Housing and raising your mountain quail

[WallTenters]

I have long considered mountain quail and I think I will take the plunge next spring, but would like tips/tricks you have learned to keep your mountains happy and healthy. Also any photos of your housing set up would be appreciated!

 

[oksanen]

Wow! I just googled those. They are really pretty How big do they get?

 

[Ntsees]

I have long considered mountain quail and I think I will take the plunge next spring, but would like tips/tricks you have learned to keep your mountains happy and healthy. Also any photos of your housing set up would be appreciated!

Nothing fancy, I consider the housing for my birds my entire fenced backyard and so I don't think I'll be able to provide a picture of that. Their sleeping quarters is just some Christmas trees I hold from the Christmas season (trees are enclosed with wire fence to protect the birds from night time predators). Feeding-wise, the only thing I provide are seeds to eat and clean water because they have access to grass, weeds, insects, etc. in the backyard. Other than that, try to keep things dry and clean and have lots of cover(shrubs). They like barren ground (because they can walk easier) dotted with lots of shrubs to hide. They are most comfortable like that. If they get sick, just treat them like you would for a chicken. There are no domestic poultry with my birds and so I'll have to caution you if you raise chickens.

If you plan on getting adult birds, getting them before spring will allow them to settle down and get used to the place.

 

[Ntsees]

Wow! I just googled those. They are really pretty How big do they get?

The literature says they are around 10-11.5 inches long (stretched out) and weigh 8-9 ounces. Although they are the largest of North American quails, they are still quail-sized birds to me. They are just slightly larger than a California quail.