Setting up for Japanese Quail in the house

[nerfworthy]

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.

I'd prefer not to put them on wire if I can help it, but I understand the mess concern. I'm really on the fence here. :/

 

[nerfworthy]

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.

Great idea! By stall pellets, do you mean like the basic wood pellets they sell marketed for horse stalls? I've used those for my chickens before.

 

[le_bwah]

Great! I think I'll try this with a litter pan with sand for them and see how they like it.

Also, I just noticed you're in Boise. So am I!!! Hi neighbor

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.

 

[nerfworthy]

Ooh, a thing I can comment on! I have my group of 24 (ergh) inside for the winter while we get their permanent electric defendeddefend 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.

Yeah, I was already thinking about this being the reality LOL. Here is the cage I'm looking at.

I like to have a front-gate so I don't have to reach in from the top every time and scare the bajeezus out of my chicks! Think it'll be enough to add "fling guards" to the back and side, leaving the front open?

 

[nerfworthy]

Actually, maybe I can put the box of sand in this hutch extension for the cage I want???? Lol.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Actually, maybe I can put the box of sand in this hutch extension for the cage I want???? Lol.

That'll probably help a lot. Mine sleep in theirs all the time anyways.

 

[nerfworthy]

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.

Great! I think I'll try this with a litter pan with sand for them and see how they like it.

Also, I just noticed you're in Boise. So am I!!! Hi neighbor

 

[Acre4Me]

We had quail in the garage. Maybe your 3-5 in the house might work, but birds are dusty to begin with. The quail I had lived to dust bathe. Mine were on wire, but coated wire, so their feet were fine. We sprinkled clay kitty litter on the poop tray, that was lined with paper for easier removal. My Walmart sold this for $3.50-$4/ 40lb bag. Never use anything with fragrance as birds have very sensitive respiratory systems.

You’ll likely try different things or tweak things and find a method that works for you. But, they love to dust bathe and they are dusty even without dust bathing.

 

[nerfworthy]

That'll probably help a lot. Mine sleep in theirs all the time anyways.

Speaking of sand, what kind of sand do you recommend to use for their grit/bathing needs? Just regular playsand?