Quail on Deep Litter - Why it Works

[GuineaFowling]

Yes, if they are infected. They aren't likely to be carriers the way chickens are but if they've contracted any parasite/disease through eating bugs or bacteria they can transmit them. Most parasites spend part of their lives in an intermediary host such as ants, grasshoppers, slugs, flys, worms...basically everything guineas love to eat.

Thank you for letting me know.
My guineas are odd. They don't eat ants, flies, or worms(unless it is meal worms). They also don't eat slugs but do enjoy ripping them off of whatever they are stuck to and tossing them. They ate grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantis, mosquito eaters, and snails but I hardly have any in my yard anymore do to the guineas.
They haven't been sick for about 5 years. They are currently six and I only feed them natural and organic food. When they did get sick I would use natural methods and it would always work. Probably because they never got any serious ailments. The most serious was a cold in the winter seasons.
Would it be safe for my bobwhite quail to be in near proximity with them? I plan on free ranging the quail since they are tame and come when called but they could get into contact with the guineas. I do not want any sick quails.

 

[dc3085]

I don't recommend free ranging quail, especially if you aren't sure they are disease free. I know you think they are tame enough but some of them will fly off or wander away. If you aren't 100% sure they are disease free they could also damage your local quail population. Also free ranging quail is considered releasing them essentially and permits are required to release quail.

I really don't mean to be rude but I've seen too many people come here and say they are going to free range their quail, and then come back shocked that they have no more quail, because all their hand tamed quail flew away or the neighbors cat ate them.

 

[Chickety Charcoal]

I had my nephew using an ultra light but it casts way too good for him so he spent a lot of time in the trees. My dad taught me with zebco push buttons until he trusted me not to break his good stuff. I think that was a good plan.

I bought my kids rods and reels which were basically Zebco setups (a Barbie and Iron Man pole and 2 Pocket Fisherman Spin Casting rods) and all 4 of them were broken by the end of day 1, practice casting in the yard. The reels got hung up and would not cast or retract. I opened the housing to see if there was a tangle and that was a disaster. I knew they were cheaply made but c'mon. A friend of mine has a daughter the same age as mine and she has been fishing successfully for a long time with her Barbie reel, so maybe it's just us. It was fun watching my 3 year old get the hang of casting, though.

I plan on painting my quail cage this week. Has anyone run into any issues with paint on their cages? Should I be concerned about toxicity or anything? I figure the paint will give the cage longer life and protect the wood from the deep litter, sand, etc. I hobbled together various pieces of spare lumber and old cabinets with pressed wood, so I want to protect them from moisture.

 

[FaerieFinch]

I think it's great. I have been using this for a long time in my aviaries with finches and button quail. It's funny how people would say, "oh you can't do that. So unsanitary!"
Funny, those same people are now starting to do it after seeing how well it works… the aviaries look more natural, the birds are happy and healthy, and people tend to stick their noses to the screened aviary doors and comment how it smells like earth in there.

So, I agree…. deep litter is a great way to go.

 

[GuineaFowling]

I do not think you are rude.
By free ranging, I meant letting them have access to my converted horse paddock. It has a high fence all around And a netted roof, the only problem is the middle fence where it is connected to the second, larger paddock where I keep my guineas is only 4 ft. So I was worried they would go into the guineas paddock. They wouldn't have access to the rest of my property and could not mingle with other quail. Though I don't think I have any quail close by.

 

[dc3085]

In that case you have very little to worry about, and your birds will be quite happy with all that space. If you live in a snakey area watch out for them though, they love quail.

 

[dc3085]

I bought my kids rods and reels which were basically Zebco setups (a Barbie and Iron Man pole and 2 Pocket Fisherman Spin Casting rods) and all 4 of them were broken by the end of day 1, practice casting in the yard. The reels got hung up and would not cast or retract. I opened the housing to see if there was a tangle and that was a disaster. I knew they were cheaply made but c'mon. A friend of mine has a daughter the same age as mine and she has been fishing successfully for a long time with her Barbie reel, so maybe it's just us. It was fun watching my 3 year old get the hang of casting, though.

I plan on painting my quail cage this week. Has anyone run into any issues with paint on their cages? Should I be concerned about toxicity or anything? I figure the paint will give the cage longer life and protect the wood from the deep litter, sand, etc. I hobbled together various pieces of spare lumber and old cabinets with pressed wood, so I want to protect them from moisture.

Yeah we had the same kind of luck with push buttons. I used to catfish where there were a lot of gar and everytime I'd catch a gar the reel was toast. I think they are only suited for light use. You might try those 5.5ft shakespeare combos they sell at walmart. They're pretty cheap and I've caught a ton trout on one.

Paint is no problem until it gets old and peels. Repaint every few years and you should be fine. It'll go a long way to making your cage last.

 

[GuineaFowling]

Thank goodness I don't live in a snaky area.

 

[Quail Jailer]

Thank goodness I don't live in a snaky area.

Don't worry I have enough for the both of us, here we don't "mow the lawn" we "trim the snakes"...ok ok, I made that up, but I do have Lots of snakes,
poisonous and non, lots of rattlers and copperheads, if you go down to the pond, well thats where we keep the cottonmouths. course in the non poison category we have coachwhips garters king snakes rat snakes corn snakes chicken snakes worm snakes ringnecks bullheads green snakes indigo snakes

and the occasional coral (deadly) I'm sure I've missed one or three, but you get the idea...

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Don't worry I have enough for the both of us, here we don't "mow the lawn" we "trim the snakes"...

...but I know exactly what you mean. I'm just thankful copperheads don't have the attitude of black rat snakes.

BTW, I just put my baby quail (well, not so much babies anymore at 5 weeks), into their big outside pen...on deep litter, of course. For the dusting box, I used a 14" terracotta garden saucer and they have went crazy over it, rolling around in it and dusting like mad. Now they are lounging around like lazy bums, with some pecking at their food every so often, grabbing a drink in between, and just kicking around in their litter. They seem very content, as am I...now that they are totally out of the house.

I've spent the last week getting them use to the outdoors, putting them out in an unused raised garden box with screen cover during the day (when it's not raining), and bringing them in at night. For the past two nights they stayed in their brooder box on the deck. But it's warm enough at night now and they are old enough that they can go in the pen for good. And I get my house back...
...at least until this weekend, when the turkeys hatch. But then, I wouldn't have it any other way.