Setting up for Japanese Quail in the house

[nerfworthy]

Hi Guys! I have chickens outside and now I want to have some Japanese quail in the house. The purpose would be for enjoyment and eggs! After much googling and consideration, I plan to get a large enclosure similar to a guinea pig or chinchilla cage for them, about 2'Hx2W'x7'L. It will have a solid bottom with relatively high plastic sides.

I want to have 3-5 females, no males. I have connected with someone local who is going to incubate some babies for me to raise up and tame myself and I will probably have them in hand by the end of next month.

I had some questions regarding bedding, mostly. I am considering doing a sand substrate that I can spot clean with a litter scooper then dump completely once a month or so. Does this seem doable? Or would a sand "bathing" area be better with a different kind of main substrate?

 

[le_bwah]

I envision sand being a bit messy indoors, mostly from being flung during dust-bathing. But it's also a safe substrate. Toss a little Sweet PDZ in there now and again and the smell won't be bad.

 

[le_bwah]

I don't like wire either, and I appreciate that you're trying to do something different. Have you looked into stall pellets? It's what I used in my indoor brooder.

With 9 chicks in 5-6 square feet I only changed it twice in five weeks. Folded it over and "stirred" it every day so they wouldn't get fresh poop on their feet, added new pellets when the old ones broke down completely. Spot-cleaned anything egregious. They preferred bathing in the sawdust vs the dirt/sand I gave them.

Only hard bit was removing the dirty bedding from the totes without spilling any. Light smell, minimal mess. Would probably work better with some PDZ sprinkled in. Older birds might require a bit more spot cleaning.

 

[le_bwah]

Yep, the horse ones. Somehow cheaper than the chicken ones at my D&B, but I'm fairly certain they're the same thing. I never crunched the numbers on what it would cost to keep quail on it full-time, but you'd think it would get you further than deep-bedding shavings. There was also a thread on here not too long ago about keeping quail indoors on straight dirt and essentially vermicomposting under their feet, which was super interesting to see done.

 

[nerfworthy]

Hey neighbor! I almost took my quail inside this winter (I shouldn't have worried; they're doing fine in the cold). Oh, and I found that dirt thread -->here.

That's actually super cool, thanks for sharing! I think I'll try the pellets to start though. I do plan on bringing in some dirt from outside while they are chicks so they build some immunity! I did that with my chickens and it worked perfect.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

That's actually super cool, thanks for sharing! I think I'll try the pellets to start though. I do plan on bringing in some dirt from outside while they are chicks so they build some immunity! I did that with my chickens and it worked perfect.

Ooh, a thing I can comment on! I have my group of 24 (ergh) inside for the winter while we get their permanent electric defended space in the greenhouse finished. I also bring in the dirt/granite sand from outside for baths and grit, and I'm gonna say this:

You NEED NEED NEED to install "fling guards" of maybe corrogated plastic on the inside walls all around the cage at least a foot up so that everything flung can fall right back into the cage pan.

It's bad yo. Trust me. I was gone for *two days* and now I'm pushing to get all mine installed by the end of the weekend.

 

[townchicks]

I don't know about quail, but I have a large outdoor cage for a pair of doves, that I use sand in. It works well for me, because it is a pull out tray, and the doves stay up on their perch most of the time while I am cleaning. It seems to me, though, with the type of cage you are thinking of, and ground dwelling birds like quail, it could be kind of a hassle to do the scooping. I'm curious to see what others say, I've been toying with the idea of quail myself.

 

[Ptera]

I use the Sweet PDZ granules under my indoor chickens. It helps reduce odors and dries out the droppings for easier scooping (or vacuuming--I use a HEPA filter vacuum). Just don't let the vacuum nozzle near the birds. The suction can kill them instantly. For some reason, in my town, the Horse Stall Sweet PDZ is cheaper than the ones labeled for chickens or other livestock, although it's an identical product. (They're profiting off the rookie city chicken keepers!)

 

[nerfworthy]

I am concerned about the mess, because I suspect even though the sides are fairly high they will inevitably fling sand out as they bathe in it lol

 

[Ptera]

I made a false bottom to the cage with chicken wire, and put the tray of PDZ about an inch under that, so their feet don't actually touch it. The chicken wire's holes will be too big for quail so you could try doubling it up, or use hardware cloth with a large hole (so the droppings can get thru). I roll old towels around the edge of the cage so if they flap the PDZ doesn't go flying everywhere. But anytime you have indoor birds, expect mess---BIG mess! And lots of retrofits to keep the mess under control.