spreadsheetz
In the Brooder
- Jan 1, 2023
- 2
- 23
- 21
Hi there! I've been stalking this forum awhile but just joined. We originally wanted chickens, but decided we would better fly under the radar of our extremely strict HOA with quail. We got our first 8 coturnix quail in April 2022 and have learned a lot from many rounds of challenges (trouble sexing, ended up with 5 males to 3 females; multiple scalpings, including after culling all but one male; managed to recuperate the three girls and get good egg production; went through multiple feeder/coop configurations; added artificial light when laying stopped). Now my current most pressing issue is predation.
The current coop is a small rabbit/chicken hutch for which I built a stand to elevate it off the ground and add a gravity fed waterer. All open sides and the floor are 1/4" hardware cloth, securely stapled to wood framing. Right before Christmas, we lost one of our girls to a predator (at first I thought raccoon, although I've never seen any; then I thought one of the many outdoor cats that roam our block). We found her on the bottom level, head still attached but about 5 inches from her body, blood everywhere, and half of her body eaten through the hardware cloth. The hardware cloth was completely intact, no doors had been opened, the roof felt secure, etc.
I placed some of those solar predator eye lights around the coop, cleaned up all the feathers and blood, and dumped ton of cayenne pepper and paprika everywhere. I was going to get some kind of camera to try to catch the predator in action, but before I could, the other two girls soon followed with the same fate. We had just left town and had a friend checking on them, and he thought he heard something rustling nearby during the daytime-- he thinks he caught the predator in the act, because the bodies were still warm. This is what makes me think cat, because I don't think a raccoon would be in our yard in broad daylight. Both times, the predator dug holes underneath the coop, it seemed maybe to have more space to stand up and reach the floor. I think it caught their feet and pulled them down--seemed like there was a lot of struggle.
Everything I've read is that this shouldn't have happened with 1/4 inch hardware cloth, and that it's basically the gold standard. I'm thinking of adding another layer a few inches below the floor, and/or raising or lowering the coop. Possibly getting a trap. Definitely getting a camera. We're hoping to get some fertile eggs to incubate ourselves to start over this spring. My 4 and 5 year old children have had a harsh introduction to the realities of the circle of life, but we've all enjoyed the quail enough to want to keep trying.
Attached a picture of the coop.
The current coop is a small rabbit/chicken hutch for which I built a stand to elevate it off the ground and add a gravity fed waterer. All open sides and the floor are 1/4" hardware cloth, securely stapled to wood framing. Right before Christmas, we lost one of our girls to a predator (at first I thought raccoon, although I've never seen any; then I thought one of the many outdoor cats that roam our block). We found her on the bottom level, head still attached but about 5 inches from her body, blood everywhere, and half of her body eaten through the hardware cloth. The hardware cloth was completely intact, no doors had been opened, the roof felt secure, etc.
I placed some of those solar predator eye lights around the coop, cleaned up all the feathers and blood, and dumped ton of cayenne pepper and paprika everywhere. I was going to get some kind of camera to try to catch the predator in action, but before I could, the other two girls soon followed with the same fate. We had just left town and had a friend checking on them, and he thought he heard something rustling nearby during the daytime-- he thinks he caught the predator in the act, because the bodies were still warm. This is what makes me think cat, because I don't think a raccoon would be in our yard in broad daylight. Both times, the predator dug holes underneath the coop, it seemed maybe to have more space to stand up and reach the floor. I think it caught their feet and pulled them down--seemed like there was a lot of struggle.
Everything I've read is that this shouldn't have happened with 1/4 inch hardware cloth, and that it's basically the gold standard. I'm thinking of adding another layer a few inches below the floor, and/or raising or lowering the coop. Possibly getting a trap. Definitely getting a camera. We're hoping to get some fertile eggs to incubate ourselves to start over this spring. My 4 and 5 year old children have had a harsh introduction to the realities of the circle of life, but we've all enjoyed the quail enough to want to keep trying.
Attached a picture of the coop.
So sorry for your losses 
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC! 
