Winter quarters for corturnix

[cowboy joe]

I've thinned my flock down to a dozen birds & built some breeders cages to house them over the winter.  I live in NY & the winters can get pretty cold...it averaged in the single digits last January.  I was considering moving the quail indoors to wait out the winter.  No garage so they would have to live in the basement.  The basement has a concrete floor & windows.  I know odor will be a problem so I'll probably put in a vent fan and adhere to a rigid cleaning schedule.

Does anyone else winter their birds in a similiar fashion?  This is my first winter with quail.  Any other items I have failed to consider?  Any advice welcome.

[fredrik]

I kept my 7 coturnix in cages in the basement last winter.  I gave them artificial lighting eith a single lamp, and they thrived and kept laying all winter.  I'd say dust was the bisggest problem.  I couldn't keep anything else in that room - or it would get very dirty.  And the room must be cleaned thoroughly in the spring!  It's important of course that the cages are easy to clean regularly.  I had no ventilatlion, and kept the door to their room closed.  So with only 7 quail I wouldn't say there were any problems with odor except in that room.  (If I left the dood open, you could feel the smell in the rest of the basement, but definitely not in the rest of the house.)  Still it is a good idea to have av vent fan, it will minimise the problems, (and maybe remove some of the dust too?)

regard, Fredrik

[Jess]

I keep mine outside all winter and I live in Northern Canada. The pens are half wire and half plywood, and in the colder weather I staple plastic all the way around the pen to keep the wind and snow out, and they have 60 watt bulbs for the inside of thier houses plus lots of hay. A dozen birds will stay together and huddle for warmth as well. I never lost one bird last winter and it got to be minus 30 there for a while. The only problem I had was freezing water. Mine got used to taking big gulps twice each day while it was still thawed! You can get little heaters to put in water dishes to keep them thawed too. They say if you sit the dish on one of those heated reptile rocks that works too. I think someone on this board told me that one!

[casnyder]

Someone just gave me 16 cortunix of mixed decent.  They're all hatched from the same lot of eggs, but there's about three distinct color phases in the batch.

I haven't raised quail in about 14 years, and I cannot recall what I did with them in the winter, but by far most of my animals were over wintered outside in pens off the ground.  I'm in Western PA.

Is it acceptable to quarter them outdoors provided that they have draft free, but unheated, shelter to retreat into?

Thank you for your assistance,
Chris

[Jess]

I'd say it should be ok. How cold does it get down there? A good idea for w winter home for them is a solid plywood, preferably a thicker plywood, house that is only about 12 inches high. Then get a sheet of that solid SM insulation and put it on the top and on the bottom of the house and put the hay on top of it. That will really keep the warmth in. That's what I do for any chicks I'm brooding in the colder weather. The door should only be wide and high enough to let two quail pass each other, and if you want to get fancy, you can put a peice of plywood around the door to make an "L" shaped prch to keep the wind out. Any outdoor runs and cages I would cover the wiore mesh in plastic to keep the wind out.

What you may find, tho, is that although they have a snug little house, they will prefer NOT to use it! I can't beleive mine. All specied of quail I've had do this and I have no idea why. they have a sug, warm, heated and insulated house and they sleep waaaay out in the opposite end of the run on the wire. Every time. They go in thier house durin the day but they don't sleep in it. Perhpas they prefer fresh air over warmth.

[casnyder]

Thank you for that information.

I monitored the temperature closely last witner with a min/max thermometer.  We had several periods last winter where the minimum night time temperature was around -20F for a week or two at a time.  The average low night temperature from December to February is probably around 0 to 10F.  Day time temperatures are a good bit higher of course, but the nights are quite long at that time of the year!

SM insulation, that's the sheets of styrofoam?  I've had problems with chickens eating it, unless it is protected by something more solid that chicken wire.  Doesn't seem to hurt them, but it plays on my mind that they fill their gullets with styrofoam.

Thanks again for the information!

Chris