What type of wire/grate should I use for the floor of my quail coop?

[Quinten Dragstedt]

We are building a quail coop and would like to get recommendations on what type of wire/grate to use for the floor and the walls of the quail coop. What have you used and how do you like it?

 

[feedman77]

I use 1/2 in x 1/2 in hardware cloth.
Usually in 2 ft widths. I think it's 19 ga.

If you go bigger that half by half you leave the possibility of varmints getting in the cage mice and rats. Or possums or coons reaching thru and pulling parts of the quail thru.

 

[Abriana]

I don't have quail, but hardware cloth is the best type of wire for cages, coops, and flooring because predators cannot rip through it or stick their hands in and grab a chicken as they would be able to with chicken wire.

 

[romea]

to be perfectly straight with you: although it is "common practice" to keep quails on wire floor, imo it borders abuse - besides being completely unnatural. here are some problems you can expect: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-foot-problems-on-wire-cage.1108991/

i keep mine on play-sand and clean it with a sand sifter/scoop such as these:



this is 1 of my low key pens:



their 'house' is a cardboard box, their dustbath an old breadbox...

 

[007Sean]

to be perfectly straight with you: although it is "common practice" to keep quails on wire floor, imo it borders abuse - besides being completely unnatural. here are some problems you can expect: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-foot-problems-on-wire-cage.1108991/

i keep mine on play-sand and clean it with a sand sifter/scoop such as these:

View attachment 1115888 View attachment 1115889

this is 1 of my low key pens:

View attachment 1115928 View attachment 1115913

their 'house' is a cardboard box, their dustbath an old breadbox...

View attachment 1115934 View attachment 1115935

Romea, how do you keep them from flying out...didn't notice a top on the enclosure? Are they pinioned? Anyway, just curious.

 

[romea]

i work from home, so i can keep an eye on them (and simply put them back )... but i do cover them while i am away and also at night.

the structure you see in the pictures is a combination of 2 different chicken pens/rabbit hutches that came with foldable tops such as this:



sometimes all i use is a blanket. sometimes a combination of the blanket (to prevent injury) with the screen.
with that being said, they usually stay put. it appears that the flying mostly happens at dusk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

they like to rest inside the house which, while they are still young, has a small electric blanket inside but they hang around the 'water cooler' at night.
admittedly, this puzzles me but i have not yet had time to research this behaviour.

btw: they were hatched & raised by a quail hen.

 

[007Sean]

Most of my birds are tame but I can not leave an open top on any enclosure I put them in, your lucky you work from home. I've come home from work before and found my whole house full of pheasants or quail that I thought were too young to fly.

 

[romea]

*grin*...
i wonder if they were startled by something they saw outside - such as a predator flying past...

i have a larger enclosure in an abandoned porch with access to an outdoor (dog) pen that i covered with simple netting of the type you get to cover rows of plants. this needs to be cut to size or else it becomes a (deadly) trap for song birds...

the enclosure inside the porch consists of 2 combined walk-in dog kennels such as this:



these pens are too tall for them to fly out of but i still have a blanket on top...
however, this is not something you want to have around your living room. also, the lower part needs some additional netting/barrier to prevent the quails from simply walking through the mesh.
i am currently slightly remodelling that enclosure and am planning of posting pictures once that is completed.
i have to admit that at this point i am still enjoying having them close by. they are amusing to watch, very silent (especially in comparison to my chickens ) and just plain cute.

what can i say? animals ground me.

 

[007Sean]

Yeah, know what mean about "grounding ya". I sit and watch my birds for hours when I can.
My inside brooders are in a un-used back room, use to be my hobby room but that kinda went by the wayside. If I leave the door to that room open and don't have top on the brooders yet, they have free roam of the house...they can make quite a mess of the place.

 

[romea]

re: "If I leave the door to that room open and don't have top on the brooders yet, they have free roam of the house...they can make quite a mess of the place."

i like working with blankets and sheets. inexpensive & easy to come by (> sales/thrift stores), versatile, washable, foldable, stackable and so on...
i use them as dividers, to calm nervous animals, screens (also against the sun) and even as floors for baby chicks (which i then obviously exchange, shake & wash).
i find that birds do not probe obstacles (unlike dogs or cats, for instance) - so affixing them with tape, clips, stakes or clothespins is usually all it takes to keep them in or out...