Show me your quail pens

[chickenguy1998]

i am trying to come up with some ideas for a quail pen????

 

[ampedersen]

My new adventure with quails!! I'm so excited! My husband refused to let me have chickens, but thankfully he OK'd quail. Together, we built this 3 story luxury condo. Each floor is 14 sq. ft. So the entire condo can hold 42 quail very comfortably. I live just south of lake Superior that neighbors Canada. We usually get a few days in winter of -30 days actual temp. We will keep their condo in the garage for winter. The left side is insulated with a 1" thick pink insulation board sandwiched between plywood and T-111. The other side is open. We draped thick plastic over a portion to help maintain warmth and cut down on quail debris (dander, feathers, sand etc) in our garage. We have an electrically warmed water 5 gal bucket on top which is piped to the quail via 1/2" PVC pipe (insulated with 3/4" black pipe styrofoam). As of today, we have had a low temp of 18* degrees and no problems. My quail are currently 5.5 weeks old. We mixed Hay (Not straw: straw has a core that can carry parasites) & pine shavings for their enclosure. We are using oil pans as poo guards and simply dump it every 3-4 days. Easy Peazy! So far, they are happy and healthy.

 

[Kylesquails]

Hi chickenguy! i,ve changed my setup about 5 times, but this is what i have atm. at the back i have a breeding cage on wire. at the front is a walk in section which i have about 17 quails

 

[FenDruadin]

This is old, but here's one:






Yup, I raise 'em on the ground, in chain link. The chain link is now covered almost completely with hardware cloth, and the top is covered with wire, and there's wire under the dirt. Right now, there are three quail in about a hundred square feet. They are happy birds. I'll add another half dozen hens in the Spring. They're completely different from how caged birds act--calm as chickens, talkative, and fun to watch dig & dust bathe. And no fighting or feather-pulling ever (I keep only one male in the pen--I could probably keep two if I had a dozen girls or so).

There are more pictures and details on my blog, here.

 

[FenDruadin]

I really don't have trouble with smells or hygiene, but my secret is not all that useful if you are trying to raise quail for anything other than eggs and pets: Low density. At most, I have 8 or 10 in a 100-sq-ft area. It's shaded by tons of trees, so they also constantly have tree leaves falling in and adding carbonaceous material to help decompose the poop.

If I had a larger number, I'd probably bed them with straw and just mix it up/add more regularly. Still, for truly factory-style numbers, raised pens are probably much more practical. I find in a raised pen that it helps them a LOT to have a sandbox to hang out in. When mine were in brooders, they'd spend almost all day in the sandbox, and it's where they'd lay their eggs too. Kept the eggs cleaner & easier to collect, too. Put high sides on two or three sides of the sandbox though--they'll kick the sand all over otherwise, and you'll lose it through the wire.

 

[chickenguy1998]

i like that idea thank you!!!!!!

 

[chickenguy1998]

my name is Kyle too!! haha

 

[Kylesquails]

Great name! post a pic of your pen when u finish

 

[chickenguy1998]

ok i will!!

 

[Kylesquails]

i find that they are happier and tamer on ground to, the only problem i have is keeping the floor clean and the smell down?