Quail to lay again in the winter

[Twoandhelp]

I'll second JetCat on the light and heat.  I think a red light is better if you're going with 24 hour light, but you can get ceramic coils that provide heat and not light if you want to heat them.  I personally believe that birds need downtime and a dark period every day.  I provide supplemental light fro 14-15 hours total, but no more.  I live in Canada and, while this winter's been remarkably warm, the last two got down to -25 to -30 F and stayed there for days or weeks.  I don't give my birds heat because they can handle the cold if they've got good ventilation to get rid of the moisture and no drafts.  If you give them heat and the power goes out, they big change can kill them.  I heat my water but that's it.

Ok good to know they can handle cold. Our are in outside pens but most of the cage is protected from wind. And they definitely have good ventilation, but we live in a very humid climate (east Texas) so is that an issue as far as moisture is concerned?

Sorry I have so many questions, I just like the idea of less light, heat, $$ on electricity and a healthier more natural life for the bird. I'm always open to improving my set up/system. I'd really like a building outside to protect them even more.

 

[Em Ty]

In Texas you'll need to worry more about providing them shade when it's hot and ventilation. You'll also have to make sure they have access to lots of water, especially when it's hot. They drink a lot. I have 8 chickens that drink about a gallon a day and 4 quail will easily drink a quart a day at about 60 F.

The ventilation will help get rid of excess humidity that they produce, though I'm sure you'll be at or near 100% RH at times.

If you keep them in your garage in the summer, it'll keep the sun off of them and could help keep them cooler if it's got a lot of thermal mass. You would want to have windows and/or doors open for ventilation and a fan might help, but you can tractor them outside too. Just make sure the tractor can breath enough and either use a solid lid or a tarp that sits above the tractor.

Here's a great podcast on quail from a guy just outside of Fort Worth: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/quail-q-n-a It's definitely worth a listen.

 

[Twoandhelp]

Thanks! I saw where you posted that somewhere else. We have listened to it a bit but are about to have a long drive so we're going to listen to that some more.

 

[JetCat]

We have the same humidity (and heat) issues here in southeast AL, as long as you have adequate ventilation where the moisture can't build up and condensate you'll be fine. it's hard to get a good guesstimate on how much quail drink as they waste as much or more then they drink! they love slinging it with their mouth about as much as they like to sling feed and waste it.

 

[Twoandhelp]

Yeah. I thought they wouldn't be as wasteful as ducks, but the quail go through a ton of water!