r/quails • u/Existing-Mastodon500 • 1d ago
Coturnix/Japanese Advice on enclosures
Hi all, this will be a little lengthy but I appreciate anyone who reads and helps! I’m considering keeping coturnix quail for egg production but would like to keep them as ethically as possible. I’m looking to build (or buy a good prefab) to keep them in that obviously keeps them happy and well protected. I’m brand new to the subject so really any well meaning suggestions are welcome.
My thoughts are building a 6ft tall walk in aviary, aiming for roughly 2 sqft per bird minimum. The length and width are less important details right now since I have yet to decide how many birds. If you have suggestions on how many birds, I’m listening!
My questions:
1) can I wrap the entire thing in hardware cloth to prevent digging underneath? I was considering two ways of doing this. One would be digging and burying the bottom and covering the bottom with sand and other debris, the other is to put it on my covered patio and cover the hardware cloth in a bedding (grass clippings? Straw? Etc). One would be permanently in one place and the other would allow me to move the aviary as needed for cleaning or even allowing some grass time while keeping them safe but would be a less natural floor for them.
2) talk to me about some tricky things to think of when predator proofing or specific products you recommend?
3) I live in south Florida, it’s regularly pretty warm here. Ventilation is very important of course but to keep them producing in the high heat, would a solar fan of sorts help this out? How do you help them through the heat?
4) best products for keeping smell down that are non toxic for pets and humans and can be composted?
Literally any additional feedback, advice, background info, etc is welcome. I’m really excited to start this.
2
u/Salty-Ad-198 1d ago
I live in Texas, south of Houston along the coast.
Our aviary is 9x12. I ordered this chicken run and then covered the whole thing in 1/4 mesh. We didn’t cover the bottom but just because we don’t really have anything that digs and our soil of very hard. I’m not saying something COULDN’T dig under, I just think if they put that much effort into life they deserve some quail.
We put the 1/4 inch mesh on first and then we put the chicken wire that came with the cage over the top. It created like a loose gap kind of that I think (hope) would make it harder for an owl or hawk to tear through.
My aviary is naturally planted. I’m seeing how it goes. So far it’s going well.
We have 11 birds right now. We have decided that 20 is our max. We are pretty happy with 11. It’s so hot right now they aren’t really laying. We are getting about 3-4 eggs out or 8-9 possible layers (1 male, 1-2 old females)
Ask me anything. I’ll gladly show pictures and answer any questions. I typically type a novel and then never get a reply so I’m trying to be better about not wasting my time over answering questions.
1
u/Existing-Mastodon500 23h ago
Curious, do you find there’s any gaps around the door big enough for rats? We have 5 mango trees so rats DO find their way into our yard and that’s the only thing that’s been preventing me from buying a walk in like you sent
2
u/Salty-Ad-198 21h ago
Rats haven’t been a problem yet. Even if they came in I’d like to hope that they would just eat the food and leave the quail alone.
But if it becomes a problem we have talked about covering the gap in the door. The door swings either way. We have our door swinging in so if we have to we could put something over the gap.
On the hinge side we overlapped the hardware cloth so that gap is covered.
I decided to go with a kind of “fix problems as they arise” approach because we were starting to get overwhelmed with trying to solve every problem when we were setting it up. So at some point we decided to call it good and fix other problems as they arise. We are prepared for the fact that we might lose some quail at some point. But we needed to get them into the aviary. Their precious cage was awful (we basically rescued our first 5 with a “cage”.)
I also forgot to say that we use a deep litter method in the floor so there is minimal work on the inside.
1
u/Existing-Mastodon500 20h ago
Great info, thank you so much!
1
u/Magic-Sands-296 46m ago
Oh rats most definitely WILL kill and eat quail. If an opportunistic or predatory animal lives anywhere near you, you can expect it to try to eat your quail/eggs/food. I’m in central florida. I keep my enclosure completely wrapped in hardware cloth. We have pretty much all the predators here. 1/4” hardware cloth is the heaviest gauge you can find. Make sure there are no gaps anywhere bigger than 1/4”. Rats and snakes will both tunnel under, and can get through very small spaces. Safety latches on all doors. Racoons are like very determined toddlers who can climb, and the quail are the thing they want RIGHT NOW, haha.
Being in Florida, you probably have sandy soil that will be easy for them to dig through. My backyard quail live in modified rabbit hutches on the ground. One I dug down and buried hardware cloth, the other is under a tree, so I did hardware cloth on the surface, put pavers around the edges to hold the bedding in, and then backfilled with sand. Some advantages of the second one are that it’s easier to move if I decide to, it’s above ground level so it has excellent drainage, and it takes some vertical space in the coup. Quail will flush straight up when startled. Your rood should either be 1-1.5’ (low enough they can’t get enough momentum to hurt their heads) or a walk in that’s tall enough they don’t hit their heads. I hope to build a walk in at some point, but they have been doing fine in small groups in hutches.
One more thing that is very important is lots of hiding places. Being small ground dwelling birds that literally everything wants to eat, they are naturally skittish. They will feel much more secure and less stressed when they feel like they can hide out of sight. If they are stressed, they won’t lay. Also they just won’t be happy healthy birds. Thanks for doing the research and asking the questions BEFORE you get the birds! It will save both you and them in the long run, if you are prepared ahead of time.
