Show me your quail pens!!!

[paneubert]

Quote:
Door opens inward, so I am hoping that opening the door will shoo the quail away from being near enough to be able to escape. Really, they have to get out of my way since the door swings all the way open and against the house. Hahaha. Anyone who doesn't move will be a flattened bird. That bottom board across the doorway is a 2 by 6, so when taking into account the pavers on the inside I am probably stepping over about a 4 inch tall wall. My plan (and we know how those seem to never work out) is to make sure I close the door as soon as I am inside. That way there is only a limited opportunity for escape. But making something a little taller isn't out of the question. I would need to have it on the exterior of the coop.

 

[horsekeeper]

paneubert I suggest placing some wire on the bottom of the door, so when you open the door the quail cannot run out. this would require you to step over it every time you enter or exit but I found it usefull in my aviary. Does your door open into the aviar or out of it(or both?)?

Excellent suggestion! I had bantams doing that and put a piece of plastic chicken wire across the bottom of the door until they learned to wait and run out the pop door into their run. When they ran out wild and free where the rest of the flock was the big adolescent roosters went after them hoping to get lucky and they were just little tiny girls.

Question: Can quail be kept on a coop like chickens with a covered run and be locked in at night to keep them safe and warm? It gets pretty cold here in the winter and having them inside will help with keeping the feed dry and water from freezing.

 

[clawstar]

Excellent suggestion! I had bantams doing that and put a piece of plastic chicken wire across the bottom of the door until they learned to wait and run out the pop door into their run. When they ran out wild and free where the rest of the flock was the big adolescent roosters went after them hoping to get lucky and they were just little tiny girls.

Question: Can quail be kept on a coop like chickens with a covered run and be locked in at night to keep them safe and warm? It gets pretty cold here in the winter and having them inside will help with keeping the feed dry and water from freezing.

I had a coop in my first aviary and it was a pain to run around at night putting them in the coop. Quail will not go into the coop by themselves at night, nor in a storm. Mine only run into their coop if it is close by when a predator is close (or if i walk by). Cot quail can withstand COLD nights in groups. I had a group of 5 chicks (just over 3 weeks old) survive a below freezing night just fine.

Quote: quail will jump over 4in easily. one of my biggest fears with an aviary door is squishing birds. quail can be known to hide in the corner and not move or make a sound until its too late, so I would not only add a block of wood to stop the door from opening completely. if you add the chicken wire to the outside side of the doors frame it will keep the quail from running out or stop some low flying birds from getting out. Quail will be faster than you expect and they are vary hard to catch, the more cation you use with them the better.

 

[kyzerc]

I have two of the 3 chicken cages from tractor and supply also I have the back door nailed shut.

 

[kyzerc]

I'm going to do that,ive had plenty get out because I have a privacy fence latch.I also have 2 screen door latches,one in inside and one outside.Sometimes I just step for 5 seconds and they are all over yard.I had been thinking about the wire at bottom of door,,but it has slipped my mind,as last time they got out I tried to catch one and lost my balance falling very hard on my back and cracked my tail bone, I'm too old for that,have fallen a lot after I got out hospital.How tall would you make it? Is 18 inchs ok? the a#m,s rarely fly

 

[coturnix condos]

This is my coup from beginning to end.

 

[coturnix condos]

This is my coup from beginning to end.

 

[paneubert]

Looks really nice "coturnix condos". I really like that large boxy area. Looks like WA State is really representing in this thread recently between clawstar, me, and now you!

I switched out my black plastic box for a dog house. The roof comes off for cleaning. Right now I have sand in there, but I am going to add some hay/straw once I pick some up. Quail are arriving tomorrow at noon!

 

[Sill]

Quote: I've found if your quail are hungry they may jump out the door to get at the food that you are bringing. You can easily avoid this by tossing treats on the opposite side of the aviary. They love wild bird seed, it's like junk food for kids. Just toss a small amount and they will scramble for it instead of crowding the door. If you do this often enough they will learn to go to the other end when you open the door waiting for treats. My button quail always did this. Not so dumb!

Looks really nice "coturnix condos". I really like that large boxy area. Looks like WA State is really representing in this thread recently between clawstar, me, and now you!

I switched out my black plastic box for a dog house. The roof comes off for cleaning. Right now I have sand in there, but I am going to add some hay/straw once I pick some up. Quail are arriving tomorrow at noon!

Exciting! I like the easier to clean dog house. They are going to love their new home! Don't hesitate to tweak this enclosure as you find what does and does not work for you.

 

[paneubert]

Tweaks already happening! They do crowd the door when they see food coming. One or two have escaped, but are dumb enough to sit around so I can grab them. I had a feeder temporarily on the ground outside the coop while I opened the door, and one decided to have a snack once he escaped instead of fleeing to freedom. Hahaha. I have added about one foot of hardware cloth to the doorway. Working great so far.