Winter Bedding and Litter Choices for Quail

In winter, the enemy isn't cold. It's wet. Wet bedding means wet feet, damp air, ammonia and dirty eggs. And in a closed-up November barn, bedding stays wet a lot longer than it did in July. So when people ask me what the best winter bedding is, my answer is: whatever you can keep dry.

Here's how I think about it, by setup.

Wire-floor cages: you don't need deep bedding

If your quail live in wire-floor cages over trays, you don't need a deep pile of bedding inside the cage. Droppings fall through to the tray. What you want is a dry tray and a comfortable spot for laying. A lot of people add a nest area so hens have somewhere to lay that isn't bare wire.

Two options I like for that:

• Aspen-fiber pads. Hatching Time Premium Nesting Pads are made from biodegradable aspen excelsior fibers on a kraft paper backing, in 10- or 40-packs. The aspen layer is soft, and the paper backing absorbs moisture. When it's dirty, it goes in the compost or the trash. No scooping.
• Washable plastic pads. The sunset wheat plastic nesting pad from Rite Farm Products has a slotted base for air circulation, lets droppings pass through and is easy to wash. It measures 11 7/8 by 11 7/8 inches and can be cut with scissors or shears to fit. Sold in quantities from one up to 24. Good if you'd rather wash than replace.

Pick based on how you work. Hate washing? Disposable aspen. Hate buying consumables? Plastic.

Trays: deeper is easier in winter

Trays fill up, and in winter you're less excited about cleaning them in the cold. A deeper tray buys you time. For Cimuka/Hatching Time full-layer brooders, grow-out pens and breeding cages, the full-layer manure tray is listed as 2 inches deeper than the old trays, made from washable PP plastic and measuring 22 by 36 by 1.5 inches. The listing also suggests keeping a spare so you can swap a dirty tray for a clean one and clean the dirty one later. Do that in winter; nobody wants to scrub a tray in the cold while the birds wait.

Some people put a thin layer of absorbent material in the tray to soak up moisture. That works if you swap it often. If it stays wet, it's just more wet stuff in the room.

Floor pens and aviaries: choose absorbent and change it

For quail on the floor, you need actual litter. Common choices:

• Pine shavings: absorbent, easy to find, easy to compost. Avoid very dusty bags.
• Straw or hay: cheap, but it can mat down and hold moisture. I'm not a fan for quail in winter.
• Sand: some people like it because it's easy to sift. It can get very cold and stay wet if not managed.
• Pelleted bedding: absorbent, but check that it's suited to birds and not too dusty.

Whatever you use, spot-clean wet areas, especially around drinkers, and replace litter before it gets soggy. Drinker leaks are the number one cause of wet litter I see. Fix the leak first, then worry about bedding.

What to skip

• Cedar shavings. Many keepers avoid aromatic cedar around birds. I do too.
• Newspaper as the only floor. Slippery and gets soggy fast.
• Anything moldy or dusty. If it smells musty in the bag, it goes back.
• Deep litter you can't keep dry. Deep litter methods work for some keepers, but in a damp, closed winter quail room it can turn into a wet mess.

Watch the humidity

Bedding and ventilation are the same problem from two directions. If your bedding never dries, your air isn't moving enough. See our post on winter housing for ventilation without drafts. A cheap humidity sensor at bird level tells you which way it's trending.

A simple winter bedding routine

1. Daily: glance at nest pads and the area under drinkers. Pull anything wet.
2. When trays look full: swap for the clean spare and clean the dirty one when it's convenient.
3. Weekly: check floor pen litter by hand. If it clumps when you squeeze it, it's too wet.
4. Monthly: look at your humidity trend and adjust ventilation.

Routines beat good intentions, especially when it's dark at 5 pm.

My take

Dry beats deep. Use pads for nests, deeper trays with a spare for cages, absorbent litter for floor pens, and fix the drinker leaks first. Then change it before it's gross, not after.

Browse our brooding and housing collection, or bring questions to the Bridgewater showroom (NPIP 22-456).