Hi from a new Quail keeper in Sussex

[Red Rocky]

Just an initial post to introduce myself.....a middle aged male in Sussex....two Australian Cattle Dogs and...............

I have been keeping chickens for about 6 years, and I now have an 50m electric fence, 12 chickens, 3 lovely chicken houses and runs, and a very recent addition of 5 quail needing a nice home to live in. They are in temporary housing, an old rabbit hutch, whilst I am building their des-res (hopefully!!)

I bought an unused rabbit hutch and 6'x4' run at the weekend, and am modifying it to how I think it should be. I am going for a wire mesh floor and dropping tray underneath, however this can be easily converted to a ply floor if they don't seem happy on the mesh. There will be a little nest box, galvanised wine bottle drinker and hanging chick feeder, creosoted with Onduline roof, open plan design thoughout, whilst outside, through the patio doors down to a sun deck, with covered shelter underneath, a dust bath, some sheltering roof, and still working on the other finer details.....

It can be easily changed and modified as I get to know them better, so no sweat, just suck it and see!

anyways, hi all you quail lot, hope to hear from you soon!

 

[Marigold]

Hi Red Rocky, and welcome to the Forum. This is a good time of year to be starting with quail. Sounds as if you have some really nice housing planned, some pics would be great.
Did you read my recent post about Sarah Barratt's new book on keeping quail? See http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=7914
I got started with some of her birds and a lot of her good advice, so I think you would find the book very useful. I did find it was quite a steep learning curve after chickens, some aspects in common but they are very different birds. The ones I hatched last Spring have come through the winter and are laying well again. The book has pics of my quail house and some of my outdoor summer housing as well.
Looking forward to hearing more as your plans progress.

 

[Red Rocky]

hi Marigold....well I ordered that book first thing this morning !!

Yes, I will get some pics up and then maybe some input/advice would go down well with me. And go from there....my book will be here soon

 

[Red Rocky]

Hopefully the new housing and run will be completed today- a sunny day is forecasted!

I will try and post a pic or two later, but this is what I have started with/modified....

I started with a 4 1/2ft hutch, which sat on top of a 4ftx6ft run, bought off ebay unused/second hand, originally from the rabbit hutch shop,...for £75. (original cost was £198)

I built a bottom to the hutch, incorporating two floors - a wire mesh one, and a dropping tray below - with legs so that it is freestanding.

Then I put a hole/ pop hole at the rear of the hutch and modified/improved the roof. (originally it had a hole in the floor of the hutch).

The run roof void (where the hutch originally sat) has a new panel- so that now the roof is three removable panels, held on with turn-buttons. I then added a pitch to make it a pent roof, and added a roof.

The decking is just a cut up pallet- allowing for a little shelter underneath with the overhang.

And the hutch will fit in my greenhouse for the winter if required....

 

[Marigold]

Sounds brilliant. Mine are soon going out into their summer run, though I've been a bit busy and it was a frost last night so may put it off for a day or so. (They would be perfectly OK outside but it hasn't yet got to the stage where they are too hot in their winter cages.)

 

[Red Rocky]

 

[Red Rocky]

 

[Red Rocky]

phew!!! I could do with a nice cold beer now! Very pleased with it, and as I type they seem to like it as they are all in the run now- maybe some more pics to follow

 

[Marigold]

Wow that's fantastic, lucky birds.

 

[Red Rocky]

3 eggs today!!! , just hoping they will be ok outside tonight, if they so choose. I am thinking that maybe they will look after themselves, but it is all a bit new to them...the BBC forecast a 7 deg minimum, so should be fine.

edit...think i'll put a little straw in there for my lil birdy's ...yes, that was a good move, one hopped into it straight away!

 

[Red Rocky]

As you can (just about!) see, the pallet is a success, there are a couple or three hiding there!

 

[Red Rocky]

this is the hutch with the mesh floor..and a cheeky hen trying to get in the piccy!

 

[Marigold]

Some excellent ideas there. What is the tray on the right hand side of the last picture filled with? It looks like wood shavings - do you find they get scattered very fast? -

 

[Red Rocky]

tbh, I don't know yet if it will get scattered!! It's filled with Auboise. I don't think they have spent much time inside, but I think two slept by the door last night, on that offcut bit of plywood (which I put there as an afterthought,) to make them have a choice of the mesh or the ply. It is easy to just take it out and clean it if need be, so it will probably be a permanent feature The feeder is hanging from the ceiling, I think it needs to go up a notch!

 

[Marigold]

Do you find they flick out the food and tend to waste it? I've had success in stopping this by putting the feeder inside a slightly bigger and deeper dish. (See the top picture in Sarah Barratt's book, page 14 and 18, which are of my winter and summer cages.) They also like a dustbath of dried play sand, again a deep bowl is fine - my birds are shown on the back cover, bottom right. In their winter cages I use a plastic ice cream box as its smaller. It's really funny watching them having a good scrub up!

 

[Red Rocky]

I'm hoping the hanging chick feeder in the hutch will work now..I haven't had the time to sort the feeder in the run yet-early days...but one birdy was having a dust bath in the run food today!! ahh!! :shock:

If you look at my earlier pics you will see the sand pit in the run, - a cut down large plant pot- with drainage holes and play sand. They have obviously been using that!!!!

I am fond of my quails so far......so they are all keepers

 

[ncotb]

Wow, what lucky quails yours are! Very nice set up 17

 

[Red Rocky]

thank you marigold and ncotb for your kind comments!

 

[Red Rocky]

I have had the quail a year now, sadly only 3 left out of 5 initially.

So I have just started a hunt for another hutch, or an ark to modify for some more quail, as I think if I put younger ones in with my lot there my be fighting. I was thinking that I will just get hens and no males this time. Or, I could get 2 additional houses, one with just hens, the other with mixed sex so that I can breed. We'll see what turns up on Ebay/ Friday Ad/ Gumtree........

My 3 quail spent the whole winter outside, it wasn't a particularly harsh winter, and they had plenty of straw and some additional windbreak. They all look none the worse for it, however they have not laid for ages - understandably, but they should hopefully start laying again soon.

How's everyones quail doing? Did they stay outside all winter?

 

[Marigold]

Hi RedcRocky, good to hear from you again. Glad your quails made it through the winter outside. Were your losses due to mating injuries, as your remark about just getting girls suggests? I've had no trouble since I went down to an all-female group. As you say, though, I think all hell might break loose if you introduced new youngsters to the existing three. However, your lovely housing has generous space, by the look of it in the pics, and you could consider partitioning it instead of building a new run. I reckon that 1.5 sq. ft of floor space per bird is plenty, at least my 3 have been happy all winter in a cage 3 ft by 2ft.
Mine went on laying all winter as my cages have tiny LED lights on a time switch, which use practically no power but seem to do the job. I also pampered them with an Ecoglow brooder, bought for when they were chicksm which they liked and used a lot, even when it wasn't very cold this winter. It did just help to keep the cage dry and free from condensation as well. And as I had it, why shouldn't they enjoy a bit of central heating? They're now outside again in their covered rabbit run for the summer, and still laying more eggs than I can possibly use, usually one each per day. They're now more than two years old, I didn't think they would have it in them to go on like that for so long. They certainly beat even the best layers among my chickens for egg numbers.