Raising quails indoors

[Nabiki]

The females aren't silent, but the boys do make More noise! : ) Do you have a backyard or side yard? They don't take up much room at all!! : D

lol - we posted almost the same thing at the same time.

 

[rag1201]

The females aren't silent, but the boys do make More noise! : ) Do you have a backyard or side yard? They don't take up much room at all!! : D

I've got a very small backyard, maybe I'll try remove the unwanted stuff and try to make space for them there..

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

I've got a very small backyard, maybe I'll try remove the unwanted stuff and try to make space for them there..

2' x 2' or 3' x 1' isn't too too crazy big, especially considering other birds, you could also find one to buy if yours isn't meant for being outside

 

[Dan Clark]

I have seen where people have raised them inside house where they have 1-3 birds. also seen where people have raised them in sheds, barns ect.... even where someone had raised them on their fire escape. you dont need alot of room but you do have to keep up with there poop and messes because they are messy.

 

[koturnix]

keeping them indoors pros/cons:
+ security - no predators
+ they get more used to humans and don't freak out as much
- the dust
- the smell
- the mess (they like to dustbathe in their shavings so bits of wood and poop will be flung out periodically)

keeping them outdoors pros/cons:
+no smells
+no dust
-have to make sure cage is wind/weather proof
-have to worry about predators, make sure cage is super secure as raccoons will kill quails easy

I have kept quail indoors before, the smell wasn't too bad as long it was 4 birds max and change shavings 2x min a week. Hens were very tame and made cricket noises. Now that I have a garage and small yard I only brood chicks in the garage, quail go outside as soon as they are feathered out. The dust and quail dander can trigger my allergies too easily.

I also saw a thread where someone kept theirs indoors with about a foot deep of soil bedding so earthworms compost the quail waste and there was no smell at all. But I would only do that if I had no yard available as that seems more of a fancier setup.

 

[FloorCandy]

By the time my chicks were 2.5 weeks old I was counting the seconds until they could move outdoors. They are loud and poop constantly. They kick and dig shavings. They are so dusty, the inside of the brooder coats with this dust, it’s constant.

In the space you mentioned I personally would not keep birds. But maybe you can make it work if you clean constantly. It will be quite a commitment.

 

[Quail4Fun]

I have 10 inside and yes, in my bedroom. I live in a city apartment without a yard. Most people who visit my apartment don't know I have birds. I have 5 in 1 cage and 5 in another. We have a kid with pretty severe food allergies so this is a staple to make sure he stays a healthy growing boy so we just had to 'figure it out' when we moved from a large house in the midwest. We have 4 girls in one with their boy, 3 girls and a boy in another with our accidental 1 male bobwhite who is now a pet. We use a flat bottom cage (modified rabbit hutch) with pine shavings. I pick it out mid week and do a complete change on trash day once a week. I have found if the shavings stay dry, like around the waterer, the smell is much less. They have a strict bed time of 9pm. Their light goes off (we simply strung up a strand of Christmas lights) and they get covered with a blanket until morning. They are pretty silent when they go to bed. Sometimes I forget they are there. I get a little sounds of scuffling throughout the day. The girls do chirp some but its faint and sounds like a cricket. They also make an egg call when they lay (usually between 5-8pm). The boys call once or twice a day. Usually when I first take off their cover and put their light on. Little bob is my loudest bird. He is pretty talkative but it is more sing song than the coturnix. When he is aggressively calling it is to tell me something, more food or water generally. Each cage has a sand box, which we use small ferret litter pans with the higher sides and put on the side of the cage with a solid wall to prevent sand explosion. We also have a large dog crate pan underneath to catch anything that might escape and can easily be vacuumed and wiped down. The biggest positive change we made was moving away from the hamster waterer. The little metal rolling ball was very annoying being pecked at by 10 birds and they are messy drinkers so the shavings were always wet there. I found an auto cup waterer by Rent-a-coop on amazon and that has dramatically improved our quality of life. Over all, the little smell and noise is worth it for us. It just takes consistent management.

 

[rag1201]

I have 10 inside and yes, in my bedroom. I live in a city apartment without a yard. Most people who visit my apartment don't know I have birds. I have 5 in 1 cage and 5 in another. We have a kid with pretty severe food allergies so this is a staple to make sure he stays a healthy growing boy so we just had to 'figure it out' when we moved from a large house in the midwest. We have 4 girls in one with their boy, 3 girls and a boy in another with our accidental 1 male bobwhite who is now a pet. We use a flat bottom cage (modified rabbit hutch) with pine shavings. I pick it out mid week and do a complete change on trash day once a week. I have found if the shavings stay dry, like around the waterer, the smell is much less. They have a strict bed time of 9pm. Their light goes off (we simply strung up a strand of Christmas lights) and they get covered with a blanket until morning. They are pretty silent when they go to bed. Sometimes I forget they are there. I get a little sounds of scuffling throughout the day. The girls do chirp some but its faint and sounds like a cricket. They also make an egg call when they lay (usually between 5-8pm). The boys call once or twice a day. Usually when I first take off their cover and put their light on. Little bob is my loudest bird. He is pretty talkative but it is more sing song than the coturnix. When he is aggressively calling it is to tell me something, more food or water generally. Each cage has a sand box, which we use small ferret litter pans with the higher sides and put on the side of the cage with a solid wall to prevent sand explosion. We also have a large dog crate pan underneath to catch anything that might escape and can easily be vacuumed and wiped down. The biggest positive change we made was moving away from the hamster waterer. The little metal rolling ball was very annoying being pecked at by 10 birds and they are messy drinkers so the shavings were always wet there. I found an auto cup waterer by Rent-a-coop on amazon and that has dramatically improved our quality of life. Over all, the little smell and noise is worth it for us. It just takes consistent management.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Appreciate it!

 

[Quail4Fun]

I had only had adult quail indoors for a short while before I acclimated them to my outside group. Their poop smells and you'd have to clean more often than a fishtank! they have a lot do dust/dander and tend to make a mess with their food although there's no-spill feeders they also need water changed daily/often and I find it much easier to do that outside where I can spill water as opposed to inside where it can be messy :'( why do you want them inside? : D

I have a wild bird gravity feeder with small trays. They can't sit on it or put their head in. I also have a 2 liter cup waterer hung a bit high. They can still reach it but no shavings get kicked in so stays pretty clean too. I can go 3 full days without refilling the food and water. Took me about 6 months to get to this point and messing with different feed/water routes.

 

[Dan Clark]

I have a wild bird gravity feeder with small trays. They can't sit on it or put their head in. I also have a 2 liter cup waterer hung a bit high. They can still reach it but no shavings get kicked in so stays pretty clean too. I can go 3 full days without refilling the food and water. Took me about 6 months to get to this point and messing with different feed/water routes.

can you show me the feeder that you have i i might be inturested in using that type