Silver Homestead

A One Acre Farmhouse

Quail

Natural Coturnix Quail Keeping

If you are wanting to get a beautiful new backyard covey or simply opt for more wholesome ways of raising your birds, natural Coturnix quail keeping is an exciting new trend! Airy aviaries, potted herbs, woodsy hides, and organic inputs make these nature-based practices increasingly enticing! Check out these easy-to-implement ideas:

an Italian quail hen walking over grass and straw with a wood log hide behind her in a large ground pen to illustrate natural quail keeping techniques

Natural Coturnix Quail Keeping

There is a return to the old-fashioned ways of raising quail. We want coops with plenty of fresh air and enough sunlight that herbs and plants can grow alongside the quail. Let me show you several images and examples of natural quail keeping practices you can implement today:

Open Air Quail Aviaries and Ground Pens:

a walk-in aviary built to house Coturnix quail in a backyard garden
Click the image to view Free Quail Coop & Aviary Building Plans
3 celadon coturnix quail in a sand bottom ground pen
Click the image to view our Garden Ground Pen

Breezy Backyard Coops:

a white coturnix quail coop for backyard quail keeping
Click to view the building plans for this adorable quail cottage coop in our Shop

Moveable Quail Tractors

a rectangular quail tractor made of wood and wire in a grassy pasture with pots of pink flowering plants around it to provide the quail inside some cover and shade
Quail tractors and moveable ground pens are becoming increasingly popular as a way to ensure your covey can be fed naturally, even when feed stores are out of food.

Non-GMO Feeds & Scratch

a glass jar spilling a blend of whole seed natural quail feed onto a white surface
Click the image for whole grain + seed Quail Scratch recipes
a dish with white millet, red milo, dried currants and whole wheat berries to illustrate natural whole foods quail can eat
Click for a list of real foods your quail covey can eat!
close up of a blend of white millet, quinoa, whole wheat berries, whole safflower seeds, rolled oats and nyjer seeds in a homemade quail feed blend on a white background
Click the image for a handy list of all the whole grains and natural seeds Coturnix quail can eat!

Naturally Healthy Inputs

a wooden spoon holding a scoop of dried dust bath herbs for natural quail keeping
Learn how to make this aromatic herb blend to scent your quail’s favorite hide boxes and the dust bath bowl
a close up shot of dish of play sand, Sweet PDZ zeolite and diatomaceous earth with dust bath nesting herbs sprinkled over the top
Learn which dust bath blends quail enjoy the most
a pile of Sweet PDZ natural white zeolite is next to a pile of play sand on a white background
Click to learn about natural odor control using the mineral zeolite (sold as Sweet PDZ)
a white dish holding flaked oyster shell is next to a second white dish of powdered flaked oyster shell for Coturnix quail
Read how to make powdered oyster shell for quail hens from natural oyster shell flakes

Environmental Enrichment

a Tibetan celadon roo is resting under a wooden barn quail hide make from scrap wood, surrounded by pink flowering vincas
Crafting quail hides from leftover scrap wood is SO EASY! Click to view 5 types of hides we made from leftover wood. It’s a very kid-friendly project!
a fairy house made of sticks, moss, acorns, bark and pine cones that could double as a natural quail hide
Our article on Coturnix Quail Keeping for Kids has fun ideas of “fairy house” hides you can make for quail with links to even more deign ideas

Plants & Herbs for Quail

7 different dried herbs and flower petals, each in a pile and labeled
Click the image to see which dried herbs are safe for use around your covey.
3 quart mason jars of sprouted seeds with alfalfa on the left, wild finch bird seed in the middle and sprouted microgreen salad mix on the right
Click to view a list of multiple microgreens and natural seeds you can sprout and feed quail – including which wild bird seed blends work!

Supplies for Coops, Ground Pens & Aviaries

one no waste quail chick feeder and one no waste adult feeder images are shown side by side in a collage style image
Click to see which No Waste feeders work for every quail pen type, whether it holds chicks or adults.

Natural Quail Chick Keeping

a wood scoop holding fine crumbled quail chick feed on a white background
Click the image to learn the Percent Protein Feed quail chicks need
3 quart mason jars of quail chick feed in powdered, ground and whole sizes
Click to learn how to make homemade powdered quail chick feed from non-GMO crumbles

Natural Quail Breeding:

a rosetta celadon quail hen is in a ground tractor with a newly hatched quail chick on green grass
Learn how to encourage quail hens to naturally sit on and hatch eggs

Old-Fashioned Natural Quail Keeping

a late 1920's black and white image of a homemade quail tractor on the ground in a fenced pasture with how the tractor was built being clearly visible
Click to see Great Depression era quail tractors and practices

We Love Natural Coturnix Quail Keeping!

I hope these images and articles have given you lots of new inspiration for your backyard covey! The natural quail keeping trend is here to stay so do NOT be afraid to try your hand at building quail coops and trying the scratch and herb recipes. Quail are very sweet little birds who love all the little extra environmental enrichments you provide!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How to Get Speckled Celadon Quail Eggs

Easter Egger Quail

No Waste Quail Feeders that Work

How to Feed Quail When Commercial Food is Gone

Pin for Later:

a collage of 6 images featuring a Coturnix quail ground pen, dust bath herbs, wood coops, hides, and homemade quail food is shown with text that reads 20 natural quail keeping ideas diy recipes + instructions

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