Two of the youngest quail got out of their pen. So, it was time to remove the brooder.
While they were still feathering out, I had the infrared border in their pen to keep them from getting too cold. They have been fully-feathered for some time, now, but they like having cover and removing the brooder was not a priority. So, I unplugged it and left it in their pen. The problem was that the brooder made it difficult to close the pen door. Two of them must have gotten their heads into the gap and wedged open the door.
Fortunately, they were still in good condition when I found them. In the past, the chickens have killed escaped quail. These two were sitting in a corner and the chickens weren’t paying them any attention.
I removed the brooder and made sure the door closes properly. These quail are old enough that they are starting to care about the pecking order in the pen. In order to give them some space to get away from each other I cut up a box to make a hideout.
Quail don’t roost, but they will sit on an elevated surface if it is an easy hop. Another consideration is that they don’t like dark volumes. A tunnel they can see through is their preference. The first bird will walk in and sit at the next opening. The next bird will enter, turn around, and sit at the other opening or crawl over the first bird to sit at the other opening. I am not sure they are smart enough to back into a box.
The box I gave them has openings cut so they can look diagonally through it. Often three sit inside and the other three sit outside against the solid sides. So far, I haven’t seen any of them on top. This box may be a bit too tall for them to easily hop on.
