Breeding and raising quails is, first of all, very profitable. Dietary meat, eggs, or the sale of the birds themselves - everything is of interest. Naturally, for their content, you need to create a certain environment. Since the bird is small enough, a small quail cage will be enough to keep several individuals at once. Most often, balconies in apartments, verandas or attics in private houses become the location of bird dwellings.
Accommodation Requirements
One of the main requirements for quail cages is its reliability. It should not have gaps, otherwise fragile birds may get hurt. In addition, the material from which the cage is to be made must be practical and easy to disinfect and clean.
An important factor will be the right place for housing. The room must be heated, there must be no drafts in it. It is necessary to install cages for quails at a slight elevation, at least 30-40 cm from the floor. It is also important to take care of the ventilation in the room where the birds are kept, otherwise a bad smell will come from there. Moreover, the absence of such a systemwill harm the quails themselves.
Placement of cells and dimensions for an individual
The most suitable place for placing cages is along the wall. If the room does not allow you to place them in this way, then you can put them like book shelves in the library - back to each other. Naturally, between the rows you need to remember to leave a passage for the person who will look after them.
Today, it is generally accepted that the size of a quail cage is an area of 100-120 square meters. see This place is enough to keep one adult. However, people who already have experience in breeding birds recommend increasing these sizes to 150-170 square meters. see Thus, for 1 square. m will be able to accommodate about 75 adult quails.
Another effective way to house adult quails is to install cages in tiers. However, it must be remembered that for each cage it is required to equip a feeder, a drinking bowl, an egg collector and a litter collection tray.
Standard size cage
In order to simplify the care of the bird, you do not need to make the cage too big. The quail cage should be made in such a way as not to injure the bird when it tries to jump out of the dwelling. In order to save the maximum amount of space, the front wall of the product serves as both a wall and a door, so it is attached to hinges, wire, etc. It is also important to understand that the dimensions of the dwelling will depend on what breed andwhy exactly is quail grown. The design may also vary depending on these indicators. However, despite this, there is a certain standard by which the box can be assembled.
- The number of quails in one cage can reach 30 heads.
- The length of the dwelling is 100 cm.
- Width - 40 cm.
- Cage height - from 20 to 25 cm.
- It is necessary to arrange a slight slope for the floor of 8-10 degrees.
- Mesh with 12x12 mm cells and 2 mm in diameter is used as a floor covering.
- The egg collector should protrude approximately 10 cm and must also have side walls.
Chicken cages
If we look at the photo of quail cages, we can see that they can differ significantly from each other. The thing is that the dimensions, material and equipment for assembly are highly dependent on the age of the bird, on the purpose, on the method of placement.
Sizes for holding a standard adult were listed above. The cage for keeping the chicks will be very different. First, the presence of a heating system is mandatory. Because of this, the cell must be conditionally divided into two parts. In one there will be a drinking bowl and a feeder, and in the other - a heater. The ideal place to install this type of cage would be a quiet and warm place with subdued light. In order to avoid disease in young birds, it is very important to clean it often.
Cell types by purposebirds
To successfully make a quail cage with your own hands, you need to understand what the birds will be kept for, since a lot depends on it.
The first type is conditionally called cages for laying hens. In such cages, 6-7 laying hens and 1 male usually live. A distinctive feature in the construction of this type of cells was that they must necessarily have an inclined bottom. This will allow the laid eggs to automatically roll into the collection tray.
The second type of cells is intended for growing meat breeds of these birds. Since such dwellings contain females or males that will not rush, then the presence of an egg collector or a sloping floor is not at all necessary. The design of cages for such animals is the simplest and least costly in terms of material resources and time.
Cages for keeping quails can be single or multi-tiered.
The first type is selected if the space in the room is significantly limited. Naturally, the number of birds will be less. In this case, wood, plastic or metal mesh for quail cages are used as the main materials for manufacturing. This raw material is the most common for creating a home, as there are a large number of different configurations.
