Hi We're thinking of getting 5 or 6 quail to be kept in our garden as pets and for eggs. The only bird I have kept before was a budgie so this will be a fairly new experience! So I have a few questions about their possible accommodation... Would something like this (see picture) be suitable for our Quail? It is 6ft long, has a ramp up to the enclosed area and removable tray for cleaning. Would it still be suitable for them in winter in the north of England? (which is likely to be wet, cold, windy and snowy) If it would do for winter, should I cover it or insulate it in some way? Would I need to put some sort of flooring on all/part of the run? or will they be happy enough on the ground? (bearing in mind that it rains a fair deal here) The quail will come from a local farm and so will be well used to the climate, but may have been raised inside. I'm not too sure as yet. Thank you!
Do something to pad the ceilings and put plywood around it 1ft high. Also quail don't give a care about ramps. they are ground birds and have no desire to move upward. Some people force them to interact with ramps by placing their food at the top. I personally don't think that's really fair. Your ceiling are high enough that when the quail are scared and flush they can gain enough velocity to break a neck. Put soft foam or attach a window screen over the whole ceiling a few inches from the roof. If you don't put plywood around the bottom it will be pretty easy for racoons to just pull whole quail out. They have thumbs and use them well. THey can fit a whole jumbo coturnix (in pcs) out of a hole the size of a nickel. Since they will be in direct contact with the ground you should also consider worming them. The only species of quail you can run to really utilize that space well is coturnix but they will love that big of a play house.
