Switching from Chickens to Quail in same pen?

[Chaoth]

Hello, everyone!
I currently have 6 chickens (all silkies, the mama and her 5 chicks who are nearly grown now) but we want to switch out from chickens to quail in the near future. We are planning to give our current chickens to good homes once we find them, and we want to re-use their coop area to raise quails instead.

What kind of prep would we need to do? I've heard quails and chickens cannot be kept in the same area due to disease. Would mites effect that, too? ((My chickens picked up mites when we were at a new house with them for ~2 months, and we're trying to treat them all now, since we only noticed once we got home with them)).

My dad is very sweet, and he wants to make sure all of his possible baby quail are safe and healthy. The coop itself has chicken fencing on all four sides, which are buried around half a foot underground, and chicken fencing over the top. It's more than 6 feet tall, because my 6'4" brother can walk into the coop yard without hitting his head on the fencing. We've never raised quails before, but my dad has wanted to for as long as I can remember.

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[JaeG]

Quail are great little birds. They won't use a coop like chickens do, choosing to sleep wherever they like, and you might have to be careful as they can sleep right next to the sides of the run and rats or similar can try to grab them through the wire. It depends on what sort of predators you have in your area but quail do seem to be very attractive prey.

You might need a safety door for going in and out as ours are in our aviary and they always manage to get out the door (we do have a safety door so they can't get far).

If you hatch and raise your own they should be very tame.

You will need to get on top of the mites as quail are affected by them also.

They will lay their eggs wherever they fancy but often choose a hidden, private corner. You'll get to know where they like to stash them. You could use plants to create areas where they might want to lay or make little huts for them.

I'm sure you'll all enjoy them.

 

[All4Eggz]

I would have said something, but @JaeG covered it for the most part.

Good luck!

 

[Chip76]

The holes in the chicken wire are too big for quail. Recommend you cover it in 1/2 inch hardware cloth.

 

[MadamContrary]

I second the hardware cloth, small quail can squeeze right through it. At least run it around the base and up at least 4 feet. Alternatively something solid could work as well and provide a windbreak. Generally disease wise, quail disease kills chickens, most chicken diseases do not effect quail. Mites can kill young quail if out of control, spray everything down with soapy water for a few days in a row, every nook and cranny and then every couple of days until the mites ate all smothered. Rats and opossums love to eat quail so make sure your enclosure can keep them out.

 

[drmay78]

Hello, everyone!
I currently have 6 chickens (all silkies, the mama and her 5 chicks who are nearly grown now) but we want to switch out from chickens to quail in the near future. We are planning to give our current chickens to good homes once we find them, and we want to re-use their coop area to raise quails instead.

What kind of prep would we need to do? I've heard quails and chickens cannot be kept in the same area due to disease. Would mites effect that, too? ((My chickens picked up mites when we were at a new house with them for ~2 months, and we're trying to treat them all now, since we only noticed once we got home with them)).

My dad is very sweet, and he wants to make sure all of his possible baby quail are safe and healthy. The coop itself has chicken fencing on all four sides, which are buried around half a foot underground, and chicken fencing over the top. It's more than 6 feet tall, because my 6'4" brother can walk into the coop yard without hitting his head on the fencing. We've never raised quails before, but my dad has wanted to for as long as I can remember.

Thank you so much in advance!

line the sides of the pen with 2ft tall 1/4" hardware cloth. Keeps them safe from predator hands at night. Pen also MUST be covered or they will fly out and/or get eaten.