As with any animals, wet and draughts will cause problems, so although they require good ventilation, it may be necessary to cover these if there are strong winds. Still, I haven’t had any problems keeping mine outside in a sheltered position, using an extra few inches of bedding material to keep them well insulated from the floor and shut in their house on cold or wet days. Some people will move their accommodation into a garden shed or garage.
Quail need more protection during the colder winter months (when the temperature is approaching freezing or below). Their natural habitat provides them with places to nest and hide, and it helps if you can replicate this with cut conifer branches or similar for cover and a few small logs raised off the ground by a couple of bricks for them to hide under or behind. In their run, quail prefer a habitat much closer to that of a pheasant than a chicken. Perches are also wasted on quail, and most coops are raised off the ground, which is also a problem. Quails don’t always make nests they usually lay their eggs in discreet places in their bedding. They don’t need such elaborate nest boxes, although they will appreciate somewhere dark to lay. Rabbit hutches are usually big enough for half a dozen quail and provide adequate ventilation and a place for them to hide to lay eggs.Ĭhicken’s housing is wasted on quail. It’s probably best to start by converting housing you already have, ensuring it has adequate ventilation, or buy a rabbit hutch. Quail can be kept with or without a run as long as they are provided with a little grass or other greens in their diet. Ventilation in housing is also important since quail droppings produce far more ammonia than other poultry. Rats are a real problem to quail, and one of the first things you should consider when thinking about keeping quail as pets is their security in runs and housing. Quail will get used to you, though, and mine will call between themselves when approached, looking to see if I am bringing them something tasty to eat! Housing and runs They are, however, more nervous than other poultry and do not like being handled, so care must be taken when catching them because they can fly vertically upwards to escape capture. Quail can be very productive, laying around 230 eggs per year, so they are an ideal solution for people with small back gardens that are unsuitable for chickens. Still, the Coturnix or Japanese quail (shown below on the right) is more popular for producing eggs or meat with smallholders and back garden poultry keepers. The Chinese painted quail is popular in aviaries and is the smaller of the two. There are two species of quail that are commonly kept in the U.K.
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