Quail are quickly becoming popular among backyard homesteaders. And with the rising interest in a healthy way of living people are looking for natural enclosures to keep their quail.

There are many different types of material that can be used to build a quail enclosure. Though the most popular are wood or metal frames lined with hardware cloth. To create the most natural environment, use leaves, dirt, mulch, pine needles, grass clippings and branches.

For more in-depth description of how to set up a natural quail enclosure keep on reading.

Building a Quail Aviary

The most natural setting for quail is going to be an aviary. This type of enclosure gives them the best opportunity to thrive and live similar to how they do in their natural habitat.

Quail are easily spooked, and when they get scared, they rocket up at a rapid velocity. If a quail’s enclosure is over 2 feet, or under 6 feet, there’s a high probability of them breaking their neck due to the force that they will strike the top.

To prevent this, build their aviary over 6 feet tall. While bird netting with small holes can be used, it’s best to provide a solid roof. This helps keep out the elements, which is best for the quail’s health, but also makes cleaning much easier.

For the walls of the aviary, it’s highly recommended to use ½ inch hardware cloth (affiliate link) at least 4 feet high.

By using hardware cloth, there’s a much better chance of keeping out predators such as snakes, rats, raccoons, and other animals that can tear apart chicken wire or fit through the holes.

For the rest of the siding, it’s pretty much fair game. I’ve seen people buy tall dog kennels off from Facebook, and I’ve seen others wrap the whole enclosure with chicken wire and then secure it with hardware cloth.

For me, I used a netting (affiliate link) and lined the bottom with hardware cloth. I used an old dog kennel to create a door. I also put netting across the top and then roofing over the netting. 

Ground Pen for Natural Quail Keeping

For those who don’t have the money or the room for an aviary, a ground coop is the next best option.

A great choice for a ground pen is a quail tractor. A quail tractor is an enclosure that can be moved around the yard. Moving them around regularly allows the quail access to fresh grass and a new area to scavenge for bugs.

Another option for a ground pen is an enclosure that’s kept in one area. When keeping the quail in a permanent location, its best to line the cage with hardware cloth, and cover it with a thick bedding.

Both enclosures can be built the same way with added wheels and a handle for the tractor.

I use stationary pens. My yard is so uneven the quail were able to crawl out from under the tractor.

To provide them a house to fully get out of the elements, I used plywood and cut out holes. Then I connected a run framed with 2×3 boards and 1×1 boards and stapled on ½ hardware cloth.

Bedding for Natural Enclosures

Whichever enclosure you choose, the best bedding to use is straw, pine shavings or pine pellets, mulch, or a blend of leaves, dirt, pine needles and grass.

I’ve used all these types of bedding in both my aviary and ground pens.

My least favorite for the ground pens is straw. In such a small area, quail can’t work it around properly. I’d regularly end up with a clumpy, poopy mess that caused the birds and eggs to be disgusting every time I collected them.

Using pine shavings is a little cleaner but still not my favorite. The quail don’t work this bedding around well either, and I have to clean much more often than with some other beddings.

Pine pellets work great. The quail run around and dig in the pellets until it’s worked down into a dust. The pine dust is very absorbent.

Stir it around regularly, and there won’t be much of a smell. However, it can be quite dusty. I’ve seen people lightly spray the pellets to prevent this.

Pellets will last a long while without any sort of issues with smell. It also does a good job keeping the eggs clean as well.

One of my top choices is sand. I use a deep litter method and they work their poop down into the sand or you can scoop it out with a kitty litter scoop (affiliate link). They’re also able to eat the sand and it works great to help them digest the food.

By using sand you also don’t need to provide them with a separate area to take sand baths which helps maintain their feathers and keep off lice and other parasites.

Unfortunately, if you can’t keep your sand completely dry from the rain it’s a disaster. Once the sand is wet it starts to smell of ammonia, the eggs get dirty, and the quail aren’t able to stay clean.

My favorite for both the aviary and the ground pen is the mixture of leaves and dirt from my woods. The quail loved to take dirt baths in the bedding, and it’s the best for absorbing smell.

To keep the bedding clean, and prevent the eggs from getting dirt, I rank the mixture around. And add a thin layer whenever that doesn’t do the trick of making it look better.

Setting Up a Natural Enclosure

The actual setup is where most natural quail keepers go all out. Some of the enclosures are absolutely beautiful.

People make pathways lined with stone, plant real shrubbery, have hollowed out tree trunks for houses, transplant large patches of grass, and much more.

In my quail aviary, I went a little more basic (though one day I want to get all fancy too).

For the quail houses, I use plant pots and buckets tipped on their sides and fill them with pine needles or straw. The quail pile in to cuddle up or try to brood eggs in groups.

Little houses designed for hamsters (affiliate link) work great to give the quail a small area to nest and stay warm in winter.

There are many different options for the type of feeders available to provide an easy way to care for quail. I like to use 5-gallon food grade buckets with DIY feeders, chick feeders, and quail mount feeders (affiliate links). Caring for my quail (all 350 of them) is incredibly easy.

If there are any questions on how this setup may work differently during the colder months, you could read my article How to Prepare Your Quail for Winter. 

Waters and Feeders for a Natural Enclosure

Quail need adequate spacing around their food and water to prevent them from becoming territorial and aggressive.

If raised on the ground in a pen another a good way to ensure quail have water at all times is to use a rabbit bottle or small animal water bottle (affiliate links). Then there’s the choice between using a nipple or a cup for the small animal water.

Quail are messy drinkers with the nipple, and they tend to get water all over the floor beneath them. Not a big deal when they’re raised on the ground, but it makes a mess when its directly above wood.

However, with cups, the quail will often kick in poop or bedding. It can be quite the conundrum. (I prefer clean water, so I stick with the nipples.)

For their feeder you could get a gravity feeder (affiliate link). Or if you ferment their feed, I recommend getting a chick feeder or quail mounted feeder.

For an aviary, a great waterer is 5-gallon chicken waterer (you may need to switch to the nipples with the elbow. You can find them at Tractor Supply) or you can get a do-it-yourself 5 gallon bucket and add nipples or cups. (affiliate links).

I tend to use the 5 gallon buckets when I’m on vacation or during the coldest months of the year when I switch my quail to pellets.