summary video of our Tully River Quail Jumbo layer cage build. measures 36" x 27" with egg roll out and self contained removable 36" x 25" poop tray. this video shows the basic materials, tools, & tips and tricks for an easy DIY project such as how to get lay flat materials, bending with a $300 Harbor Freight metal brake, design considerations, and preparing for a winter waterer solution. if interested in watching how these materials all come together to make our Tully River Quail Jumbo Corurnix Quail Egg roll out cage, look for our other video entitled Jumbo Quail Cage Assembly.
these cages are nice and large, designed especially for Jumbo Quail (can be slightly modified for regular Quail by dropping the roll out space to 1" - 1 1/4"). these can be stacked as designed, are easily transportable (for cage sales/Quail start up covey), are easily cleaned and can hold up to 12 -15 Jumbo Quail. we keep 6/cage, but a simple divider can be zip tied into place to give you 2 18" x 24" sections - large enough for 5-6 quail/ side.
our other videos will address door placement, feeder placement a winter water solution and other finishing touches such as our protective silicone edge guard and roll out tray bumper.
simple instructions are as follows:
using 36" 1"×2" welded wire cage material for top & sides and 36" stock 1"×1/2"pvc coated flooring.
cage floor: 29.5" deep x 36"w. 90° bend at 1.5" (front roll out tray stop) and 90° bend at 1.75" for floor back (do not over bend) - back fold allows for additional strength and front to back adjustment when attached at the top row of the floor back.
front, top, back: (1"×1/2# coated)
roll out 56" from 36" wide roll of 1" x 2" cage material. (OK to leave the tines from previous cut as that will extend under the droppings tray and be trimmed with silicone edge trim). from the fresh (flush) cut end, mark 10.5" (rows) with a sharpie. make another mark at 36" (near the cross wire), and another mark after 15 more spaces (after the cross wire).
Bend with either a metal brake for perfect clean lines (harborfreight.com 36" metal brake $300-$350) or bend over a 4x4, or screw a 2x4 onto a fixed surface edge and use a rubber mallet. make your middle bend first and then the smaller edge bends. Note, always position the cage material so you are bending towards the welded side as bending away can cause separation of the welds. when using a mental bender or brake, remember to leave room for the material to bend when bending close to a weld. in out design, the outer welded wire runs front to back, and the inner welded wire cross members run side to side.
bend #1 90° at 36.1" (cross wires inside bend as described above). this is the top
bend #2 90° at 10.5" from flush cut front. this is the front wall
bend #3 °90 at 15.5" from the 36" top wall end. this will leave a short 4.5" bottom "foot" or back droppings tray support rail. it's ok to leave the cut or loose ends if present from a previous cut. you can trim these with 1/8"-1/4" silicone edge guard, or cut the ones off in the middle %90, leaving the edge 2 or 3 to fasten to the side footers for extra strength.
side walls. 1" x 2" with the spaces oriented vertically (long spaces up/down)
measure a 36" x 27" length of cage material (with cross bars on both sides of the piece - i.e. cut on the outside of the 27" measurement). cut this in half at 18" noting that only one side of the cut will have a cross bar - that's OK as it can be trimmed off with edge guard material. you will end up with two 18" x 27" pieces.
bend both pieces °90 at 15", bending them towards the welded horizontal cross wire side. note that only one of the short portions or footers will have a finished edge or outermost crosswire. the other side will have a cross wire at 1" and have 2" tines leftover from the 18" cut. these will be tipped with edge guard trim glued into place. you need the full 3" foot on either side for the droppings tray side rails / support.
if you're rich and or have excess cage material, feel free to cut two 36" x 27" side pieces, cut each at the 18" wire and use the sides with the tines (16" + 2" loose wire tines) to make your cage doors or a partition. it works either way and we always like to conserve our materials whenever possible without sacrificing integrity or function.
middle Partition (optional) - use a 24" x 12" piece of "plasti-core" plastic cardboard (sign material). hold to the side of the cage and trim to fit. punch holes and use zip ties to secure.
roofing/cover: we sit a piece of 36" x 24" corregated galvanized metal ($20 / home depot) to protect from wind and any secondary weather that makes it past our covered cage sets.
One thing to note: these cages are sturdy enough to support the weight of the cage, birds and droppings tray. Should you need to consider moving a "full" cage, the birds are going to get a bit uppity. Use an inner coraplast roof liner Zip tied to the top to prevent injury.
