Quail outside

[TheQuailKid]

Hello all!
I keep my quail in my garage, and when I bring them out into the open floor of the garage, they immediately run to hide under a shelf or another area. When I bring them outside, I have to keep them in a small flight pen, but they constantly want to escape. When I occasionally let them out in a supervised area outside, they are a lot more calm and happy. However, they not only fly, but there are some aggressive dogs in the neighborhood. I want to let them outside desperately! Any advice? I am thinking of trimming their wings and then bringing them to a large, but fenced in, area outside.

Thanks!
-Quail Kid

 

[Nabiki]

This sounds like very normal behaviour for quail. If you plan on keeping them in a large, fenced in area without a roof, you can expect to lose them to hawks. EVERYTHING likes to eat quail. This is part of why they are so skittish by nature.

 

[TheQuailKid]

Yep! I only have two and would only let them out when I am accompanying them. Other than the threat of hawks(which I assume I would be able to scare them off), are there any other problems? How hard is it to trim their wings?

 

[Nabiki]

If you have no experience trimming wings, you may want to skip this. If the feathers are new, you can cause them to bleed through their feathers.

Your quail are far more likely to be happy if you give them a home with plenty of space and lots of hiding places. If you can give them a place with both sun and shade, even better. From your description, they will never be super friendly. The people who do have friendly quail start from the day they hatch and handle them for hours daily.