FloorCandy
Crowing
- Apr 15, 2020
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I just ordered my first chicken hatching eggs. I’ve raised quail for meat and eggs for a couple years now, and with all the talk about food shortages I wanted to be sure I’ll have some chicken in the freezer.
I’m not a huge fan of quail meat, my son loves it, so do my dogs lol, and all of our egg needs are met by the quail, so meat birds seemed the most sensible, and also because I’m not sure how having them will go over with the family and neighbors. They have chickens a few houses down and it’s ok, but they are noisy and some neighbors do complain, however, if the meat birds become an issue we can cull them, and even if they aren’t big enough for human meals, I’m sure my dogs will happily eat them. Plus I hear you can adjust the feed and schedule to cull early for Cornish game hens if needed. I ordered just a small amount as a test for this year.
I’m building a large aviary for the quail. I had a greenhouse that is 12x8 feet, which was destroyed by snow, the frame still stands and I had meticulously laid hardware cloth under patio blocks, with the frame attached, in order to keep the greenhouse grounded in high winds. I’m wrapping the frame in hardware cloth, and plan for the internal space to be for quail, with a 12x6 “air lock” area attached to prevent flushing and escapes, and feed storage etc. I’m planning to put the meat birds in the airlock area since they supposedly aren’t very active and if they were to escape they shouldn’t be able to fly over the fence, and make me hike thru the woods to find them.
I’ve read they don’t roost due to their size, I have a small wooden prefab coop 3.5x5or6, they can walk in from the ground level, (not raised), and some bins with entry holes etc that they can use to sleep in, would they use them or am I better to just put a tarp over the whole thing because they will lay down wherever like quail? I also have a quail pen I made from a folding table and hardware cloth, which I can put inside for shade and rain protection, and they could walk in and out with no ramps or jumping.
I know it isn’t a huge deal since they won’t even be with us that long, but I’d like them to be as happy as possible and if I put the coop in and they don’t use it, I will need to break it to remove it once I have the sides and doors attached to the frame (ship in a bottle). If all goes well I will probably build a separate space for the quail, and next year use the whole area for meat birds in the summer.
I’m not a huge fan of quail meat, my son loves it, so do my dogs lol, and all of our egg needs are met by the quail, so meat birds seemed the most sensible, and also because I’m not sure how having them will go over with the family and neighbors. They have chickens a few houses down and it’s ok, but they are noisy and some neighbors do complain, however, if the meat birds become an issue we can cull them, and even if they aren’t big enough for human meals, I’m sure my dogs will happily eat them. Plus I hear you can adjust the feed and schedule to cull early for Cornish game hens if needed. I ordered just a small amount as a test for this year.
I’m building a large aviary for the quail. I had a greenhouse that is 12x8 feet, which was destroyed by snow, the frame still stands and I had meticulously laid hardware cloth under patio blocks, with the frame attached, in order to keep the greenhouse grounded in high winds. I’m wrapping the frame in hardware cloth, and plan for the internal space to be for quail, with a 12x6 “air lock” area attached to prevent flushing and escapes, and feed storage etc. I’m planning to put the meat birds in the airlock area since they supposedly aren’t very active and if they were to escape they shouldn’t be able to fly over the fence, and make me hike thru the woods to find them.
I’ve read they don’t roost due to their size, I have a small wooden prefab coop 3.5x5or6, they can walk in from the ground level, (not raised), and some bins with entry holes etc that they can use to sleep in, would they use them or am I better to just put a tarp over the whole thing because they will lay down wherever like quail? I also have a quail pen I made from a folding table and hardware cloth, which I can put inside for shade and rain protection, and they could walk in and out with no ramps or jumping.
I know it isn’t a huge deal since they won’t even be with us that long, but I’d like them to be as happy as possible and if I put the coop in and they don’t use it, I will need to break it to remove it once I have the sides and doors attached to the frame (ship in a bottle). If all goes well I will probably build a separate space for the quail, and next year use the whole area for meat birds in the summer.
