u/Bolfreak

My quail are 5 weeks old (BBW) and are finally getting big enough to move into the hutch style cage with compartments. They’re still in a grow out box all together for now.

All of my other birds free range during the day, but that’s not possible with the quails. Do they need direct sunlight to be healthy long term? They get fed Meat Bird feed and snacks like alfalfa and mealworms/bsfl, but would they be missing nutrients by being kept in their cage inside the barn and not getting sunlight?

Curious if anyone’s done some observations on this. TIA.

Context: we moved to this house in Central TX in 2021. I saw the mud marks on the eaves when we moved in, but no nests or birds for three years. Finally we got one nest that they would return to every year and sometimes double clutch. This year a second nest close but in a different area was added (it kind of dangles from the eave/bolt/lightstrand bolt is for). The second nest had babies in the spring and was successful. The old nest recently had adults return. In the past week I’ve found three dead babies on the ground. This hasn’t happened before and there are still babies and adults using the nest since I can hear them. Yes, it’s been hot but this is Texas summer-not a new or unique issue. We have plenty of bugs so it’s not starvation. The internet suggested mites and to knock down the nests every year when they’re empty.

I appreciate the bug eating abilities of the swallows and don’t want to discourage them since it took years last time for them to return (based on other things about this house, I doubt the previous owners cared about wildlife or the MBA protecting nests, I assume they knocked the nests when they listed the house). Is knocking down the nests every year something I should do to prevent mites? TIA