Water Feature in The Quail Aviary(Bobwhites)

[Sumatra503]

I'm renovating my aviary and a water feature is one of my renovation plans. The aviary is currently empty and I will be adding 4 bobwhites in a month or so.

The aviary is not near completed yet, but will be a 10'x10'x6' aviary with 4" of sand in th floor. I will be planting mative plants and grasses that are bird safe. Probably low growing huckleberry or beach grass.

As for the water feature:

It will be about 3 feet long and 1' wide and end in a puddle that is 1 foot in diameter and about 2" deep. The whole thing will be a sort of creek type set up and won't be more than 2" deep in the puddle and 1" deep in the stream part. It will be moving water, but not overly fast moving and planted with water plants in the puddle. I will be using natural rock in the feature to make it more natural.

What are your thoughts on bobs and this sort of water feature? I know the coturnix did fine with it and the pigeons seem to do really well with it.

 

[gabrielle1976]

They are going to be so happy. I dont Know much about them but I knoe they will be so glad to get out of there brooder , I have been to ill to build the cage I wanted for them yet . They are about 8 weeks old

 

[TwoCrows]

Quail are dust bathers and rarely enjoy getting wet. So they may only use it for drinking out of. BUT....adding features that are natural in a quail's environment will certainly add to improving their lives. Sounds like a great set up!

 

[Sumatra503]

Thanks!

Right now it just looks like a sand pit with some posts around it. No netting yet or anything. My pond equipment is coming Monday. A small pump and pond liner. The rest I have already.

My other aviary was awesome, but it was destroyed during last year's wind storm when a tree fell on it. I lost all of my Coturnix out of it. I'm asuming they just ran off through the gaping holes in the crushed netting.

This one will be much nicer than my old one, hopefully.

I am planning to add some plants that do well in the area. Keyly Huckleberry or Salal which are native fruiting shrubs. Huckleberry is very easy to keep trimmed into any shape you choose and salal is more wild. Both produce lovely berries that my past quail loved.

Also perhaps some ferns or beach grass for a more quail oriented section of the pen. They love to hide inside the ferns and low growing shrubs. These plants are also really sturdy and aren't very palatable, though not toxic.

There will also be a pigeon section too that blends into the quail section. This section will have the water feature and will have a few tall branches and a shelf for nesting. No fences, though to devide thengs, just a bit of tall and short plants.

My birds are coming from a BYC'er that lives quite a ways frim me, but we're meeting at the poultry swap. 2 of the birds are "special" and have a couple of minor defects they were going to be culled for, but she rescued them. They other two are just slow growers and are smaller than they should be. This doesn't bother me, though. I've been looking forward to more quail since the tree and I keep them as pets anyways.

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like you are going to have some happy quail! I also keep my Bobs in an aviary and try to make the place as natural as possible for them. They seem to live long happy lives this way.

Good luck with the new aviary!