Hi! I've had a couple of quail that I've kept inside as pets and am interested in branching out to keeping several more in an outside aviary set up. But, I'm not completely sure that my plan is a good one. I've been going through old threads and have gotten some answers, but I could use a little help answering some other questions.
I have a 4x8 foot garden bed that I never grow anything in (it gets a lot of shade). I am hoping to convert this into a small aviary, with about 1/3 of it a covered box type of enclosure with vents at the top and the rest protected with hardware cloth. I am planning on digging down and adding hardware cloth underneath as well. I live in the suburbs and get the occasional predator.
Questions:
1. Can you really use deep litter with quail? I've heard conflicting info on this. If not, is there a better system? I would like to compost their poop to use in the rest of my garden. If you can use deep litter, how many quail would you suggest I start off with in a space that size?
2. I live in Michigan. It gets COLD. Do I need to keep a certain number of quail for them to keep warm in the winter? If I wrapped the enclosure in heavy plastic
leaving a gap at the top for airflow, or put pieces of acrylic around the outside of the enclosure during winter would that be sufficient for them? Is there good products to keep water from freezing, or do you just change it out a couple of times a day?
Thank you so much for any help!
I have a 4x8 foot garden bed that I never grow anything in (it gets a lot of shade). I am hoping to convert this into a small aviary, with about 1/3 of it a covered box type of enclosure with vents at the top and the rest protected with hardware cloth. I am planning on digging down and adding hardware cloth underneath as well. I live in the suburbs and get the occasional predator.
Questions:
1. Can you really use deep litter with quail? I've heard conflicting info on this. If not, is there a better system? I would like to compost their poop to use in the rest of my garden. If you can use deep litter, how many quail would you suggest I start off with in a space that size?
2. I live in Michigan. It gets COLD. Do I need to keep a certain number of quail for them to keep warm in the winter? If I wrapped the enclosure in heavy plastic
leaving a gap at the top for airflow, or put pieces of acrylic around the outside of the enclosure during winter would that be sufficient for them? Is there good products to keep water from freezing, or do you just change it out a couple of times a day?
Thank you so much for any help!