Quail Aviary On Ground Any Advise?

[TinaandJohnny]

It’s Spring and I’m thinking about building my quails a new coop but on the ground. Don’t worry, ALL the safety precautions will be taken. They are my sweet little guys. I’ve got 6 girls Coturnix and celadons. I would love to see some other peoples ideas if you don’t mind sharing! They love being on the ground and having grass. They are such happy friendly quail. Let me know, or just post some pictures of your quail coop! Andddd more about to go into the incubator in a few days. So let me know, thanks!!! Some photos of my sweet girls!

 

[igorsMistress]

It’s Spring and I’m thinking about building my quails a new coop but on the ground. Don’t worry, ALL the safety precautions will be taken. They are my sweet little guys. I’ve got 6 girls Coturnix and celadons. I would love to see some other peoples ideas if you don’t mind sharing! They love being on the ground and having grass. They are such happy friendly quail. Let me know, or just post some pictures of your quail coop! Andddd more about to go into the incubator in a few days. So let me know, thanks!!! Some photos of my sweet girls! View attachment 3525193View attachment 3525194View attachment 3525191View attachment 3525192

They’re so pretty!

I kept quail in an aviary. Realistically you don’t want it too big because you’ll be hunting for eggs. Quail will eat whatever plants you put in there, so if it’s safe for chickens it’s generally safe for quail. You’ll have a line, anything at the height of their heads and below will be bare lol. They’ll love to run around and hide under the plants though. Don’t use chicken wire, they can stick their heads out and I lost one to owls that were hunting in my yard. Also, it either needs to be tall enough they can’t fly up and smack their heads or low enough they can’t fly up and smack their heads very hard. I had a walk in and a few of my birds flew up to five feet high when frightened. As for plants, whatever you can grow locally that isn’t poisonous and will provide cover will be fine. You may need to protect things at first if they’re small plants to start.

 

[le_bwah]

I’ve had my birds in an aviary for five years now. I really do believe they live better lives on the ground, unburdened by overcrowding.

The current build is an add on plus the original aviary (the roofed section). The “garden side” has five grasses and a rosemary, while the oldest side has more cover clutter.

In summer, I run sun shades from the aviary to the fence and the porch. A box fan fits perfectly into the structure by happy accident. Birds get frozen fruit and veg, and I leave a mister on during peak heat.

For late fall and winter, I just up the level of cover and seal off the lower part of the old aviary with tarp or plastic sheeting. This is the first year I have provided supplemental heat in the form of heating pads because some of my oldies get really cold without a warm place to sleep.

The quail usually lay in predictable nests, making harvesting eggs much easier.

You can also get more broody behavior in a setting with more space, and especially more cover. A big space is worthless if you aren’t filling it up with “furniture” that breaks up line of sight and offers birds a means of escaping unwanted attention of all sorts.

Please raise your birds on the ground! Quail with space and security are very fun to watch, and if you habituate them to your presence they’re easy to hand feed. Good luck, keep us updated on your planning!

 

[TinaandJohnny]

I’ve had my birds in an aviary for five years now. I really do believe they live better lives on the ground, unburdened by overcrowding.

View attachment 3525354
The current build is an add on plus the original aviary (the roofed section). The “garden side” has five grasses and a rosemary, while the oldest side has more cover clutter.

View attachment 3525355
In summer, I run sun shades from the aviary to the fence and the porch. A box fan fits perfectly into the structure by happy accident. Birds get frozen fruit and veg, and I leave a mister on during peak heat.

View attachment 3525357
For late fall and winter, I just up the level of cover and seal off the lower part of the old aviary with tarp or plastic sheeting. This is the first year I have provided supplemental heat in the form of heating pads because some of my oldies get really cold without a warm place to sleep.

View attachment 3525356
The quail usually lay in predictable nests, making harvesting eggs much easier.

View attachment 3525368
You can also get more broody behavior in a setting with more space, and especially more cover. A big space is worthless if you aren’t filling it up with “furniture” that breaks up line of sight and offers birds a means of escaping unwanted attention of all sorts.

Please raise your birds on the ground! Quail with space and security are very fun to watch, and if you habituate them to your presence they’re easy to hand feed. Good luck, keep us updated on your planning!

Omg I LOVE your set up!!! That is so beautiful! I was thinking something very similar to that! I like the addition of the bark because I was wondering how the clean up would go. And you used hardwire mesh around the whole thing? They hatched out those babies too? Awe. How adorable!
Yeah my girls get to run around on the ground often inside the large pen, it’s just not safe for them to stay in permanently. I was thinking something of that size so I can walk in. Love the color too!

 

[TinaandJohnny]

They’re so pretty!

