How to keep quail - our setup
Our quail setup replicates the natural habitat for the birds and keeps them safe and happy. It also keeps the ground fertile which is perfect for growing various crops. The system is self-sustaining and makes the garden work for us - not the other way around!
Many of these techniques were accidental, but in the end, this is how we did it:
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A video tour of our quail setup is coming soon!
Below are the exact items that we purchased on eBay when setting up our quail system. We feel that this is a system that will last a long time and is very versatile. It is also easily repurposable, should we think of any other ventures!
1) The Cage
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This large walk-in cage is 13ft x 10ft which provides 130 sq.ft of space. My research suggests that each quail requires approximately 1 sq.ft per bird, which is very crowded in my opinion but could still easily house over 100 birds should we decide to run an intensive hatching programme. That is fantastic!
It was extremely easy to put up as it comes with spring loaded pins that fit into pre-drilled holes and simply clip together. When we made a mistake, we simply clicked the pins, removed them from the holes and separated the metal rods. There was nothing to break and very little to get wrong. The frame is lightweight, so the two of us were able to put it in place easily but sturdy enough to withstand Orcadian storms. It also came with a wire mesh and cable ties so it was very easy to secure to the frame. It keeps cats and predatory birds away from the quail and every other creature away from our bushes.
We also wanted to protect the quail from smaller predators, namely, rats. This is why we covered the cage with a galvanised wire mesh that is 20 gauge thick and has tiny holes only ¼ inch by ¼ inch in size. We chose a roll that was 4ft in height and placed it so there was 3ft hugging the cage and 1ft folded onto the ground to prevent rodents from digging in. The roll came 15 metres in length which is perfect for the above cage, as it is 14 metres in perimeter.
I love the cage so much as it has a convenient stable-door system so I don’t have to enter the cage to check on the birds or refill their food and water.
2) Feeder
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The feeder is my favourite part about this set up. It was extremely easy and works superbly well as it automates the process of feeding our quail.
The feeder is a simple 20 litre bucket with a lid. At first, we chose it because it was the cheapest bucket available online, but now we love it because it is see-through, making it so easy to gauge from a distance the level of food that the quail still have available.
I drilled a hole at the bottom of the bucket and fitted it with a spiral food dispenser which the quail learned to use immediately. It helps to keep the feed inside the bucket until it is required and only dispenses a small amount of it so that there is no wastage.
3) Water
We use a very basic 6 litre poultry drinker to keep the birds’ thirst quenched. I really like how large it is so the water we add lasts for days on end. I have a string pulley system installed so all I need to do is open the top door of the cage, grab the string and pull the drinker upward. I am able to refill the drinker without the need to enter the cage. It is so convenient!
Another thing we did is use a bunch of old ceramic tea cups we found in the old shipping container (such as the one James mentions in this video. We simply tied their handles to the bars of the cage and they are perfect for catching rainfall and it provides water for the birds even if we don’t refill the drinker on a regular basis.
There are probably many improvements we could make to water dispenser and in time we might invest some time in making a gravity fed water butt system, but for now the rain does the hard work and we never seem to run out of water.
4) Shelter
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We looked at many different options for keeping our quail sheltered but in the end decided to see how they cope with the simplest and cheapest solution. We had some plant pots and buckets laying around so we placed those inside the cage and secured them with cable ties, so they don’t fly around in the strong winds. The quail love them, they have wind and rain cover if they chose to use it but we noticed that the birds love to nest in tall grass and don’t seem to mind the rain or wind.
Better shelter options is the priority project that we need to have a think about for the coming winter. Quail did not enjoy using the makeshift boxes we used before but I am hoping we could cobble some wooden housing together and insulate them sufficiently to help quail withstand the harsh and unforgiving Orcadian winter. I am sure that this will be yet another trial and error moment but we will eventually find what works best.
Do you have any shelter ideas? Please let us know in the comment section below!
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