Quail pen idea...

[Bigdtc]

Quote:
Each pen will have a hardware cloth/wood framed "window" that pops into that space.. leaving only the bottom area open..

@Mibotsu... I'll be using pine straw(dry, dropped pine needles) beneath the wire floor... I have some pine trees around so I can't beat the price.. free!

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
+1... GOOD POINT.

 

[Chick Charm]

I wish you the best of success in making a go at using a unique setup like this. I really enjoy the ideas of someone who thinks "outside the box".

All that being said......I don't like it.

. Before you take offense though, I still hope things work out well for your setup. My biggest concern is with natural lighting being that the inside will actually be quite small. It looks like you may be able to get a 2' X 3' (guessing here) out of each barrel/cage. Seems as though the barrels will cut out a lot of light that is needed for egg production. Second is the poo situation. Man that stuff is strong smelling, and if you let it build up more than a couple of days it will be really bad for the birds I'm thinking. Lots of air flow and poo that doesn't hang around are both really good things to have.

You'll come up with something I know. Show me how it's done so I can shut up.

 

[Bigdtc]

Quote:
HaHa.. That's O.K... I can take it..

Just so you know, as to the lighting situation, I'm only using the white (or opaque) drums.. so the lighting will be better then a wood cage,
Also, I have kids so cleaning every few days should not be a problem.. If I see the quail are not comfortable then I have no problem making adjustments. The drums will have plenty of airflow as each end will be "windowed" with 1/4" wire mesh... I want all of my animals to be happy and healthy. Cheers!

 

[sixshooter60]

Im sure it will work fine the way you have designed it. My only problem with it is the cost of the barrels.. Around here good 55 gal. plastic drums sell for 12 to 15 bucks. Now i havent actually put a pencil to it but i think i can build a wood frame pen of the same size cheaper as they both will require close to the same amount of wire..Like i said no doubt it will work and if a person already had the barrels on hand then it would be alot cheaper that way.. One good thing is that you would not have to worry about it ever rotting . anyway just throwing my 2 cents in for what its worth and yeah it aint even worth 2 cents with the rise of inflation..lol

 

[Bigdtc]

Im sure it will work fine the way you have designed it. My only problem with it is the cost of the barrels.. Around here good 55 gal. plastic drums sell for 12 to 15 bucks. Now i havent actually put a pencil to it but i think i can build a wood frame pen of the same size cheaper as they both will require close to the same amount of wire..Like i said no doubt it will work and if a person already had the barrels on hand then it would be alot cheaper that way.. One good thing is that you would not have to worry about it ever rotting . anyway just throwing my 2 cents in for what its worth and yeah it aint even worth 2 cents with the rise of inflation..lol

I can get 55 gal plastic drums right around your quoted price range.. I actually have enough wood on hand to build the support frames for the drum set up and could use that wood for part of some wood quail pens.. My original idea used 1 sheet of plywood for each pen(I'm building "breeder" type pens) and a sheet of plywood around here costs around $16.00/sheet, then I still need 1" X 3"'s for framing. Then add screws, hardware and my time and it just adds up to give the plastic drums a try and likely save a few bucks and and lot of time too..Remember too that I will not need a light fixture for each pen as I would with the wood pens because the white plastic drums that I intend to use are opaque so I can get away with 2 lights instead of 5.. I look forward to doing this project and will post pics of my progress as I get them completed.. Thanks for your input..

 

[The Critter Place]

I think the barrel would be easy to clean and sanitize, no splinters, easy to move around, no warping ,
For me personally, I would rather use a barrel for some of the reasons stated. Also for someone like me without a lot of room and tools, would be easy to put together.

 

[Chick Charm]

You make a good point with the "white barrels" color letting in light. Hopefully you can let us know how it all worked out soon.

 

[Bigdtc]

You make a good point with the "white barrels" color letting in light. Hopefully you can let us know how it all worked out soon.

I sure will!! I should soon be arranging for my quail to arrive in a couple weeks, so it will be soon..

 

[aprophet]

the only time I use pine straw anymore is when we flood I live in coastal NC/VA pine straw is a nasty mess when mixed with coturnix poo for some reason bobs and partridge are a much drier bunch of mess, coturnix does not need flooding to make a mess with straw