Chickens vs. Quail

[bobbieszoo]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but thought I'd give it a shot.  I save my left over bird food for the wild birds, mainly Quail.  Friggin' neighbors chickens come over and eat it.  I would like to also buy the wild birds a bird block, but at $22 a pop, that's expensive chicken feed.  Does anyone know of some DIY plans that I could build a "cage" to put the food in that would would allow the Quail to enter and keep the stupid chickens out?  I'm ready to let my dog loose on them.

[Bean]

I've not seen any DIY plans but my father in law has a ground feeder like this that's essentially a cage that small birds can nip in and out of easily, but the pigeons and squirrels get shut out of. It works well, and although it can take a while for them to suss it out and trust it's not a trap, it's a really good way of making sure the little ones get the food.

Quail are probably too big for that particular type of feeder, but maybe you could make one of of bamboo and twine that's the right size for quail - you'd just need to make sure it was weighted down somewhere so bigger animals couldn't upturn it.

[3piggles]

I did a quick Google on bird sizes, and the ground feeder for bigger birds, as big as black birds, should serve the purpose perfectly. Blackbirds are 23.5-29C, or 2.8-4.4 oz, while quail are 10-25C. Most chicken run in pounds, not ounces, and those kept for eggs/meat run on the bigger side. Unless the neighbor has really scrawny chickens, I doubt they could get through the mesh into the feeder. That's a great feeder, Bean. I'll check if we have anything like it over here

[jolovespiggies]

Little buggers should stick to their own side of the fence ! Seriously hun, I hope you get something sorted for them.

Hugs
JO xx