I enclosed my garden to keep the birds out. Of course, I now have lost my bug eaters and I noticed an area of my garden is overrun with pill bugs. Will quail eat up the garden goodies as bad as chickens would? Will quail eat up bugs? I can't have chickens anyway due to my HOA, but no one would notice quail.
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Thanks Catherine. :)
I'm not sure about pill bugs specifically, but probably. Quail are less destructive to plants than chickens because they stay on the ground and don't eat much above their head. I've never had quail in the same pen as a garden, or know anyone who has, so I don't have firsthand knowledge on this. My gut says that you would have to protect seedlings (or keep quail penned up separately until the garden gets going) but as long as you're willing to tolerate a little destruction to some close-to-the-ground crops, the addition of a few quail seems like a good idea.
I was thinking about button quail since their food range would be pretty low to the ground. Anyone here have them?
Helen, I would think the quail would love to eat the bugs, but may also feast on berries and greens, so just an FYI. Ask Rachel Bess - the go-to-gal here on the VPA on quail and gardens. :-)