|
|
| QUAIL KEEPING |
Having only
managed to rear 5 male quail
(Coturnix Coturnix) in 2009, we got off to a very slow start.
The five males have been over-wintered in an unheated shed,
but on 02/03/10, with the sun shining, they got moved to their
new breeding quarters outdoors. The five are in together at
the moment, all in an adapted hen run. The units have 6' x 2'
covered runs, each approximately 3' high. They have indoor shelters
and attached hen nest boxes, but I've used the nest boxes for
sawdust & chopped straw where the birds can dust bath. The
doors into the houses have been reduced in size and we've made
a wire lid beneath the nest box lid, to ensure the birds can't
fly away if someone inadvertently opens it. With such large
entry doors, I've also closed off the ground level shelter,
so there's somewhere the burds can be closed in whilst cleaning
out the runs or collecting eggs. I'll be using 2 of these runs
for keeping adult quail whilst the young ones will be reared
in the shed. Each run will easily hold a dozen quail hens plus
the cock birds, although we'll need to keep an eye on them in
case of any fighting. With sleeping quarters on 2 levels, they
should have enough space to steer clear of one another.
Now I just
need some hens for the project to start properly. A fortnight
today, with any luck, will see the first 2010 babies hatching
from the incubator.
|
| Home |
|
|
(Please note that if you intend
keeping 50+ birds, including quail, you must register with DEFRA.
You'll also need to register and apply for a holding number if
you want to keep a goat, pig, sheep or cow, even if it's just
one animal.)
Quail cannot
be let loose to free range. They won't come back home once they
get out there and they tend not to return to the same spot for
laying their eggs, even in a cage, preferring to just lay and
go, so to speak. The wild quail are migratory, so these little
birds can fly a fair distance. They are reared in UK as game birds,
table birds, egg layers and aviary birds for clearing up fallen
seeds. Some say that quail on the bottom of an aviary deter mice
by cleaning up all the fallen food but I can't be too sure of
how accurate that information might be. Our adult quail are now
in outdoor runs that have been adapted to suit that purpose.
|
 |
 |
| Standard
6' x 2' hen run & coop. UK law states that quail can be
kept at around 9 per square foot. I can't begin to imagine
what that must look like. This run, alone, would hold over
100 quail! |
Quail
are ground dwellers, like pheasants. They aren't very good
at nest building, tending to just lay their eggs anywhere.
Forest floors would make ideal quail environments. |
 |
|
| We've
recreated a forest floor for ours, complete with a row of
live willow cuttings that are already rooted and should bud
this spring. |
Indoors
has shavings on the floor and I've provided a pot of grit
and a pop-hole type feeder with mixed grain. |
 |
 |
| 02/03/10
After a dust bath, the quail begin to venture out into the
run for the first time ever. |
This
demonstrates how well camouflaged quail would be on the forest
floor. |
 |
 |
| A
quail dust bathing in the chopped straw & sawdust. I've
added a water drinker indoors as well as the rabbit water
bottle outdoors. |
Two
of the quail have now found their way outside. They have a
ground level shelter if they prefer to stay out overnight.. |
|
|
