When I first started to raise my own quail one of the first questions I had was how much space do Coturnix quail need? After some research and personal experience, I have found that they don’t need much space at all.
The general recommendation is 0.5 to 1 square foot of floor space per adult bird and 12 to 18 inches of cage height. That applies to fully mature birds though. Younger quail and baby birds need much less space than that. Let’s discuss what you need to consider in order to maintain healthy birds in small areas.
How Cage Material Impacts The Amount Of Space You Need
To keep your birds healthy and happy in a small space you need a plan to deal with the waste. Quail produce an incredible amount of waste, so wire floor cages are recommended for cleanliness. Half inch wire mesh (hardware cloth is fine) works well and allows droppings to fall through the cage floor. This is not suitable for baby birds under two weeks old though as it can lead to foot and leg injuries. We will address that issue a little further below.
If you would like to keep your quail in a ground pen, in a solid bottom cage or on deep litter, you need to plan on a lot more room for each bird and a strict cleaning regiment to avoid having the birds standing and foraging in their own waste. I would recommend no less than 3 square feet per bird and plan on cleaning the area out at least 4 to 5 times each month.
Cage Height
Quail are ground dwelling birds. They won’t use roosts like chickens, or some other birds do so they don’t need overly tall cages. Coturnix quail are perfectly happy with cages that are no more than 12 inches tall.
There is some concern with cages over 18 inches tall causing injuries. The reason for this is that quail tend to “flush” or fly up quickly when startled (or just at random times) and taller cages allow them to gain more momentum in their upward flight that could lead to head and neck injuries when colliding with the roof. A cage under 18 inches tall helps to prevent this from happening.
If you want to go with taller cages it is recommended to go at least 6 feet tall.
Space Requirements for Young Quail
As you can probably imagine, baby quail need much less space than adults. Baby quail only need about .10 square foot per bird for the first two weeks of life. That equals out to 10 birds per square foot.
It is important to have the correct flooring or bedding for your baby birds. A variety of things can be used for the flooring including paper towels, wood chips (avoid cedar due to respiratory issues that it can cause), or straw/hay. Avoid using anything that is slick (such as newspaper or cardboard) as it can lead to leg issues like splayed leg.
Sand can be used but it is best to wait until the birds are at least a few days old so they have learned the difference between their feed and the sand. At 2 weeks old, baby birds can be moved to wire flooring to make waste management easier.
For birds older than two weeks you should increase the spacing to .20 square feet per bird (or 5 birds per square foot). They can be kept at this density until they reach maturity at about 7 weeks old.
Feed and Water Spacing
Another thing to consider when considering cage space is the feeding watering. Coturnix quail need access to fresh water and feed at all times. You should have feed and water stations that allow multiple birds to eat and drink at the same time. Your feeding station should allow approximately 1/3rd of the birds to access feed at the same time with 1 inch of spacing between each adult bird. Similarly, watering should be set up in the same way.
If your feed and water systems are set up inside the cage, you will need to subtract that from the floor space of your caging to get an accurate measurement of the available space per bird you have.
Maintain Good Hen to Rooster Ratios To Avoid Issues
Once your birds reach sexual maturity, it is just as important to make sure you don’t have too many roosters as it is to make sure you have enough space for your birds.
A ratio of 5 to 6 hens for every rooster is ideal to ensure good egg fertility. If you have more roosters than that, your hens are going to get beat up by over breeding. The roosters can be pretty rough while breeding and will pull the feathers out of the back of the hen’s head. Although this is common with all breeding, over breeding can leave your hens with open wounds that can easily get infected.
Too many roosters can also lead to aggression in your flock. Both the roosters fighting over breeding rights and the hens fighting with the roosters to ward off the breeding behavior.
Individual Breeding Cages Vs Community Cages
Quail can be kept in individual cages for breeding sets (1 rooster and 4 to 5 hens) or they can be kept in large community cages with many roosters and hens living together. I have personally tried both methods but I currently keep my quail in large community cages.
With individual breeding pens, I have found the birds to be perfectly happy and healthy with no more than .5 square foot per bird.
In community pens with larger colonies I find that they do need a little more room and try to stay close to 1 square foot per bird at the most densely packed.
Issues That May Occur With Overcrowding
If you are trying to maximize the number of quail you are keeping in your cages, there are several things that you should look for as signs that they may be overcrowded.
- Poor feather condition – Birds kept in overly crowded conditions will often have ruffled or missing feathers or be excessively dirty.
- Aggression – Cannibalism and aggression are two signs that your birds may be overcrowded. Look for feathers missing from the face and neck. Pecked or swollen eyes are a sure sign that birds are being beat up by their cage mates. This is most common once birds reach sexual maturity and some birds are more prone to it than others. This isn’t necessarily a sign of overcrowding but can be related to it (see above about the rooster to hen ratio).
- Illness and Mortality Issues – Birds that are overcrowded are prone to stress and illness. The main things that will indicate illness if you notice a bird (or multiple birds) that is lethargic or not eating or if you have multiple birds that suddenly die for no apparent reason.
- Low Hatch Rates – Birds kept in over crowded conditions are prone to more laying eggs that become soiled with the waste of other birds or get cracked by birds stepping on them. Not only are these eggs less likely to hatch at all but they can also impact other eggs that they are stored or incubated with by introducing high levels of bacteria into the environment.
If you notice any of the above issues, it may be best to lower the bird count in your cage a little. One note that I will make is that aggression is not always a sign of over crowding. Aside from the normal breeding behavior that can appear like aggression, some birds are just more aggressive than others. Every once in a while you get a bird that is just a bully for no apparent reason. If you are having problems with aggression in your flock you might be able to just remove the aggressive bird and fix your problems without having to re design your entire cage.