weather help help with coturnix

[LaQuail]

I have some 10 week old coturnix quail. I've been having them in my shed since they where hatched. With the smell I'm ready to put them outside in there bigger cage but not sure if its still to cold. What temp is to cold at this age? They will be out of the wind and I'm in south Louisiana so its been around 30deg at night.

 

[Poetshens]

I have my adults in PA and I cover the pen with a tarp. They all survived the -1 and -20 windchill week. I have ten and they were all outside at night that week instead of under the light.... So I think 30 should be fine for your young ones.

 

[mrwoodboat]

I'm in SC and it has been in the 20's here- I cover my pens at night with burlap and so far, no problems...

 

[Chicken-Farmer]

Temperature doesn't seem to matter much. It's the wind that gets them. At 10 weeks they should be pretty much full grown. I keep a tarp on my girls in the winter with a string of LED Christmas lights to encourage them to lay when it's dark out.

Chicken-Farmer

 

[LaQuail]

Thanks for the help. I've been busy so haven't been on much. Chk farmer I'm gonna have to try the Xmas lights BC mine quit laying the last two weeks and the order of pickled eggs keep coming.

 

[GD91]

I may be shouted at for this, but my four quail are outside in their pen, no tarp in all weather......... but mine are Jumbos. They have areas out of the wind still, but they don't use them unless the weather gets really bad. They have had a tarp covering half of the run the past 2 days because of gales & heavy rain, I had to keep their feed & the ground dry.

Most of the time, you go out at night with a torch & they are either asleep in a heap if the temp drops below 5oC or just asleep scattered around the pen if temps are higher.

I put my birds out at the age of 6 weeks in December, before then they were weaned off heat as soon as possible. I started with 6, lost 2 runts during the weaning, but that's just life. Now I have 4 very hardy birds doing just fine with a tarp, a wooden box & a plant pot. I've never had any aggression problems yet, nor behavioral issues with 2 males & 2 females ( probably will in spring). My birds are kept in the garden in a wire bottom pen sunk into the grass (at the moment, mostly mud in my garden now

)

Who says nature is dying?

Quail are not stupid, give them food, water & shelter out of the elements & they are happy like all other animals.

Oh, I forgot to add they do have a 2 x 4ft wooden box available all the time & thats completely wrapped in a tarp. The box is fully enclosed with just a small hole at one end & all the quail sit in there in bad weather where its warmer, dry & draft free. Its a low box, only about half a foot high, so it comfortable for them, that was in there before I added the tarp.

Reading back on my post it sounded like they had no shelter at all

 

[Poetshens]

I have the bottom portion of my pen covered due to stray cats trying to take swipes at them as well as keep drifting snow at bay. The top is open mostly with a small house for them to go in. They also sleep outside usually and it has been -10 wind chill where I am.

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

Mine have been outside all winter in -5oF with -20oF Windchill....all they have is a roofed section with a two sided wind barrier and they have been fine.... some are even still giving me eggs on natural lighting