Are Quail Loud and Messy? - Backyard Quail

People always ask me if quail are loud and messy.

Why get Quail

More and more people are getting quails and the reason is simple they are small, very easy to keep in small areas and also because they look very cute. They can be kept as pets, for eggs, or even for meat. They are easy to care for and require very little in the way of food and water.

Messy

Many people forget these cute little birds can be messy. Especially if you want to keep them as indoor pets. First of all, they are birds which means they can be very dusty they can literally turn a black cage gray. Next, they love to dig into the soil and take a dust bath which causes a lot of dust and debris to fly around also outside the cage. Same with their food, they like to flick it out while eating. It can be a real mess when they get spooked and burst into flight.

You can minimize this a little by using a heavier ground cover like wood chips. Quail can also poop a lot, I have to clean below my cages every week and do a big cleanup every month or it becomes very smelly. Weekly is as easy as adding for ground cover or hay. Monthly, the whole pile has to be moved to the compost bin and new hay laid down. Please clean them out before they get like this guy, get a mess floor: messy quail

I do prefer quails over chickens if it comes to how messy they are.

Loud

Are quails loud and can they annoy you or your neighbor? The straight answer to this question is maybe.

It depends on what you think is loud. Button quail have next to the very soft chirps three sounds, two of these sounds are only made by the males. One is a soft Rumble and it’s only used when they feel lonely and to find a new quail. It’s very soft and it sounds like a soft chirp.

The second call the males make is a sort of offering sound they make. If you have multiple quails this can be quite some show. They do this mainly in the early morning and night. If the cage is close to your home or even inside it can definitely wake you up and disturb your morning. Japanese quail sound a little different and here only the males will make the sounds so yes, especially during the breeding season quails can be loud.

This is not to stop you from getting quail, but is to warn you before you make the wrong decision they are very cute and they are wonderful animals, but they do need like any other pets time and commitment and they do have some features not everybody will enjoy.