Show me your quail pens!!!

[koturnix]

Any good cheap button quail cage ideas?

Perhaps a large plastic bin? The giant Ikea one or 110 qt from Target are popular for bin cages.
The Target one is usually $15, but $11 when it goes on sale. I have one as a large brooder for my Coturnix at the moment.
https://www.target.com/p/sterilite-...-clear-with-purple-latch-27-5gal/-/A-13794501

I cut 2 squares on the lid and make holes with a soldering iron to attach the hardware cloth with zip ties or bolts like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/77/cb/c1/...60d9a18cef--hamster-habitat-hamster-cages.jpg

Or skip the lid and just cut a rectangle of chicken wire and bend the sides to make a soft cover in case the buttons popcorn up, I don't think they're strong enough to lift up the cover?

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

I have seen people use the prefab rabbit hutches that are usually a light brown stained wood. Like all prefab, the quality is usually not that great and the wood is usually soft. So it would mostly be about predator proofing since a lot of them are easy to open for a raccoon.

If you are talking about using an actual prefab chicken coop, keep in mind that quail (at least coturnix) generally don't use ramps, and don't roost. Don't use nest boxes (usually). So a chicken coop may be a waste of space for quail. But like with everything some people have crazy quail that like to act like chickens.

Yeah my coturnix, love to play on ramps, i have one in each of my 3 family group houses, the males go up and down the ramp and stand at the top of it crowing loudly. (I have one male with 2 or 3 females in each one) Several of my hens like to roost, one roosts on the edge of a bowl i feed them in and thats where she lays her egg everyday, in the food! None of my hens are interested in the ramps, just the males.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

One of my

Perhaps a large plastic bin? The giant Ikea one or 110 qt from Target are popular for bin cages.
The Target one is usually $15, but $11 when it goes on sale. I have one as a large brooder for my Coturnix at the moment.
https://www.target.com/p/sterilite-...-clear-with-purple-latch-27-5gal/-/A-13794501

I cut 2 squares on the lid and make holes with a soldering iron to attach the hardware cloth with zip ties or bolts like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/77/cb/c1/...60d9a18cef--hamster-habitat-hamster-cages.jpg

Or skip the lid and just cut a rectangle of chicken wire and bend the sides to make a soft cover in case the buttons popcorn up, I don't think they're strong enough to lift up the cover?

I keep my quail inside, i have some of them in large plastic bins, screen tops, with wood edges, i staple the screens to the wood frame, otherwise they "popcorn" them off, and then i cut out the side and have hardware cloth attatched for one side so they get plenty of air.
I found a cracked 30 gallon plastic bin at walmart and the manager let me have it for 2 bucks, this spring, so thats why i had originally cut out the side and put hardware cloth. Then when i got quail i put them in it. The coturnix quail love it and i can see in great. Just make sure to leave a few inches of the bottom on the side ypu put wire on, so they cant scratch sand out everywhere! I left mine 2 inches but wish i had left it 4.
These are such an easy clean up to, just dump it out into compost pile, rinse, and replace the sand, dirt, ramp, dishes, quail, etc etc.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Yeah my coturnix, love to play on ramps, i have one in each of my 3 family group houses, the males go up and down the ramp and stand at the top of it crowing loudly. (I have one male with 2 or 3 females in each one) Several of my hens like to roost, one roosts on the edge of a bowl i feed them in and thats where she lays her egg everyday, in the food! None of my hens are interested in the ramps, just the males.

Mine all use the ramps. I make lofts up top and fill them with sand. They love it. I make nest boxes for when they start laying, and a good percentage use them or lay in the sand.

 

[Woodey2]

Can you all add picture here for us to see. I have the supplies to make cages so I can get birds out of the house. BUT just have not done it yet.

 

[Sammbalina]

What size spacing cage wire do you all use for the sides. I'm going to be building a hutch soon, and will be using 1/4 in for the floor, but it gets pricey using the smaller spacing. I was thinking 1"x 2". Do you all think that is too big? I will be getting Jumbo Coturnix.

 

[le_bwah]

What size spacing cage wire do you all use for the sides. I'm going to be building a hutch soon, and will be using 1/4 in for the floor, but it gets pricey using the smaller spacing. I was thinking 1"x 2". Do you all think that is too big? I will be getting Jumbo Coturnix.

1/4 might be too small for the floor (poop won't fall through well and you'll have to scrub it more often or else put them at high risk of bumble-foot). I recommend using 1/2 all the way around for the bird's safety. You can find decent hardware cloth on Amazon for half the price of physical retail.

 

[007Sean]

What size spacing cage wire do you all use for the sides. I'm going to be building a hutch soon, and will be using 1/4 in for the floor, but it gets pricey using the smaller spacing. I was thinking 1"x 2". Do you all think that is too big? I will be getting Jumbo Coturnix.

I use 1" x 1/2" welded wire for the sides of my quail cages. 1"x 2" is too big for quail. Predators can easily reach in and grab your birds. Snakes can also fit through 1" x 2" wire.

 

[paneubert]

1/4 might be too small for the floor (poop won't fall through well and you'll have to scrub it more often or else put them at high risk of bumble-foot). I recommend using 1/2 all the way around for the bird's safety. You can find decent hardware cloth on Amazon for half the price of physical retail.

This, 100%. Just stop reading after you see this suggestion. Haha. Half inch square is pretty much the best of all worlds. The size is good for both floors and walls, the reasoning behind why that is....is sound, and the Amazon recommendation for cost savings is also true. I still have a partial roll from Amazon that I take chunks off of for random small projects.

 

[AlderCreekFarms]

Here's my new one... I didnt make it up, I used the suggestion from "slightly rednecked'. I would change a couple things next time. There13 in are 13 in there and it will hold up to 24, not that I would put in more than 15.