Multi-tiered structures are relevant only if it is planned to grow a large livestock close to industrial indicators. Naturally, the cells will be installed one at a time.one, in tiers. The number of cages in one rack will directly depend on the height of the room, on the bird life system, as well as on the dimensions of the dwelling itself. For the arrangement, wood or metal is used to create both the frame and the cages. Below in the photo is a cage for quails from two tiers.
How to build a cage?
As in any other job, to make a quail cage on your own, you need to have all the materials, tools, and it is also recommended to complete the drawing. It is important to note here that almost all sizes can be changed according to individual needs. The only parameters that cannot be changed are the distance from the floor to the top wall, as well as the width. The most common frame material is wood. After that, the structure is covered on all sides with a galvanized mesh. The egg bin, feeder and drinker can be made from a variety of materials, even ordinary plastic bottles.
Plywood and plastic housing
You can also assemble a home cage for quails from plywood and plastic. Plywood or fiberboard is used as a frame, a metal mesh is used as a bottom. The plastic version of the cage will be made of polypropylene and can accommodate up to 50 birds. Both rushing quails and meat breeds can be kept in this type of cage.
Cage for 20 heads
Since artificial housing should not hamper the movement of the bird, the dimensionswill be larger than standard. Durable plastic is chosen as a reliable drinker, feeder and egg collector. Almost any plastic container can be adapted for these functions. To do this, cut one of the sides according to the size of the cage. You will also need a litter tray. It is recommended to use sheet iron here, since the service life is much longer. The finished cage should resemble a box with dimensions of 30x30x25 cm. You must not forget about ventilation for birds. To ensure ventilation, recesses can be equipped through which the right amount of air will flow inside. To provide the right temperature and lighting, you can use special lamps.
Shelter for 50 quails
In order to keep such a population of birds, it is necessary to assemble a cage with a minimum size of 75x150 cm if the parent flock is kept, and 60x120 cm if meat or egg breeds are kept. As the main materials, mixed components that are at hand are most often used. In addition, the manufacture of dwellings in several tiers will be relevant here. A piece of wood of the right size is used as a frame. Mesh is used to decorate the ceiling, floor and walls.
To assemble a dwelling, you will need:
- 8 wooden bars, selected according to the size of the cage, as well as 2.5 cm thick;
- mesh with small cells and dimensions of 2x2 meters;
- nails and screws to assemble the structure;
- metal corners and canopies.
Making the frame is quite simple. All that is needed isknock down among themselves, the existing wooden bars in the shape of a rectangle. After the frame is ready, you can attach the mesh on the sides. Both nails and self-tapping screws can be used to assemble the structure and fastener the grid. It is important to note here that the height of the cages for meat breeds of poultry should be slightly less than the height for bearing breeds.
Cells from the grid
You can make the base from metal corners. In this case, you need to have parts with dimensions of 25x25 mm. The mesh slots on the sides of the cage should be chosen so that the bird's head fits freely into it. Since birds should not fall out of the cage when walking, the floor mesh should be with smaller mesh sizes than for the sides and ceiling.
The sequence of work is as follows:
- Preparing the corners for the frame. You will need 4 metal corners of 300 and 500 mm, as well as 3 copies of 700 mm. The corners are connected, after which the wooden beams are fastened with self-tapping screws. Metal corners can be connected by welding or bolts.
- Next, you need to fix the sidewalls. For this, a mesh is used, which is attached to the bars with the help of a furniture stapler. It is important here to install the brackets so that they are as even as possible, which will exclude the possibility of harming the bird. If you don't have a stapler, you can use wire.
- Next, the floor is assembled at an inclination of 7-10 degrees. It is important to note here that the length of the floor should correspond to the length of the egg collector - about 10 cm. The end of the egg collector is bent a couple of centimeters.
- Next you canstart fixing the door. Its dimensions should be such that a human hand can easily pass. It is made of mesh, for fixing I use awnings.
- The last step is to assemble the litter tray. As such an element, a sheet piece of iron is taken, which is placed underneath the cell. To simplify the cleaning process, you can lay newspaper on the metal.
In conclusion
Summing up all of the above, it becomes clear that assembling a cage for quails is quite simple. This is mainly due to the fact that the birds themselves are small, and therefore their housing is small in size. In addition, you can purchase quail cages at Avito.
