Transitioning Coturnix to Outside

[JABehrens]

Hi! I have 10 Coturnix that are 5 weeks old. I've had them inside because it's been so brutally cold. I thought I might put them in a coop inside the garage at first, so it won't be such a shock to go from the nice 70 degree house to the 20 degree outside. Inside the garage it's more like 40-50 degrees, and I can set up a heat lamp to help. I worry that it might still be a shock to their systems since the bottom is hardware cloth, so will be cold beneath them. When it warms up, I can take the coop outside.

So what would you do if they were your quail? I am patient, they can stay inside longer if they need to. Despite my mother being aghast that I am keeping quail in my bathtub. (I'm almost 40, I can do what I want with my own dang bathtub!)

 

[dpenning]

They should be fine in the garage. I wouldn't use a hear lamp.
Eat them acclimate to that for a few days then move them outside. I thought for sure I was going to have quail-cicles with 3-4 days below freezing and into the teens at night but they have been fine. Some are in my breeding hutch but some are just in a dog run with a few shelters and straw and they are fine. I just hav to change out the water daily with fresh thawed water! Who would have thought this would be a problem in Texas!

 

[Hope Hughes]

Mine have been fine outside in the 20s.(20s in north florida!!! )the ones outside are 2 months old and 1 1/2 months. They are just fine.
I have a set of maybe 45 in the inside of my coop with a heating pad cave set to level 5. So they can get on or under it if they need it. They are about 2 1/2 -3 weeks old. And they have been just fine.... maybe 40-60 maybe lower dont have the temp in there right now. As long as they have alot of feathers to help them warm up they should be ok. But i agree i wouldnt use a lamp. Let them acclimate to the cooler weather. ​

 

[purslanegarden]

I recall they would be feathered up by 5 weeks (actually almost fully mature). If you are able to keep them outside without too much draft, they should be fine. (ie the ambient temperature of their enclosure may be cold but they aren't getting any direct winds cuz no one likes cold wind blowing on them! hehe).

However, adjusting them and keeping them in the garage would be OK too, no heat lamp needed. Although raised by you and looking so small from the beginning, they do still have their bird knowledge of how to stay warm in 40-degree temps in your garage.

 

[JABehrens]

Ok! I'm going to put them out there tomorrow while I'm home and see how they do.

 

[Ewheeler]

I stay in ocala and my quail have been fine have a light on for a few hours for laying but no heat just so they have 14 hrs of light and been laying daily