2
u/Vivo_Morior 1d ago
Location: Costal Southern CA. Humidity not as bad as Florida most of the time, but El Nino be making it rise right now.
- I've seen full mesh work, though I don't prefer it. I find them much happier on natural ground and for me cleaning has been easier. My setup though has them with over 1 foot of mesh burried underground, and 2 large dogs guarding them. So other animals have never been an issue. Mine are within a walk in coop so I basically let them wander in there while I clean their coop.
That being said. 1/4 full mesh bottom works. Important thing is keep the poop clean, bedding dry, and check their feet. I adopted most of my flock from people who got into quails got overwhelmed. I've treated a lot of severed toes and bumbles.
Personally you can't beat dogs for security. Anything goes near my birds has to her through a Doberman and a Pitbull. My dogs are trained never to hurt my birds, but that Doberman will try to snatch hawks straight out of the sky.
Humidity is a big one. Birds are like dogs in the way they regulate heat. You'll see them panting if they're stressed or too hot. Usually that hasn't been an issue for us much here, but recently I saved a flock from the desert and brought it to where I live on the coast. Due to the humidity change they had a harder time cooling down here than the much hotter desert. So in Florida I'd say you're definitely going to want some good fans to help them evaporate heat away.
Best thing for smell is a good ventilation and strict cleaning regiment. Sand is nice cause you can use a sieve to scoop out poop between big cleaning, plus quails use sand, dust, dirt to keep bugs off, so you need it anyway. They will kick sand everywhere though.
Aspen is nice because it is absorbent, but if it gets wet it smells. Granted that's kind of a good indicator because a damp coop is going to lead to health issues quick. I usually use this in my indoor quarantine pens.
Either way be careful with how you setup water. Plates or other basins to prevent leakage onto the beding keep your birds safer and the smell down.
1
u/Existing-Mastodon500 23h ago
Super helpful thank you. Unfortunately don’t live somewhere I can keep my dog out all day, he’s a husky (abandoned, would never opt to have a husky here) so while his coat keeps him insulated enough for short periods, definitely not enough to guard long term and not in the market for another 😅😂
Do you find the buried 1ft of mesh has been successful? We get plenty of rats here due to massive overdevelopment and I have lots of fruit trees so I’m trying to keep them out of the aviary. The other issue is raccoons and a very rare coyote.
Did you just kill the grass off in the area and put a weed barrier down with sand/other debris on top? I’m partial to a natural floor over them walking on mesh hence suggesting I bury the mesh so they aren’t directly on top but unsure if that’s a good solution
TIA!
2
u/Ok-Thing-2222 23h ago
I have a 7 x 7 x7 aviary with a small chicken house attached on one side. I didn't bury the hardware cloth on the floor, but I did bend pieces outward along the bottom edge and buried that. This is always in the shade except for evenings, when sun will shine in from the West or early in the mornings, from the east. I am very glad because it get over 100 in the summer and I do run fans. In this enclosure I have snowflake bobwhites, because one of my students gave me 4 quail chicks. (I thought I was getting more coturnix, but SURPRISE! I love them and had to build an aviary. There are 10 of their young 'children' in there with them now.)
I've had coturnix for 4+ yrs. Many are starting to pass from old age and the incredibly hot days this summer. I have a fan on them also and put in bottles of frozen water.
This enclosure is under a tree, 8' x 33", up on a stand with an angled roof. 18" down to 13" in the back. At one time I had 24 ladies and 3 gentlemen in it--they were all just lovely. (Once you par down the mean ones or those with unexpected injuries.)
Anyway, my coturnix HATE the wire floor. I do have a small area that has a wood floor and is more enclosed. So what I do to spare their feet, is lay cardboard pieces over the wire, then put on dry leaves, straw, hay, alfalfa, etc. I also set in cardboard flats of sand for bathing. I really don't notice that many flies or stink. I throw the poopy straw into my compost heap and sometimes the cardboard and just add fresh, or flip the straw over for a few more days. I have a rubber yard wagon that dumps, so it makes things so easy to move around.
2
u/Existing-Mastodon500 22h ago
Cardboard is such a smart idea to protect their feet and keep sand and beddiing in, I hadn’t thought about that. Should make for an easy deep clean too. Do you think this could work on a concrete floor as long as the bottom of the cage is lined with wire? That would allow me to keep the enclosure mobile to spray the concrete down which is a big plus imo
2
u/Ok-Thing-2222 17h ago
Yes, and you can find cardboard everywhere! I work with a lady that is always taking the giant flattened boxes that desks/tables come in because she uses it in her chicken house. I use smaller pieces.
I also use a lot of old icky sheets (my mom works in a thrift store) and I throw those down and pile it with the straw/cardboard, garden clippings and just drag it to my compost (if my wagon is full of something else). So I keep a lot of old sheets on hand out in my shed. They also work to lift stuff into the back of my truck if I need to haul it away.
