cause of dead quail?

[Birdman18]

Hi,
Today when I went to feed my bobwhite quails I noticed a hen that died. I want to know what caused this. I noticed her Crop area was filled with air and inflated just like a balloon and around her vent area it was bloody and looked like parts of her insides were exposed. At first I though she was egg bound but it wasn't an egg around the vent area. I'm really not sure what happened. If anyone has any possibilities I would appreciate it!!

Thank You!

 

[TwoCrows]

If there were parts of her internal organs coming out of her vent, then she had prolapse from laying an egg. In other words, she pushed so hard, parts of her came out the vent. Many things can cause this from laying a soft shelled egg, laying too large of an egg, dehydration, lack of calcium, laying to early in life, old age, ect... The crop can fill with fluid just before a bird dies as well. I do not think the bloated crop had anything to do with the prolapse. So sorry. :-(

 

[Birdman18]

Thank you so much twocrowsranch!!

I didn't think it was because of prolapse from laying an egg. I didn't see any egg, if she did lay it or it might of been inside of her. Is their anything that will make the egg laying process easier for them to prevent this? I know calcium or cuttlefish is good for their eggs but not sure if it makes it easier for them to lay.

Thank Again!!

 

[Livi]

Severe calsium deficiency can cause egg bounding, but apart from that I have never heard about other preventive measures.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you so much twocrowsranch!!

I didn't think it was because of prolapse from laying an egg. I didn't see any egg, if she did lay it or it might of been inside of her. Is their anything that will make the egg laying process easier for them to prevent this? I know calcium or cuttlefish is good for their eggs but not sure if it makes it easier for them to lay.

Thank Again!!

Mike, you wouldn't necessarily see the egg she was trying to lay. It could have still been stuck up in the oviduct, or possibly it did come out and the others ate it. Either way, she forced so hard to push parts of her out, and of course this kills the quail.

When an egg does not have a hard shell, it is harder for them to push thru the oviduct. Being soft, it does not allow the muscles to push it out. It just sits there and conforms to the muscle walls. So the hen might not be able to push a squishy egg with out pushing very hard. If she spent 2 or 3 days trying to push this soft egg thru her system, it is easy to push organs out the vent as well.

As far as preventing it, all you can do is watch a few things....and remember, some birds are prone to prolapse, regardless of what you do. Young females are prone to prolapse, so never "force" laying on them with extra lighting. Always make sure they have clean water to drink. Make sure to have either crushed oyster shell or cuttle bone on hand for them at ALL times during laying season. Egg layers need huge amounts of calcium and most feeds do not contain much. Some folks might debate this next thing, but I am a firm believer in it....high protein feeds like gamebird "starter" feed, in my humble opinion can cause prolapse. Too much protein and it forces them to lay too much. I like to stick to a 26% protein feed. Also, if a hen is stressed or over heated, she can lay soft shelled eggs as well. So keep them cool as possible and the least amount of stress.

These things are about the only things you can do. You can't totally prevent it, but with working with these things I have suggested, you can keep it under control. It is common for hens to die from reproductive issues eventually. I have some older hens that are now laying soft shelled eggs as possibly they are not able to absorb the calcium. These things happen.

 

[oscar8]

twocrowsranch, how old should hens be before extra lighting is safe? I just started with quail (wrong season!) but did want to see if I could get eggs through the winter.

 

[TwoCrows]

I am not an expert on this subject, so these are only my humble opinions having kept quail for so many years. LOL So it depends on what breed they are, and I ask this because if you hatched out Bobwhites early this year, they would only now becoming to maturity and possibly be starting to lay. (Bobs take about 6 months to start laying). If you are talking about Coturnix, it depends on when you hatched or got them as chicks. (Cots start laying at 6 to 8 weeks old).

You don't want to force new layers into a heavy schedule of laying at first. You might be asking for trouble. So if we are talking Bobs, you would want them to start laying on a natural schedule first, which would be next spring and then you could force them to lay thru next winter. If you are talking Cots that have been laying all summer, you could go ahead and force them to lay all winter. If these Cots were recently hatched and are only now coming into maturity, then I would also suggest you wait until they start to lay naturally next spring, (Cots and Bobs are seasonal layers only, spring thru fall), and then of course you could force them to lay next winter.

I am sure others have forced young quail into laying earlier than this, but I don't think it is a good idea for young ones to start laying off season before they have actually gotten their egg machines running. Give them a chance to get going and they will live longer lives and produce more eggs in the long run.