Enclosure pictures
- Thread starter Seal36
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Hi Tom, I think that as you are collecting your own eggs for hatching you probably have some quails already and I wondered what kind of cage you use for them. I suppose the main thing with CPQs is to have 1/2inch mesh max. if you want to keep them in a mesh sided cage of any type as they are so tiny, especially when small, and may escape though larger mesh. Many people just keep them in the sort of Guinea pig cage which is basically a plastic tray with a wire mesh removeable top, which is easy to move around and to keep clean. They can live outside, but are great escapologists so you need to bear this in mind, I have Coturnix, not COQs, and mine live in cages in a summer house in winter, where its dry and comfortable and I can provide the small amount of light that keeps them laying when my hens have given up. In summer they go out into a moveable rabbit run on grass, with a clear plastic cover over it to keep it dry and give wind protection. Quails are hardy, but hate wind and cannot manage damp conditions, especially in winter. You can see some pics of my setup in Sarah Barratt's 3excellent book 'Practical Quail Keeping' see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Quail-Keeping-Sarah-Barratt/dp/1847974635/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399031790&sr=8-1&keywords=Practical+quail+keeping
This book is mainly about coturnix but the general principles of looking after them are the same whatever species you keep, so long as you make allowances for the smaller size of CPQs. Do get the book if you haven't come across it before its a mine of information.
This book is mainly about coturnix but the general principles of looking after them are the same whatever species you keep, so long as you make allowances for the smaller size of CPQs. Do get the book if you haven't come across it before its a mine of information.
At the minute my quails are in a heated butterfly house as they are at my work but I care for them there. I am looking to hatch their eggs to have my own stock at home and I am also looking at ordering some quail eggs so that they can breed with my quail at home and then it's a new line added to family so that it's not inbreeding. I also have the book already but not had chance to start reading it from Tom
If you are planning to buy eggs for some new stock at home you might consider coturnix instead of CPQs. They lay all year round, at least mine do, and the eggs are lovely. Of course you can eat the eggs of CPQs but they are a bit fiddly whereas 4-5 coturnix eggs are the equivalent of a good-sized hens egg, and the birds come in a whole range of pretty colours. And you would be extending your expertise by getting to grips with a new species.
I like the sound of the COQs scurrying around the floor of a butterfly house, I expect they're very useful and lucky to have such a lovely home.
I like the sound of the COQs scurrying around the floor of a butterfly house, I expect they're very useful and lucky to have such a lovely home.
They love the butterfly house. They have a good supply of woodlice, ants, worms, spider and white fly to eat and it's heated so they don't get cold either and can come out during bad weather. This is ultimately why I decided to have chickens in my back garden rather than quail as the chickens can have a free run if the garden from Tom
