THE QUAIL & THE SPAILPIN

This will be the introduction post for my third and final bird species (For now... But I've got my eye on you Chukars...).

After much research I decided to build a quail coop a little over a year ago. At the time my house only had one chicken coop with three hens (how the times have changed). When it came time to start building the quail coop I borrowed from the design of my existing coop with a few accommodations to account for species specifics. One change was to have a screened roof for half of the coop. Unlike hens, quails can't really be let out without supervision or they will fly away. That has been my experience anyway. I still wanted my quails to have all of the joy of a warm Californian sun bath, so I made that change to the design. 


I wanted to ensure the structure was both durable and easily constructed so I chose a modular design for the structural frame. 


Popped together pretty easily.


Pretty much framed. 


Silly picture with the finished door.


I used hardware cloth to ensure strength and security. Chicken wire really only keeps chickens in. It does little to keep predators out. 


Once I built the coop I had just one problem. I didn't have any quails. After a lot of searching I finally found a guy selling Cotrunix chicks for a reasonable price and in quantities I was comfortable with. I drove to the seller's house, and after a tense start he turned out to be really cool. He was put off at first because I live in a co-op. He's a prepper and he wasn't too sure about what he perceived as a hippie lifestyle, but I told him I grew up in rural town (more rural than his town actually) and after a while he understood what I'm all about. The funny part is we both came to a realization that preppers and sustainability seekers do a lot of the same stuff and have similar goals, even if there motivation is different. So I got my quail chicks and hit the road home. 


Look at this cute little bird!


Even at 3 weeks they were tinier than day old chicken chicks 


Here they are full grown! They lay tasty little eggs and love to roll in fresh cut lavender and rosemary. 


Nothing too special but its a sturdy and functional coop.