DIY quail cages + drawings for free

When there is a desire to breed quails at home, they will have to build housing. Aviaries for these birds are not suitable. Cages, of course, are easier to buy, but not every poultry farmer can afford the extra costs. If you approach this issue creatively, then a home quail farm can be equipped with makeshift houses. Now we will look at how do-it-yourself quail cages are made from different materials.

Requirements for cells

First of all, a homemade quail cage must be strong. If a metal mesh is used, the mesh size should be only large enough for the bird’s head to crawl through to the feeder. Through the large holes present in the design, nimble quails instantly jump out.

During the independent production of cages for quails, it is necessary to take into account the number of livestock. One bird should have about 200 cm² free space. Often houses made by poultry farmers provide 150 cm for one individual.² free space, which is also not bad for quail.

Quails in the wild live in areas densely overgrown with grass. Birds love twilight and occasionally get out into the sun. They will need to provide a similar environment at home.

Drawing of a quail cage

Since a decision has been made to build cages for free at home, drawings will be needed for work. In principle, the scheme of any design is an ordinary box. The distinguishing feature is the bottom. For adult quails, it is made at a slope of 12^о towards the egg box. When the females begin to lay, the eggs will roll down the sloping floor into a tray fixed outside the cage.

Based on the fact that an adult bird needs about 200 cm² free space, we calculate the size of the quail cage, taking into account the fact that the family consists of one male and four females. Usually the width of the house is made small from about 30 to 50 cm. Quails grow small, and a ceiling height of 25 cm will be enough for them. The length of the cage is calculated by the number of living quails.

The presented drawing of a quail cage shows a three-tiered structure. Such models are best suited for home use, due to space saving. If desired, the tiers can be made more or less.

Cage sizes for quails of different ages

Now is the time to consider cages for keeping quails of different ages. If a decision is made to seriously engage in breeding this bird, then you will have to make houses of different ages, which differ in their design:

• Newborn chicks up to ten days of age will need brooders. Such a house has three side walls made of chipboard, fiberboard or plywood. The front fourth wall, floor and ceiling are covered with a fine mesh 10×10 mm. Instead of a grid, the ceiling can be covered with fiberboard or plain cardboard. A feeder with a drinking bowl is placed inside the cage, the chicks are provided with lighting and heating.
• The next model is designed for young quails up to 45 days old. First of all, the design provides for a floor made of a grid with larger cells, but not more than 16×24 mm. All side walls may not be solid. Here, a mesh for quail cages with a mesh size of 24×24 mm is preferred.
• Houses for adult quails can be completely mesh or with three plywood side walls. To reduce the cost of consumables, metal side meshes are replaced with plastic counterparts. The size of the mesh cells of the side walls should be within 32×48 mm, and for the bottom a mesh with cells of 16×24 mm will go. In the houses where laying hens will live, the bottom is made with a slope towards the egg collection tray. The tray itself can simply be a continuation of the bottom, but always with a limiter on the edge. Otherwise, the eggs will roll out and fall to the ground.
• Particular attention should be paid to the cages that will contain quail for meat. Houses are made only from a grid with cells of 32×48 mm. Moreover, it is important to limit the space for birds by smaller cage sizes and ceiling height. The less the quail will move, the faster it will gain weight.

Having dealt with the basic requirements, we proceed to the manufacture of step-by-step instructions for quail cages with our own hands from different materials.

Mesh house with wooden frame

The quail cage shown in the photo has a wooden frame. All sides, ceiling and floor are covered with metal mesh. The phased assembly of the structure consists of the following steps:

• Wooden elements with the help of self-tapping screws are connected at a right angle so that the outline of the box is obtained. At the corner joints, you can screw overhead metal corners with self-tapping screws. They will prevent loosening of the frame.
• When the frame is completely ready, it is advisable to treat the wood with an antiseptic, then open it with varnish. This procedure is aimed at extending the life of the wooden frame.
• Fragments are cut out of the metal mesh according to the size of the sides of the frame. The mesh is nailed to the wooden frame with small nails, bending them. With the last row of nails, they try to stretch the mesh so that it does not sag.

When the frame is fully covered, trays for collecting eggs are attached to the bottom and a sheet steel pallet is placed under the floor mesh. In the final, you need to inspect the entire structure so that there are no sharp ends of the mesh and protruding nails on it, which can hurt the quail.

The video shows cages for quails:

Frameless metal mesh cage

The easiest and fastest option to assemble a quail house is to bend it out of a metal mesh. The design does not include any frame. You need to do the following:

• A rectangular box is bent from a metal mesh. In this design, there are no two side walls. They are cut out separately, and with the help of wire they are attached to the resulting box. Moreover, one fragment is fixed tightly, and in the second a door is made. This will be the front side of the cage.
• For the bottom, a fragment is cut out of a fine-mesh mesh, and it is fixed at an angle of 12^о towards the cage where the door is located. This is where the egg box will be. It is a continuation of the bottom, only a limiter from any wooden plank is attached to the edge. You can simply bend the edges of the mesh.

The quail house is ready. It remains to install a pallet under the floor grid and you can populate the birds.

plywood house

The manufacture of a plywood house is justified by the cleanliness of the room where it will be located. Feathers and dust flying from quails will settle on the pallet, and not fall to the ground, as is the case with mesh cages.

The procedure for manufacturing a plywood house consists of the following steps:

• A frame is made from a wooden beam with a section of 50×50 mm. It is desirable to make a multi-tiered structure on legs. The frame is made using the mesh cage method.
• The resulting skeleton of the structure must be sheathed. Thin plywood or fiberboard is suitable here. Fragments are cut to the size of the three sides and the ceiling. Several rows of ventilation holes with a diameter of 30 mm are drilled in the sheets. Each fragment is nailed to the frame with nails.
• The finished structure is treated with an antiseptic, after which it is opened with varnish. From similar bars, door frames are made for each section of the cage. Fragments are cut out of a metal mesh according to the size of the frames, and fastened with nails. Finished doors with the help of canopies are fixed to the frame on the front of the house.

The floor, the continuation of which is an egg collector, is cut out of a fine mesh and nailed to the frame. A pallet is installed under the floor of each section.

house made of plastic boxes

It cannot be said that a cage for quails made of plastic boxes is ideal, but as a way out of the situation for the first time it is acceptable. To assemble the structure, you will need three plastic boxes of the same size, but of different heights. Place the containers on top of each other so that the tall box is between the two lower ones. The bottom container will be the cage tray. Cut a hole in the top drawer with a knife. Holes are enlarged in the side shelf of the middle box so that the quail can stick its head to the feeder.

On the video, do-it-yourself quail cages from boxes:

What are cell batteries

At home and at work, quail cell batteries have proven themselves well, allowing you to save usable space. What is it? The answer is simple. The battery is a set of cells stacked on top of each other. That is, a multi-tiered structure is made. Each section is equipped with its own floor, tray and egg collector. The materials and method of manufacturing cell batteries are no different from the above designs.

So, we looked at how to make a quail cage with our own hands from different materials. The case is not difficult, but requires certain skills. In any case, home-made houses will cost the poultry farmer cheaper than store ones.