Getting them back in...

Okay, this may be a really daft question... We haven't actually got our quail yet cos we want to make sure we've got all the facilities in place first - especially with two inquisitive Irish Wolfhounds, Clydesdale horses, a border collie and a cat! What we want to know is, having had chickens who are quite happy to go back into their housing at night, are quail equally easy to shut away each night or do they have access to an aviary 24/7? Any ideas or advice welcome

Hi,

First thing you need to understand is, you can not free range quails. They might hang around for a day or two, but then they'll be off.
It's best to keep them in an aviary,with access to indoor quarters that are wind and rain proof.Quails can stand our winters as long as they are dry and out of the strong cold winds.
You'll find, quail will use the aviary during day light hours and return back to the house in the evenings, during winter time, if you still want them to produce eggs, it's best to have extra light installed. Derek.

Mine are currently indoor, as I didn't want to put them out in the cold and at first I left the lid off their cage...the first 3 are nearly 6 weeks now, and they can't really fly yet. They jump and flap, or can flutter down from your hand to the floor but they can't take off, but one did "escape" when I was holding another by jumping onto their nesting box then out of the cage! The two I picked up from Martin on Saturday can fly (as one of his proved when he opened the door of the hutch and she flapped straight out!). I'm pretty sure they'd do a runner if they could though.

Hi Ya

I keep my Japanese quail in a few different types of housing - in cages in the shed, poultry/rabbit Arks and a 2 storey Rabbit hutch which all have been really successful once adding waterproof covers to protect them from the worst of heavy rain.

I have noticed though that my quail don't automatically go to there bed section when it gets dark, on fine nights they'll sleep in their run section, I used to round them up and physically put them to bed at night, but since their housing is secure and weatherproof I now just leave them to it.

I've been very lucky with my Japanese quail. I rear them from hatch as pets, so their all used to being handled and very rarely make a bid for freedom, but I did lose one due to my complacency, it took off over my head when i was cleaning them out - I was really surprised how far and how quickly it could fly. Unfortunately being so tame/stupid, one of my cats found it before we could.

Suz

I was really hoping they'd be like my chooks and put themselves to bed as well. Never mind.

Thanks for all the helpful comments everyone. I realised they would need to be in an aviary but I was worried they would stay out in the cold rather than head back to the safety and warmth of their indoor luxury penthouses.
I had two lovebirds that I put into the front porch once to let them get some fresh air - yes... they both managed to get out but surprisingly didn't leave the porch even though the door was wide open. The result was that I had to lock the porch and front door and get everyone to come into the house at the back. They happily flew around the porch for about two months happily eating all the seedlings I was growing for that year until I finally got them back in using stealth - a net curtain.....
I can't wait to start with some cortunix but I want to do my homework first so any help and advice is really welcome. I apologise in advance for any idiot questions

ask all questions you want - thats why the forums here We'll do our best to answer them as best as we can.

Suz