All my quail dead

[DerekBennison]

I went down to the barn the other day and fead the quails, chickens and rabbits. They are all separated in there own cages in the barn. Everything was all good. Left and took my son to his hockey game came home 1 1-2 hrs later and there was a blood bath in the quail coup. All dead and two with there heads gone. I suspect a weasel. I have set a live trap and it keeps setting it off but some how gets out. Today I built two box traps. Let's hope this does the trick. Before it turns on the chickens. Now I have to find more quail. These were German quail and they were very pretty birds. Might just find someone that has eggs to incubate.

 

[holm25]

Sorry you lost all your quail!! I hope you catch the pest!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry to hear about this. Hope you trap the weasel.

 

[dc3085]

Raccoons will do the same thing. Just pull the heads off and eat what they can reach. 1/2" hardware cloth is best. If you can fit a nickel theough a hole a predator can fit a quail through it. Coturnix will actually walk up to the predators and check them out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/880785/this-is-why-predators-have-such-an-easy-time-with-quail

 

[Lobzi]

If you dont already have a full wire enclosure you need one. I learned the hard way that my aviary needed to have even a hardware cloth floor. I lost many of my quail to a skunk who had a dug a tunnel into the quail aviary and been dining on my quail for who knows how many nights. It wasnt until I heard one of my quail scream in the middle of the night that I came out to find the skunk in the coop. I saw him from the window but by the time I actually was in the coop he was out through his tunnel and hiding near by. I thought I trapped him in his hiding place and was going to deal with him in the morning but when I came out at daylight he had dug himself out of the entrapment. I still have not caught him but I did put hardware wire down over the entire aviary floor. Not even a rat gets in now.
I hope you can improve on your enclosure so you dont suffer a repeat if you get more quail. Heartbreaking.....