HELP! stressed out coturnix quail

[poultrypumpkinz]

Help!

quail stressing himself to death! I just had this little guy for a few days now, neighbor dropped it off, poor thing, seemed stressed, but got used to the new home after awhile, hadn't learned to fly yet so I've been letting him free range in the yard and giving him parakeet feed, apple chunks, rice, millet, big eater, he seemed more friendly after a bit, got out of the yard a couple of times, no idea how but he never went far, got a little ruffled and upset after I picked him up and put him back in the yard. AND THEN he got his wings clipped.... poor fella, not happy at all, all fluffing himself up, making this weird noise he wasn't doing before, really stressed ran away at any sign of humans, wouldn't eat, what do i do

??? Is there a way I can minimize his stress,

or do I just leave him alone? What if he gets out of the yard again, he doesn't like being picked up or approached anymore...is it okay to clip a quail's wings?

need some help here

 

[Boyd]

he's throwing a tantrum?!! How about you give him a new dustbath to play in? He'll love you forever for that!

 

[monarc23]

Do not free range coturnix quails please, you will regret it he wil get killed or wander away. Plus, when a coturnix has it's feathers IT CAN fly. They dont need to learn to fly they already know so im glad you clipped it's wings.

Also they need nonmedicated game bird feed, all that other stuff you are feeding him is treats.

He almost sounds cold, and scared. You need to put him in an actual flight pen, or a rabbit hutch or a cage and let him get settled in and please dont free range....he's not a chicken

He wont stay around wont know to.

When a bird is fluffed up it's either sick or cold and or terrified. He also needs a few more coturnix to feel safe.

 

[Akane]

Quail will start flying at a few weeks old. Clipping wings will not keep them from flying away. It may help prevent them slamming into the top and sides of their pen but only marginally. Most birds can still get good lift unless you remove a large number of feathers until they can't function normally. If it can't fly yet then it still needs to be under heat. If it's full grown it can fly and it will fly away. Quail do not stay home and they do not return like chickens. Unless they've been handled daily they also will not stand there to be caught. If you are able to easily handle it then either the quail is so stressed and sick it doesn't have the energy to try to escape or it's previous owner really handled it well so it's fairly tame. Quail should be kept in a proper pen with a top and bottom (or suitable barrier around the edges) to keep them in and predators out. Turning them loose in a yard is guranteed to result in lost or dead quail. They also should be eating a poultry feed. Game bird feed preferably but even a chicken feed is better than just feeding them junk like that.