Show your quail setups

[Dukz13]

Hey people just wanna check out some peoples setups, (things they like dislike) so i can get an idea on the best setup for me any help would be tops cheers dukz...

 

[Jay84]

i just keep mine in conventional style aviaries. are you going to be keeping european quails (the bigger ones)? or king quail (the sall ones)?

if keeping the king quail, i would advise you only keep in pairs. males will attack and fight to the death,i have also had this happen with females wen kept in trios! they are very very spiteful to an outsider. they prefer a nice planted aviary where they can forage around for food, and insects. if you are keeping them in a concreted floor aviary then ensure there are some hiding places.

feed small parrot mix or budgie mix. they love live food, but this is not essential. put some dry grass in one corner of the aviary in which they can make their nest. They usually lay around 6-8 eggs per clutch, and will have many clutches during the warmer months. they are great parents and both male and female will care for the cicks. the chicks are precocious, meaning they hatch able to walk and feed on their own. the mum just brooding them keeping them warm.

The eurpoean quail on the other hand are much more social, however i only recommend one male per aviary. these quail rarely rear their own young and will just lay eggs sporadically around the aviary floor! you will have to get an incubator and brooder if wanting to breed these guys.

hope this helps!

 

[Dukz13]

thanx very much for the help top info thanx...

 

[sarah_m]

If you are going to breed them make sure that you remove any deep water dishes before eggs hatch, as the babies have a habit of drowning in anything deeper than a cm or so of water.

Also once the chicks get their adult plumage or just before, remove the babies to seperate cage as i had one of mine peck a chick to death once it had its adult feathers.

 

[Dukz13]

thanku

 

[Vixen]

I would go with the Japanese quail rather than Kings. Japanese are bigger, so theres a wider range of what they can be used to feed. King quails are tiny even fully grown.

Only thing with the Japs you have to incubate the eggs yourself. When they hatch they have to go in a brooder for 4 weeks with a heater (35'C, then you lower it by a few degrees every week), after that they can be stuck outside in cages. They usually start laying eggs by 10 weeks of age so they mature pretty quickly.

Ive been talking to a few breeders who raise them for human consumption and eggs, they find they do best in wire bottom cages, the poop falls through and is more hygenic. They dont need a huge amount of space, ill be keeping a breeding trio in a 90 x 40 x 40cm cage.

 

[Jay84]

Personally I think keeping any ground dwelling bird on a wire floor is definitely NOT ideal! And that floor space is way too small. These are active birds, that are constantly running around the aviary floor.

Are you planning to keep for pleasure or food? If food what will u be feeding them to?

 

[beeman]

Personally I think keeping any ground dwelling bird on a wire floor is definitely NOT ideal! And that floor space is way too small. These are active birds, that are constantly running around the aviary floor.

Are you planning to keep for pleasure or food? If food what will u be feeding them to?

You dont have a clue on floor space with these birds, we used to raise over 2000 a week as a commercial enterprize and all our breeder cages had a floor area of 450 by 400 and housed 5 hens and 2 cocks. They are kept like that to keep fertility up in the eggs, Other wise the fert rates suffer to a point that the eggs arnt worth incubating.And as far as being active birds the Jap quail is one of the laziest and benifits from a tightly crowded growing environment.

 

[Vixen]

Are you planning to keep for pleasure or food? If food what will u be feeding them to?

Will be keeping for pleasure and food, will be feeding all my snakes from the young carpets to spotteds and adults carpets.

 

[Jay84]

Having kept them in aviaries myself I have observed all of mine running around, having sand baths, scratching for food. So yes, I do have a clue for floor space. Maybe they don't do much in cages that size, which is why they appear lazy, they can't do much else. People could argue battery hens produce more eggs, and it's easier to collect the eggs. They do survive in these conditions, but don't thrive! Put a rescued battery hen in a nice big backyard and they appear lazy, they don't know what to do. Give them a few months and they make full use of space. My quails loved their big aviary, and I wouldn't keep them in cages.

 

[Vixen]

Im very against animal cruelty, and if I thought it was thered be no way in hell I would do it. But seeing the size of the cage in person its really not that small, and only 3 will be living in there. I plan to give them bowls with sand to dustbathe etc, it wont just be a bare cage.

 

[Reptile_Boy]

Any photos ?/

 

[scorps]

Just going to point out, itis illegal to use king quail for food or any other native quail you have to use the jap ones or similar breeds.

 

[Stranger]

SCORPS GRRR you beat me to it ...

 

[andyscott]

Just going to point out, itis illegal to use king quail for food or any other native quail you have to use the jap ones or similar breeds.

I had no idea it is illegal, or that King Quail are native.
Oppppps

 

[Vixen]

Jap Quail are better anyway! Bigger, spit out more eggs, and lay year round. They are THE most productive quail species.

 

[Jay84]

Wow I never knew it was illegal to feed king quail. Does that mean it's illegal to feed zebra finches too?

 

[andyscott]

Wow I never knew it was illegal to feed king quail. Does that mean it's illegal to feed zebra finches too?

Hope not.

 

[Jay84]

Lol @ andyscott! I'm sure the cage bird trade can spare a few?

 

[beeman]

Hope not.

It sure is Andy, using any native animal, bird etc for a food source is illegal :|