8x8 Quail Pen

[SportDog]

I just completed building an 8x8x7 quail pen and had a question about the floor.
I wanted to put sand or dirt in it rather than have a hardware cloth floor.

Does anyone see any issues with doing this or have any suggestions on which would be better?
Thanks in advance.

[Reeves]

My Quail pen. It is the small hutch. Devided down the center, making two pens, then attached to a 72 sq. ft. run for each side. Grass, clover, dwarf mugo pine and dwarf cedars. Also red & black currant bushes. (the rest is for my Amherst 576 sq. ft. run)

[Smiles]

your going to be cleaning it out a whole lot.
that is going to send the birds into a panic also
every time you start shoveling and raking in the pen.
How many are going to be in there?

[CharlieHorse]

Mine is sandy dirt!  I turn it over every so often.   Grass is best, but won't hold up in that small of a pen.

[SportDog]

I have 30 birds right now that will be housed in it.  I am going to start releasing some of them to see if they will recall back as I am planning on using them for dog training.
 
I had planned on raking it under every time I refilled food and water which should be every 2-3 weeks.
And maybe changing it out twice per year. 
I had planned on a dirt/sand floor just based on some of the stuff I had read by Mr Davis on his Quail Program Video. 

What suggestion would you make Smiles?  Hardware cloth?
Thanks for the info!

[Smiles]

If you are using it for a recall pen, I think you will be fine with the dirt floor.
only 30 birds should be ok. I have a few pens that I keep game chickens in and they are 4 x 8 with chicken wire for the floor and when the ground gets droppings all over I just move the entire cage over and keep doing this again and again.

I was picturing a 8 x8 pen with about 60 quail in it on the dirt. I thought that would be to much.  I have 4   3 x 10 quail cages and they create alot of droppings.