Will this be safe?

[Dolly1218]

Hello everyone! I have decided to move into an RV. I would love to have birds while I travel, but I am at a loss. I have bird cages and dog cages to use as the 'coops' inside the RV. Well heres my question, will it be safe to have both quail and small chickens in the RV together? They would be in seperate cages, but obviously sharing the same overall space. I know diseases can be passed to quail from chickens, but I wasnt sure if this situation would be ok or if I should pick and choose between one or the other. Thank you!

 

[ChickenRaiser95]

its fine, they will segragate themselves out but all will be fine, as for deases im sure its fine

 

[oktx]

Not really fine, no. The quail are very susceptible to lung/breathing issues and can easily catch things chickens could be immune to but might be carriers of. If there is no other way, I'd suggest frequent inspection of all birds for any parasites or other issues. Frankly, the indoor air quality for you would be my biggest concern. I can hardly stand the smell when I have to keep the quail covered with a tarp for a day or two because of rain and I clean my coop and under it regularly. Have you tried living in a small room with just one bird first to see how it smells?

 

[TwoCrows]

its fine, they will segragate themselves out but all will be fine, as for deases im sure its fine

In cramped quarters, chickens will probably not "segregate" themselves and could kill the quail, and "as for diseases", chickens carry lethal diseases that can and do kill quail.

So for Dolly, if you are looking to keep birds in the RV while traveling, you might want to keep small Button Quail or even Parrots. Years ago we traveled cross country with Cockatiels and Lovebirds packed into our Airstream and they loved the entire trip!

Good luck!

 

[Dolly1218]

I think you may have misunderstood me. They would be seperated in a quail cage and a chicken cage. I was thinking of having the quail in the 'dining area' and the chickens in the bedroom area. Im not worried about them fighting, because they would not be mingling together, I also have lived with 3 ducks in cramped quarters and the smell was fine. What I am worried about is if diseases are still able to spread between them if they are in different areas? but they will be in an RV so technically the same space just seperate living areas.

 

[TwoCrows]

Disease is transferred thru the air by floating dander, sneezing and breathing. It is also transferred by your hands and feet, and of course poop. So it is a great possibility that the chickens will pose threat to your quail by the air alone.

Quail and chickens stress out very easily. Chickens especially and I wouldn't imagine they would do well on the road in an RV. I recently moved my chickens around to a new coop on the same property and it took them 2 or 3 weeks to get over the stress of moving.

 

[Dolly1218]

Ok. I am a bit confused. If I had these birds on a ranch, couldnt they still get sick? If it is transfered through air and from my hands/feet, would it be the same chance of them getting sick? Would it change anything if I hatch quail and chick eggs and let them grow up in the same area but seperated? Or would they still get sick?

 

[TwoCrows]

Absolutely, keeping quail and chickens on a farm, you need to practice bio security. If you have walk in quail aviaries and walk in chicken yards, you will need to change your shoes between species. You would need to keep the species separated a good distance so things can not float over and never share water or feed dishes. You would need to wash your hands between the species and if warranted, you might have to change your clothes if you were really doing some cleaning in one of the areas. So yes, disease can happen if you are not careful.

As for raising them together...Chickens can still be carriers of things right out of the egg. Another problem that arises when raising them together is that they each have their feed requirements...quail as babies need about 28% protein for proper growth, where as chicken babies can get by on 18%. This also goes for adult quail and chickens as well. So if you brooding these two species together, one of them is either going to get far too much protein or far too little protein. If you brooded them along side each other, but separated as you mentioned, again, there is still possibility of disease transfer. Things float, sneezes fly and your hands will transfer disease if not washed.

As for adult quail and chickens, again, the feed requirement is so different. And you can not feed layer feed to male quail. It will destroy the kidneys. Chickens are very large and aggressive chickens will kill quail.

So the long and short of it is, quail need their own housing away from the chickens.

 

[Dolly1218]

Ok thank you. I will just choose one. That will be a tough decision!

 

[James the Bald]

$1.40!!!