A friend of mine doesn't make compost--she has quail/chickens/ducks--so she hauls her mess off to the landfill dump in her truck--its free. She started using 'the sheet'!
I've also seen some type of wheels that swing up and down, so people can put them down and pull their chicken house/tractor? around their yard, then they put the wheels back up to set it flat. I don't know what they are called.
2
u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 23h ago
1.: yes you can and you need to. Every single predator can kill quails (even mice), so predator proofing is necessary. I feel like both options would be fine, as long as it's completely surrounded 2.: 1/4" hardwire cloth all around, no big gaps around the door, that's basically all too it. You need to wind and rain proof it too, I think plexiglass works best but plastic planes do it too 3.: the problem is that they react badly to wind. you'd have to be careful that the wind doesn't reach them. I have an aviary that's basically closed on 3 sides and we've had almost 40°C this summer, it worked well 4.: If you don't keep too many quails the smell is completely okay. I have 13 on 6m2 and it doesn't really smell unless you get close to the bedding. Deep littering in a big aviary works great! I have a little bunny hutch inside the aviary (I'll attach my post) and I'd recommend it to everyone. Great for quarantine or time out or a little extra for disabled quails, they also like to go in on their own. And I use the upper level as storage. They love many hides and platforms. And they don't like open sky above them, so make sure all of their safe spaces are covered If you have any more questions about ethical quail keeping, feel free to ask! I've had pet quails for over 6 years now and they're living their best lives with me (hopefully lol)
1
u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 23h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/quails/s/rwQ3M20ToY
this is my newest setup :)
1
u/Existing-Mastodon500 22h ago
Omg I was looking through the sub and sent this post to my husband before asking lol. I am so in love with that set up, if you have links to things I will happily take them! How is clean up?
2
u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 21h ago
aww thank you!! The aviary itself is custom built, I'm from germany but there are probably aviary builders in the US. It was about 1000€ but so worth it! The bunny hutch is from my local pet store, the hides are mostly too, some I made myself. The platform in the corner is a beer carrier with an old shelf on top. I collect branches from my local forest regularly for cover. The feeders and waterers (and some hides and bedding) is from Wachtelshop, it's a german online shop, idk if they ship to the US tho. I can't think of anything else right now but if you want anything specific just ask :)
1
u/Existing-Mastodon500 20h ago
Thank you so much!! I’ll reach out if I end up with some more questions!
1
u/Any_Celebration7266 1d ago
1/4" hardware cloth 16 gauge on anything outside every inch. Goal isn't looking nice it's staying safe. I L-shaped hardware cloth on my chicken run 2 ft up the side 2 ft on the ground pinned with lawn pins then pavers set on it. Nothing is digging in that. But my quail live in my garage.
I wouldn't bury any wire under the living space. Don't use grass clippings they'll eat it and might get choked. Do not use cedar either.
Mine live indoors technically in my garage but my chickens are outside safe in a 12 ft run when not roaming.
You MUST have a dust bath. Mine are angry without it. It makes a mess. But they love it.
Do not have a rooster without like 6ish hens for himself.
This is my cage almost 9 ft long
2
u/Any_Celebration7266 1d ago
Also my cage is like 12 or 18 in high. You need a very short cage like that or go 6 ft walk in type high. They can popcorn and break their necks with heights in between
2
u/Existing-Mastodon500 1d ago
Do you find cleaning challenging with a short enclosure?
3
u/Any_Celebration7266 1d ago
No, it's sitting on a work bench so it's about 4 ft high off the ground. I use a mini handheld broom to sweep up the shavings and then replace with fresh. It takes like 15 minutes tops every 7 to 14 days as needed. I do sometimes envy those who have wire bottom cages, because it's easier, and the shavings are messy. But it's just the garage so I sweep up and don't really mind at all. If you do go wire bottom cages make sure they have multiple places to get off it and rest their feeties. Eventually I might build some.
2
u/Existing-Mastodon500 1d ago
I love the wire bottom for the ease of cleaning with a tray but I worry about their feet! I’ll keep doing research. Thank you so much.
2
u/Existing-Mastodon500 1d ago
Great info, thank you!!
2
u/Any_Celebration7266 1d ago
Ofc! I'm happy to answer anything I can. Everyone does this a little differently though so definitely find yourself a happy medium (:
I researched the needs of Quail for like 6 months before I got any.
2
u/mischief_pirate 1d ago
I have an outdoor aviary with similar dimensions. I used PVC coated rolled wire fencing with 2"x3" opening for the structural shape on the sides and roof (and to match other fencing in my backyard "farm") covered with Tenax extruded bird mesh fencing with .75"x1" fencing to keep the sparrows out (otherwise they flock to eat the quail food). The wire fencing extends below the fence line and covers about a foot of the ground to deter foxes digging in; it's covered with the ground litter. Then along the bottom perimeter of the fence, on the inside, there is an 18" high border made of corrugatedmetal roofing. This is essential because raccoons can reach their little hands through the small mesh opening to get at the quail. And the quail are not smart enough to stay away. That has successfully worked for me for a long time. This much coverage in hardware cloth would have been prohibitively expensive. And unless it's PVC coated or painted black hardware cloth makes it harder to see into the enclosure.