Quail pen dilema

[CHCH]

Hi,

I'm looking for advice, I would like to get some quails (coturnix) for egg and meat production. But i do have a lot of contraints because of where i live. I live in Switzerland :

Very cold in winter (I live in the mountains) So 100% outdoor living is not possible.

Swiss laws regarding quail owning state this :

Quails need 0.5sqm (sorry for wrong unit ) for 6 quails and then 0.045 sqm extra per quail.
Quails need to have at least 50% of the surface where they leave that needs to be something else than wire (f.ex : wood shavings) (The reste can be wire)
Female need a calm place to lay
If there is more than 10 quails, they need 2 place to eat and drink

So i'm looking for the best option to maintain quails with those contraints. What kind of pen/cage/ etc... would you recommand ? I would like to have minimum cleaning.

thank you in advance for the advices

 

[JaeG]

I think solid bottomed cages with some litter such as straw. Wire bottomed cages must be kept scrupulously clean as hardened poop can cause bumblefoot.

Quail are very tough so as long as they were protected from the wind and had straw to cuddle up in I think they'd be fine outside year round, especially if it's up off the ground.

My cages are stacked one on top of the other and are solid sided with solid roof and floor and the front is mostly wire. They also have a little enclosed house part that's mostly closed off other than a little doorway/archway hole for them to access it. There's a solid door on the front of the cage to clean that part out. Being up off the ground they are quick and easy to clean out (no bending over).

Hope that all makes sense. They are great little birds.

 

[CHCH]

So your recommandation would be solid floor with straw/woodchips/sawdust ? How often do you clean them ?
What do you do with the quails when you clean the floor ?

By any chance, do you have any picture of your cages posted of the forum ?

Thanks for the advices

 

[CHCH]

What do you think about this ? (16 sqf)

 

[JaeG]

The top of that cage is like my cages (it's second hand so not that beautiful but it does the job). I clean mine out once a week and the quail just stay inside - they will stand in your way (right where you are trying to clean) but if you've raised them and handled them a lot they will be super tame (and goofy) as opposed to ones that weren't handled a lot that may be a little scared and crazy. The odd one gets a bit curious and fall out but they are generally pretty surprised by the fall and you can see it coming so if you are quick you just grab them and pop them back in with their friends.

Some people have managed to teach their birds to use a ramp but they find climbing on stairs easier (and there's no teaching involved) so if you want a double layered cage then it might be a good idea to make stairs for them. Even a pile of natural firewood in one corner high enough for them to get to the next storey would do the trick.

I would recommend a cage up off the ground, either on legs or on a table, because of rats Not sure how much of a problem they would be where you are but rats are an introduced pest here in New Zealand with nothing to eat them, especially the huge brown rats we get around the stormwater culvert that runs through our property. I did have mine in a colony situation in a lovely big cage on the ground but I had rats pulling them through the wire from the side (they first attempted to chew a hole in the galvanised wire but I think they broke their teeth) and digging underneath to grab them through the wire on the bottom of the cage.

You'll need a grow out pen or two if you are wanting to hatch them for meat - boys can start making trouble from 4 weeks onward so you may have to split up the males and females (as you figure out who is who) to grow them on until they are the size you want to butcher them.

 

[JurassicBawk]

Mine are currently in rabbit hutches on deep litter and do really well, even in the cold temperatures. My best hutch is a rabbit hutch about 2 foot wide and 3 foot across, with a solid area and an open area. I put in about 2 inches of pine shavings to start, then regularly add a little more on top of that until it gets about 4 inches total before cleaning it out and putting it in my garden compost. They love being able to dig around in the shavings, and will make nest holes to sleep in when it's cold.

I took that same hutch and closed in the bottom area to make a second pen, and currently have 4 females in the top and a male and 3 females in the bottom. Four birds in 6 sq ft works out really well. I have had up to 8 quail in the top hutch at once when they were about 4 weeks old coming out of the brooder, but once they start laying eggs and getting hormones it gets crowded fast. The little hutch to the top left only has one older hurt female in it right now, and can only hold about 2 max. Below that is a plexiglass rolling bin I got from a store closeout, then took out a side and flipped it onto the ground. It is now 4'x4', open underneath, plexiglass on the top/sides, and I then added the fencing for the front. That is currently my bachelor pen with 7 males, who were raised together and get along just fine.

I'll add that I had just the raised hutch further in the yard last year and had something pull 2 quail through the bars. They are now inside a fenced area which is inside my larger fenced yard, so there are dogs 3 feet from them. I haven't had rat/pest problems with this set-up, but recently had a rat get into my chicken pen that is 20 feet away and also within the dog area, so I think the colder temperatures are making the wildlife a bit more desperate. If you don't have predators to content with, raising on the ground is probably fine, but they do love a solid floor with deep litter just as much.

 

[CHCH]

Thank you for your answers,

There isn't any rats where i live, but we do have (a lot) of : fox, weavers (are they a danger for quails ?), cats, big birds. Yet we do have a lot of mices (not really a danger for quails)

My main concern is the fox(es) He/she is very persistent and come in our garden every night. I was think of nailing strong wire on the bottom part. So that the fox wont be able to dig in. (and keep the pen "movable" arround the garden)

 

[JurassicBawk]

I've got 1/4 inch hardwire mesh on my chicken coop from 3 feet up down onto the ground and out about another foot. That's been sufficient to keep anything out, until the rat tunneled from even further out then under the mesh to get in. (Then got killed by my 8 pound Easter Egger.) I think if you've got wire underneath and up the sides far enough that nothing could get through, it should be fine. Or do like I've done and put the hutches inside another fence that has the protection on it. You can barely see in the pics but it's a 4' tall chainlink dog pen I've just put around it. If you're wanting to move it around, you should be able to make a secure quail tractor. This website has a few good ideas that you might be able to use.

http://www.gardenupgreen.com/category/quail

 

[CCUK]

I have my quail in rabbit hutches they do use the ramp. I also put them out in a run on the grass. When it rains or starts getting colder I just cover the front with a tarp.

 

[CHCH]

Thank you all for your pictures and advices, all your cages looks great !

Currently I am still at the stage where a single youtube video can change all my ideas, I just saw videos from a guy on youtube (slightly redneck) and i like his cages, so i'm gonna rethink everything and will get back to you for the next questions !