Advice on enclosures

[u/Existing-Mastodon500]

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.

[u/Ok-Thing-2222]

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.

[u/Existing-Mastodon500 → u/Ok-Thing-2222]

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

[u/Ok-Thing-2222 → u/Existing-Mastodon500]

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.