Quail condo out of bookshelf

[namastemama]

In our city we are limited in our chicken family size to 10 chickens. There is however, no limit to quail. I did a ton of research at https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/48/quail and decided that it was something I could handle. After a little begging and pleading and some amazing dinner and desert bribes my husband caved to let me have quail.

I Picked up 10 A&M quail yesterday and thought I would leisurely build the quail condo. Wrong! In all my research I did not read that Quail stink to high heaven! After one night in my bathroom I and my husband had had enough and I set to work building the quail condo. Why not DH? Well he is amazingly handsome, brilliantly smart (we call him the walking encyclopedia). How ever he was not blessed with the ability to constuct things like quail condos.
So with my limited skills I set to this task. We started with a bookcase that was roughly 2x3.


I used what Home depot called firring strips to build up with edges first. This created about a 2 inch deep spot where I plan to fill with sand. This will be the flooring of my condo. I have seen people who built chicken coops and use sand and they are able to scoop it like a kitty litter box, so I am hoping for the same effect.



I built a framed door that will open down. My husband suggested a little chain to keep it from flopping open, Go Honey! Thats a great idea and I will add that after my next trip to Home Depot! Next I added a little hook and eye type closure.



Now as I mentioned my quail are going to be kept in a garage or my back yard which is fenced with a 6 foot block wall, so there really not much of a chance that they will get eaten. We dont have raccoons or possums here. If you live in an area with these types of critters you would want to rethink this type of closure and go with something more safe.

Next step is to paint and add the hardware cloth, 1/2 inch to the door and the back of the Quail Condo. I had to stop for the day because my little princess( baby Zen who is 8 months) had had enough of daddy holding her. Im only planning on finishing 2 condos right now but I plan on building out 4 of the shelfs to condos and then leaving one shelf for supplies.

 

[FenDruadin]

AWESOME! I love it. Kinda like my brooder:




Your husband sounds a lot like mine. And no, I wasn't even thinking "Why not your husband." I figure if I want it, I can learn to do it myself. No manly assistance needed.

Except I always DO end up needing assistance, mainly because all our tools are built for a man's larger hands... and some things just need two people.

But anyway. I love your bookcase quail habitat. Very creative!!

 

[namastemama]

Thanks I'm pretty excited because this is the first thing I have made tat looks decent and hasn't fallen apart ,

 

[Pineapple]

I want to do something like this for finches. I wish I had 45 hours in the day and didn't need sleep.

 

[namastemama]

This project is so easy, I have basic carpenter skills, that's being generous to myself. I was able to get as far as I was in the pictures in an hour. I plan to build out 2 shelves and then do the others as time allows. Im like you not enough time for everything to get done.

 

[FenDruadin]

By the way, I like the way you assembled your doors, with those corner brace thingies. Framing things is always a big question for me. I try to do it with materials I have lying around as much as possible, but getting those corners framed effectively (and attractively) is always hard. And my carpentry skills are sadly lacking. Anyway, I'm guessing those corner braces are reasonably cheap... and they look terrific, and I suspect it's something I could actually do. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Vintage Charm]

What a great way to repurpose something. I'm new to quail. We built our coop in some dead space by our deck and house. I hope I don't regret putting it there, with regards to the smell. I actually think it's the food pellets that stink more then the birds themselves.

 

[Vintage Charm]

Here's a pic of our quail coop/pen/run. It wasn't completely finished when I took this pic but it's the best one I have right now. I'm debating using shavings in the lower run portion instead of the wire. It's really hard to get into the back and clean. I thought I would do better with a plywood floor with shavings. I would then use a a broom to clean it out. I could lay down dirt but thought that would be harder to clean out. Any thoughts are welcome.

 

[namastemama]

Wow that akes my coop look like the barrio, lol. Very nice!

 

[Vintage Charm]

Thank you Namastemama! Actually, I haven't see a coop/pen on here that I didn't like. They all have such character. I love how these guys repurposed a piece of furniture. I'm such a newbie at this and the experience on this forum is awesome!