Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[MayL]

I'm really thinking of keeping quail. I've read quite a bit of information. However, can quail be happy - I mean really bright and healthy happy being kept as domestic birds or are they prone to suffer/become frustrated? I'd love to have some, but I'd be heart broken to see them showing signs of frustration.

[Wibble]

I guess it depends on their housing. I keep mixed types of Coturnix in a very large flight cage, which has conifers, small bushes, perches, and various tunnels that I bought from a pet shop. They don't show any obvious signs of frustration such as feather pecking or fighting, they are not flighty, and are quite happy to be handled.

I hope that helps.

[MayL]

Thank you very much for your reply. It's very helpful and your quail set-up sounds nice for them! Do you have them in a bird aviary as opposed to a low roofed pen? Also, do you find it a task finding where they've laid their eggs?

[Wibble]

It's 5ft high x 6ft wide x 2ft deep, there is a lot of sand and Aubiose covering the bottom of the cage, so it's quite easy to spot the eggs, I also lift the tunnels in the morning to check, although, there is always one that lays in the middle of the low growing conifer!

I keep them in 5ft hutches during the winter, they have small potted conifers, ferns etc, to keep them occupied, they love foraging through them, and a couple of mealworms dropped in the pots are very quickly found.

It's worth the extra effort to see them living in a more natural environment, as opposed to watching them pacing along the front of a small cage, I guess it depends on the owners requirements.