Have I just discovered the ultimate enclosure for house-pet quail?

WildNectarine

In the Brooder
Mar 17, 2025
4
23
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Good evening my beloved BYC.

Today, I believe I am the humble bearer of great possible news from the front lines of pet quail care innovation.

To preface this post, I have been grappling with pet quail cages for about half a decade now.

Or, rather, the absolute lack of them. You’ll find that most any enclosure used for pet quail is intended for an entirely separate animal. And, after personally suffering the loss of too many a good little friend in nightmarish flushing incidents involving the commonly used hard-topped cages, such as ones geared towards rabbits, i.e. hutches, commercial pet shop bought cages, and C&C cages, what began as a simple frustration with the lack of pet quail specific housing, has morphed itself into a personal crusade of mine in their name.

I’ve spent the staggering majority of my free time, hundreds of hours, scouring the web and stores alike. And, I believe I have stumbled upon the unlikely catch-all to indoor quail-housing.

Mosquito nets intended for beds.

No, no. Don’t click away, now. I am not kidding with you here.

A number of months ago, I curiously purchased one online from Amazon for less than $50 USD. A “pop-up,” twin sized model, featuring a solid and rising fabric floor, meant for you to place a mattress inside; that, for myself, worked to successfully contain the bedding. I set a few birds within, and, so far, it’s starkly proven to be sufficiently flimsy enough as to not result in any sort of injury, no matter how violently they flush.

Is this the beginning of a new era for pet quail keeping? The starting point for designing more accurately specific quail housing? I’m starting to think so. But I’d still adore all of your’s thoughts.
 
Good evening my beloved BYC.

Today, I believe I am the humble bearer of great possible news from the front lines of pet quail care innovation.

To preface this post, I have been grappling with pet quail cages for about half a decade now.

Or, rather, the absolute lack of them. You’ll find that most any enclosure used for pet quail is intended for an entirely separate animal. And, after personally suffering the loss of too many a good little friend in nightmarish flushing incidents involving the commonly used hard-topped cages, such as ones geared towards rabbits, i.e. hutches, commercial pet shop bought cages, and C&C cages, what began as a simple frustration with the lack of pet quail specific housing, has morphed itself into a personal crusade of mine in their name.

I’ve spent the staggering majority of my free time, hundreds of hours, scouring the web and stores alike. And, I believe I have stumbled upon the unlikely catch-all to indoor quail-housing.

Mosquito nets intended for beds.

No, no. Don’t click away, now. I am not kidding with you here.

A number of months ago, I curiously purchased one online from Amazon for less than $50 USD. A “pop-up,” twin sized model, featuring a solid and rising fabric floor, meant for you to place a mattress inside; that, for myself, worked to successfully contain the bedding. I set a few birds within, and, so far, it’s starkly proven to be sufficiently flimsy enough as to not result in any sort of injury, no matter how violently they flush.

Is this the beginning of a new era for pet quail keeping? The starting point for designing more accurately specific quail housing? I’m starting to think so. But I’d still adore all of your’s thoughts.
Would love to see a picture of your set up! I recently discovered the pop up pet enclosures and they have been amazing brooders. I am wondering where they have been all my life and why I only discovered them late last year lol! Here’s a picture showing about half of the space in the one I got to raise 21 chicks. They stayed in there until about 4-5 weeks I believe.
 

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I would love to hear how sturdy this idea is: could it permanently contain 18 adult birds (3 males and 15 hens) in say a 36 square foot enclosure? I’d love to double my square footage, give them some height, and maybe use deep litter method for bedding (though might make getting eggs exciting!). I’d love to erect a quail aviary in my garage without investing $$$ or permanently Altering structural integrity. Thoughts anyone?
 
Depending on my hatch, I have one of these puppy playpens in mind, too. I saw them when I was on Chewy's site looking at plastic crate trays.
 
So two weeks in and I really like this thing besides the really annoying zipper door (awkward for me, bedding and birds go free ranging while I’m looking for eggs and I’m afraid the zippers won’t last). I added a Velcro door on the narrow end and left a foot of netting above the floor, much better! No more kneeling on cement to mess with stuff and bedding and birds are contained and even my broken zipper is no longer an issue!
 
Thanks for the update! Seriously considering getting one of these as an extra grow out pen for my porch, it would be so nice to have something that can store flat when the birds are out
 

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