $8 an hour worker at a slaughter house to treat an animal well. I process my meat as much as I can in order to ensure humane handling practices (eating less hormones is just an added benefit). Slaughter houses use a whole bunch of weird (cost saving) methods for slaughtering. Chickens are usually stunned by walking them onto an electrified plate then placed in kill cones where their throats are slit. Cattle usually have a large pneumatically driven steel rod smashed through the side of their head while they wait single file...I don't see how either of those things is more humane than doing them yourself with your hands, a hatchet, or a .38...

 

[bdfive]

dc3085, you don't have to justify what you do. You are perfectly within your right to do so and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I was just posting my view. "Different Strokes For Different Folks".