Smell-Free Quail Coop

[Mhays]

So...slightly stinky today. Stink goes down if I rake the poop into the soil a bit...

 

[Mhays]

 

[Mhays]

This is a photo of my setup as it's being cleaned: hubby had the great idea of letting the flock into the dirt while he cleaned the wire.

 

[CaloosaBirds]

This is a photo of my setup as it's being cleaned: hubby had the great idea of letting the flock into the dirt while he cleaned the wire.

They look really happy on the dirt! I'm still working on my new setup, but I do want them on the dirt/mulch/whatever.

 

[Mhays]

They look really happy on the dirt! I'm still working on my new setup, but I do want them on the dirt/mulch/whatever.

I like the idea of them having temporary access - meaning that I like the everyday use of wire so that they aren't standing in their own poop, which I'd worry about with a dirt floor in a habitat this size. But them being able to peck through composted material while we're cleaning is a good thing (although I think they ate all the worms! Good thing they're cheap!)

I am toying with the equally crazy idea of harnesses to take them outside (we don't have a private yard, so I don't want to have to chase them into the street) because I also love the idea of getting them access to real grass and bugs (hopefully not parasites, though...)

 

[Mhays]

Soo - after a trial, we decided to set the poor worms free - you need a significant layer of dirt to prevent the poop from burning them (we found worms on the floor who were desperately trying to escape) and it started to stink as soon as the dirt/poop ratio got above 50/50 which was about two days. A lot to remove and replace.

So, we've figured something out that seems to work better - going to a layer of compostable cat litter, and then I found out that big poultry farms use iron sulfate to get rid of the ammonia gas (it precipitates it into ferrous ammonium sulfate)

Be darned if grinding up a generic Slow Fe tablet and sprinkling it over the cat litter didn't do the trick. Now we have less to remove, worms are happily composting outdoors, and our house doesn't smell like a...I can't even describe it.

 

[CaloosaBirds]

Soo - after a trial, we decided to set the poor worms free - you need a significant layer of dirt to prevent the poop from burning them (we found worms on the floor who were desperately trying to escape) and it started to stink as soon as the dirt/poop ratio got above 50/50 which was about two days. A lot to remove and replace.

So, we've figured something out that seems to work better - going to a layer of compostable cat litter, and then I found out that big poultry farms use iron sulfate to get rid of the ammonia gas (it precipitates it into ferrous ammonium sulfate)

Be darned if grinding up a generic Slow Fe tablet and sprinkling it over the cat litter didn't do the trick. Now we have less to remove, worms are happily composting outdoors, and our house doesn't smell like a...I can't even describe it.

Thank you for the update!

 

[Mhays]

Thank you for the update!

I think this idea would work if you were able to have a deep layer of dirt...but that makes it impractical if you plan to clean it regularly. I wonder if you could make some kind of swappable wheeled vermicomposter where one lives outside and one under the birds.

 

[FloorCandy]

I like the idea of them having temporary access - meaning that I like the everyday use of wire so that they aren't standing in their own poop, which I'd worry about with a dirt floor in a habitat this size. But them being able to peck through composted material while we're cleaning is a good thing (although I think they ate all the worms! Good thing they're cheap!)

I am toying with the equally crazy idea of harnesses to take them outside (we don't have a private yard, so I don't want to have to chase them into the street) because I also love the idea of getting them access to real grass and bugs (hopefully not parasites, though...)

I made a very light weight pen out of pvc, hardware cloth and zip ties. Mine has a wire bottom, but there are many corners you can cut in the building process because it isn’t a full time pen. When I don’t need it I just push it under the deck, when in use, I move it every day so the grass is always fresh and doesn’t die.

You can just make a smaller , shorter and cheaper model and just take it out put it on the grass and put them inside for a bit while you supervise. I think harnesses might take the joy out of the experience for the birds.

 

[Mhays]

I made a very light weight pen out of pvc, hardware cloth and zip ties. Mine has a wire bottom, but there are many corners you can cut in the building process because it isn’t a full time pen. When I don’t need it I just push it under the deck, when in use, I move it every day so the grass is always fresh and doesn’t die.

View attachment 2254081

You can just make a smaller , shorter and cheaper model and just take it out put it on the grass and put them inside for a bit while you supervise. I think harnesses might take the joy out of the experience for the birds.

That is very cool!

We've actually been taking them out one at a time. They're a little scared, but they are pretty easy to keep track of when they can't team up on you!

We had also talked about getting some kind of movable pen - that looks like a really good one!