Moving into the quail house

Hooray! At last, the quail house was finally ready to occupy today. The hutch that has housed the 5 outside birds went into the back of the land rover, along with the new hutch made from an old cupboard, for the very short trip to the allotment.



The group of 9 birds that had been kept in an indoor cage went into a carrying box. The cage is to remain back at the house and is likely to be used as a brooder box for newly hatched chicks. The two hutches will provide cover and a hideaway for the quail in the quail house.



The birds settled down very quickly into their new accommodation. The two males have not been fighting and most birds spent much of the afternoon dust bathing.



We wondered whether or not the move will affect egg production but, having returned this evening and collected 8 eggs, it seems they are continuing to produce. I will go back shortly to close down the henhouses for the night and will collect any final eggs at that point. As this is a totally enclosed aviary, there will be no need to close up the hutches to protect the birds from predators. The quail will be free to roam around the aviary or go into the hutches throughout the night.