Need help: quail cage to use?

[Woodey2]

Well I am in need of a few cages to house different ages of bobwhites. What type of cage do I need......

 

[sylviethecochin]

@007Sean
@TwoCrows

Might be your best bet for that answer. In the meantime, the number of quail you have might have some bearing on the answer.

 

[Woodey2]

Right now I have 3 - three week olds and 2 - two week olds. I also have 12 eggs in the incubator for middle of September hatch.

 

[TwoCrows]

Young Bobs can tolerate 2 square feet per bird. Adults require 4 square feet per bird.

If you keep quail on wire, make SURE to provide areas to get off the wire and rest feet. Set up a section with grass hay where they can lay down and snuggle into. Standing on wire continuously will cause bumblefoot, especially with Bobs beacuse they are so heavy.

 

[TwoCrows]

I prefer to use either rabbit hutches or big aviaries with Bobs, they are hyper, need room to move, never standing still and can become aggressive if they feel cramped in.

 

[Woodey2]

Do you have any cages that you would prefer over another? Looking at GQF #0303 right now. OR should I be looking at something all together different? They are in a dog crate that I added 1/4 x 1/4 inch wire to so they could not get out but want to give them something a little bigger.

Also how many per pen? Three weeks old are to early to see who is what. Female or male. I see no white near their eyes yet.

 

[Woodey2]

When you say big aviaries. What details would I be looking for?

 

[le_bwah]

Do you have any cages that you would prefer over another? Looking at GQF #0303 right now. OR should I be looking at something all together different? They are in a dog crate that I added 1/4 x 1/4 inch wire to so they could not get out but want to give them something a little bigger.

Also how many per pen? Three weeks old are to early to see who is what. Female or male. I see no white near their eyes yet.

The battery cage you mentioned is pretty bleak for wild birds like bobs. They are much better suited to an aviary/ground pen setting. Mind the "rule" for square feet per bird (better to err on the side of too much room than too little) and provide plenty of cover/breaks in line of sight. I think the "rules" are different during breeding season; someone with more experience would be able to give you specifics.

 

[TwoCrows]

I don't use cages. Rabbit hutches and 10x10, 10x20, 10x30 foot aviaries or flight pens if you will. I give them the most natural setting as possible. Bobs are not like Coturnix quail that have been domesticated and kept in cages for a thousand years and have learned to deal with confinement. Bobs are only a quarter century in captivity and have still not yet adapted to close unnatural quarters. They thrive much better with big spaces, tiny spaces turn them into canibals.

When they become adults at 1 yr, they will need to be paired off during breeding season, they mate for life with one mate, keep these two together til death do them part they and do not tolerate lone birds in their space during breeding season. Only for the winter covey can you mix adult birds together when they are fully mature. Young and babies can tolerate togetherness until 1 yr.