I kept quail in an aviary. Realistically you don’t want it too big because you’ll be hunting for eggs. Quail will eat whatever plants you put in there, so if it’s safe for chickens it’s generally safe for quail. You’ll have a line, anything at the height of their heads and below will be bare lol. They’ll love to run around and hide under the plants though. Don’t use chicken wire, they can stick their heads out and I lost one to owls that were hunting in my yard. Also, it either needs to be tall enough they can’t fly up and smack their heads or low enough they can’t fly up and smack their heads very hard. I had a walk in and a few of my birds flew up to five feet high when frightened. As for plants, whatever you can grow locally that isn’t poisonous and will provide cover will be fine. You may need to protect things at first if they’re small plants to start.

I was reading something about that them jumping up and smacking their heads, so that will be kept in mind. Google has been my best friend for plant searching! Thanks for sharing!

 

[igorsMistress]

I’ve had my birds in an aviary for five years now. I really do believe they live better lives on the ground, unburdened by overcrowding.

View attachment 3525354
The current build is an add on plus the original aviary (the roofed section). The “garden side” has five grasses and a rosemary, while the oldest side has more cover clutter.

View attachment 3525355
In summer, I run sun shades from the aviary to the fence and the porch. A box fan fits perfectly into the structure by happy accident. Birds get frozen fruit and veg, and I leave a mister on during peak heat.

View attachment 3525357
For late fall and winter, I just up the level of cover and seal off the lower part of the old aviary with tarp or plastic sheeting. This is the first year I have provided supplemental heat in the form of heating pads because some of my oldies get really cold without a warm place to sleep.

View attachment 3525356
The quail usually lay in predictable nests, making harvesting eggs much easier.

View attachment 3525368
You can also get more broody behavior in a setting with more space, and especially more cover. A big space is worthless if you aren’t filling it up with “furniture” that breaks up line of sight and offers birds a means of escaping unwanted attention of all sorts.

Please raise your birds on the ground! Quail with space and security are very fun to watch, and if you habituate them to your presence they’re easy to hand feed. Good luck, keep us updated on your planning!

Wow! You did a great job! I was thinking about you when I saw a couple of folks looking for aviary ideas.

 

[le_bwah]

Wow! You did a great job! I was thinking about you when I saw a couple of folks looking for aviary ideas.

Thanks, and glad to see you around! I'm on the site less and less since school/career stuff picked up, but I'm still working on the aviary and trying to make it the best little habitat it can be.

 

[le_bwah]

Omg I LOVE your set up!!! That is so beautiful! I was thinking something very similar to that! I like the addition of the bark because I was wondering how the clean up would go. And you used hardwire mesh around the whole thing? They hatched out those babies too? Awe. How adorable!
Yeah my girls get to run around on the ground often inside the large pen, it’s just not safe for them to stay in permanently. I was thinking something of that size so I can walk in. Love the color too!

Thank you! The bark is the best organic substrate I've found for my climate—it doesn't fully break down like true deep litter, but it for sure is easier to rake over than straw or wood shavings. I did indeed use hardware cloth all over, plus a "skirt" of hardware cloth around the base—may as well make it as secure as possible. I've had hens going broody since the start, but since I finally realized their behavior for what it was, I've been giving them fertile eggs to try out. My four-year-old Wilma did it last year, and one of her chicks mothered 5 this spring. Now Wilma's at it again. Hoping to keep the population steady over the next few years.

You're wise not to let them outside on their own—quail are easy pickings for most predators. Would totally recommend the walk-in size, as it makes cleaning and gathering eggs/catching birds much easier. The wooden parts are just stained, but they are totally due for another coat—looking back, I'd probably recommend something more heavy-duty than deck stain unless you want to be restaining it every 4-5 years.

 

[TinaandJohnny]

Thank you! The bark is the best organic substrate I've found for my climate—it doesn't fully break down like true deep litter, but it for sure is easier to rake over than straw or wood shavings. I did indeed use hardware cloth all over, plus a "skirt" of hardware cloth around the base—may as well make it as secure as possible. I've had hens going broody since the start, but since I finally realized their behavior for what it was, I've been giving them fertile eggs to try out. My four-year-old Wilma did it last year, and one of her chicks mothered 5 this spring. Now Wilma's at it again. Hoping to keep the population steady over the next few years.

You're wise not to let them outside on their own—quail are easy pickings for most predators. Would totally recommend the walk-in size, as it makes cleaning and gathering eggs/catching birds much easier. The wooden parts are just stained, but they are totally due for another coat—looking back, I'd probably recommend something more heavy-duty than deck stain unless you want to be restaining it every 4-5 years.

Thank you so much for you input! I’m really looking forward to building them a ground enclosure. I’ll look around for some material for the bottom, hopefully nothing that will splinter out since we get all seasons here and probably something around the bottom that is “splash” proof because we get heavy rain sometimes. Love your aviary!

 

[Cool-breeze7]

I’ve since made some changes but you get the gist. Litter box dome to minimize sand losses. I’ve improved a few hides from the boxes, hung a tarp on one corner to provide shade and rain protection. Probably some other things I’m forgetting. Haven’t taken any updated pictures this yr.

Pretty sure I’m about to use wood chips to cover the lack of smaller grasses.