Image Credit (left to right): Japanese (Coturnix) Quail, C0urtesy of @Nabiki , Button Quail, Courtesy of @AltonaAcres
It's a misconseption that quail need a large amount of space. Here, I will help you raise quail in a small space!
~The basics: Male per female ratio and room per quail~
A general rule of thumb is to keep a pair of quail, (male and female) or a courting group (4 females, 1 male). You will have less issues with the pairs. I have had courting groups and when the females are compeating over 1 male, they will make each other hurt. To learn about my experience with this, click here. Back onto the topic! Remeber to be humane- no wet bedding, and a little bit of room to run around in. You want to make sure to have enough room for each quail. Bobwhites need 1 square foot per bird, so if you have 7 birds, 7 square feet- BOOM! Not so fast- remember that feed and water, doors, roost bars etc will take up some of that space! To be safe I would recommend doubling the square footage, so using the same example, you'd have 14 square feet!
~Walls, netting, the actual structure ~
Keep in mind that in a quails genetics, they are wild. They still have the ability to deal with cool and warm temperatures and process food in a healthy way. This means that your hutch can be more open. I would include a hard wall on the ends, and a small indoor area. Mine don't like their indoor area unless it's really chilly outside. The indoor area is like them under a pine tree (in the wild). Your indoor area may turn into a "safe haven" for quail who are hurt, which is why I would recommend checking the inside area regularly. Many people use chicken wire for chickens, but racoons can stick their paws (hands? I don't know anymore) through the holes. Not only is that bad regarding quail, but also (especially if you have buttons) they will be able to sneak through those (somewhat) big holes. I know more expensive is no one's friend, but it will help to get hardware cloth (metal with small, rectangular holes). Here's a great example:
Japanese (Coturnix) Quail, courtesy of @HuffleClaw
~Add a place for them to have fun with~
I soon learned that quail love jumping on mini doors. I have a door into my quail's indoor area, and when it is open, one quail (who I have named Swirl) sits on the door and stares down at all the other quail. In my experience, quail sleep huddled together on the floor and will not roost like a chicken, but they will still have fun with it!
~Finding a place to put your hutch~
Since the hutch will be (fairly) small (mine is about 2 foot wide by 6 foot long) you can put it in a small space.
**QUICK TIP** if you can, try to have the hutch inside of a screened-in area, so that your chances of a loose quail are minimized.
Hope this helped, - @Bird_Lover_17
Image Credit (left to right) "Cricket (golden), Sparrow (brown) and Junebug" Courtesy @JadeFarms , California Valley Quail (chicks) courtesy of @CapricornFarm and a male button quail named "peach fuzz" courtesy of @ButtonHoarder
Huge thank you to @Nabiki , @AltonaAcres , @HuffleClaw , @JadeFarms , @CapricornFarm and @ButtonHoarder for their images!
More information and fun:
+Crazy About Quail (Quail Lover Page)
+Have some more questions? I'll answer them! Check out my thread entitled, "I'll answer your quail housing questions!"
+ Check out this article, How to pick the right quail for you by @TwoCrows !
+Look into this book if you are new to owning quail!
Here's my hutch! (There are now quail in the bottom area too)
