FINCHforum

Hey all
For all of you who have button quail at the bottom of your Aviaries, what do you use for them for shelter, we can get alot of rain here at a time and my garden can get a bit damp as the drainage is a bit bad (new house) and its not draining out of my garden, any suggestion as to what I can use for them to escape the damp

I do keep them, but my aviary is indoors. So no problem with rain...

But I think I would build them a small wooden house, maybe raised a few inches from the ground with a very shallow ramp up? Inside maybe put some straw and hay, they might like that for warmth.

I hope somebody else who keeps buttons outside can help.

I have two outside aviaries with a pair of quail in each, one pair have a wooden barrel turned on its side, (one of the smaller home decor type barrels) I have lined it with fine grasses and they have raised babies in there. Its fairly open at the front so I placed some branches in front just to give them a sense of privacy.
The other pair have a small woven bird house. I lined it with grasses and placed branches in front and at the moment there are at least 6 eggs in there. The bird house has a metal floor and is raised off the aviary floor.
In both aviaries I have made teepee's of branches in corners so they have somewhere to hide in if they choose.

I tried doing the same idea but my quail wouldn't go in it. They would try to nest on the floor but it kept getting flooded and eggs rotted. I had bad luck with the quail and re-homed them after the male attacked the diamond doves every time the landed on the ground. They also stole the mealworms out of the mouths of my parrot finches!!

He he wellington you describe mine too! Especially the meal worm thing.

Laura I tried a nice ramp into a cozy grass lined house but my quail refuse to go in unless I catch them and close them up in it. (I do this in bad weather). The rest of the time they run free in the planted flight. Half of it is covered and dry the other half open to the elements... and yes you can already imagine where my pair choose to sleep and nest, IN THE WEATHER.

You should definately try provide them a sheltered spot, as an option. Set up a box / pot or something (perhaps like a plastic pump cover and cut a whole in the side at the back too). I find mine like to nestle into a pile of teff grass or make a hollow under plants. I did read somewhere that they don't like to feel closed in or trapped, so provide a front and back door option for them. If you are lucky your pair will use it. If not, possibly provide grasses or some form of substrate that will lift them off the damp soil.

Button quail seem to like the ground. I have never had the expience of them roosting above ground nor going into a hutch like chickens. They seem to survive and remain healthy in my aviary so far.

wellingtoncdm wrote:I tried doing the same idea but my quail wouldn't go in it.

monotwine wrote:Laura I tried a nice ramp into a cozy grass lined house but my quail refuse to go in unless I catch them and close them up in it.

I can totally relate to these comments I tried all sorts of things but they insisted on sitting in the dampest corner looking dejected they were probably quite happy but to me they looked dejected I tried boxes with little openings and a roof, boxes with openings and no roof, plant pots on the side, decorative walling bricks with openings front and back, (all they did with them was run through them on the way to the damp corner) you name it, if it could fit in a pair of quails I had tried it but they did settle down eventually.