Starting Quail next spring.

[NinjaGamer2022]

Zack is a commercial breeder. He also keeps his birds in stacked cages. Personally, I would not give my quail less than 1 square foot/bird, preferably more.

Are stacked cages bad? Thank you for your info.

 

[Nabiki]

Are stacked cages bad? Thank you for your info.

Stacked cages aren't necessarily bad, but they are much harder to make a comfortable, happy environment for any living creature. Happy quail will have a dirt or sand bath. They need a place to rest their feet from the wire or they are likely to develop foot issues.

Commercial breeders usually keep males for six months, females for about a year. A coturnix quail has a natural lifespan of 2.5 to 4 years. I can't say that the commercial way is wrong, but it's not right for me. I raise my birds in pens on the ground. They get plants, hiding places, and as much as I can give them for a happy life.

If you are raising quail for maximum production of meat and eggs, then raise them like a commercial breeder. If you want them for meat and eggs, but are more concerned about their quality of life, then you want to give them a more natural environment.

There are a lot of right ways to raise quail. There are a lot of wrong ways too, but my way isn't the only way.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Stacked cages aren't necessarily bad, but they are much harder to make a comfortable, happy environment for any living creature. Happy quail will have a dirt or sand bath. They need a place to rest their feet from the wire or they are likely to develop foot issues.

Commercial breeders usually keep males for six months, females for about a year. A coturnix quail has a natural lifespan of 2.5 to 4 years. I can't say that the commercial way is wrong, but it's not right for me. I raise my birds in pens on the ground. They get plants, hiding places, and as much as I can give them for a happy life.

If you are raising quail for maximum production of meat and eggs, then raise them like a commercial breeder. If you want them for meat and eggs, but are more concerned about their quality of life, then you want to give them a more natural environment.

There are a lot of right ways to raise quail. There are a lot of wrong ways too, but my way isn't the only way.

Would it be OK to have 20 small quail in a 6' sq ft cage with a dust bath and possibly a few sticks and things? I want my pet quail to have a great life but the set up I have I don't this I could do much more than that. If it's not kind I could have less in the cage instead. Thank you for your info and tips.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Stacked cages aren't necessarily bad, but they are much harder to make a comfortable, happy environment for any living creature. Happy quail will have a dirt or sand bath. They need a place to rest their feet from the wire or they are likely to develop foot issues.

Commercial breeders usually keep males for six months, females for about a year. A coturnix quail has a natural lifespan of 2.5 to 4 years. I can't say that the commercial way is wrong, but it's not right for me. I raise my birds in pens on the ground. They get plants, hiding places, and as much as I can give them for a happy life.

If you are raising quail for maximum production of meat and eggs, then raise them like a commercial breeder. If you want them for meat and eggs, but are more concerned about their quality of life, then you want to give them a more natural environment.

There are a lot of right ways to raise quail. There are a lot of wrong ways too, but my way isn't the only way.

The final setup will look like this except at least one less quail, a mini dust bath in the corner, wire bottom, and probably a different water system. The quail pictured are ~3 weeks old.

 

[Nabiki]

Would it be OK to have 20 small quail in a 6' sq ft cage with a dust bath and possibly a few sticks and things? I want my pet quail to have a great life but the set up I have I don't this I could do much more than that. If it's not kind I could have less in the cage instead. Thank you for your info and tips.

Even if you were stuffing 3/square foot, that's too many. Personally, I wouldn't have more than 4 in there. Remember that you have to subtract the space being used by feeders, waterers, sand bath, and hiding places.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Even if you were stuffing 3/square foot, that's too many. Personally, I wouldn't have more than 4 in there. Remember that you have to subtract the space being used by feeders, waterers, sand bath, and hiding places.

Thank you for this information. Is wood pellets a bad idea for litter? I have been using pine shavings but the quail are kicking it out of their cage. Thx,

 

[Nabiki]

Thank you for this information. Is wood pellets a bad idea for litter? I have been using pine shavings but the quail are kicking it out of their cage. Thx,

Wood pellets work. They're going to be messy no matter what you do. Be aware that if you keep them inside, you are going to have dust everywhere. I'm not sure how they produce so much dust, but it's fierce.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

Wood pellets work. They're going to be messy no matter what you do. Be aware that if you keep them inside, you are going to have dust everywhere. I'm not sure how they produce so much dust, but it's fierce.

Thank you for your reply. Is it safe to collect feathers they drop or do they need special cleaning? Thank you for info.

 

[Nabiki]

Thank you for your reply. Is it safe to collect feathers they drop or do they need special cleaning? Thank you for info.

You can collect the feathers. Freeze them for two days, bring them out for two days, then freeze them again. That will kill just about anything on there.