Dropping Iike flies!

[Crofters Quail]

I have raised jap quail for years but got a new batch of 8 hens several months ago. The hens have been dropping off suddenly without appearing obviously sick at a rate of 1 every week or two for the last couple of months...they are no more than a few months old. I’ve just had my 5th loss in he new batch. I’ve been caring for them in the same way as always and am confused as to why i’m suddenly experiencing such a high rate of loss.

I’m in Brisbane Australia and we’ve just had a very hot summer and now very wet weather but that’s the same every year. I have an 8 year old daughter who loves the quail and is just beside herself! I’m trying I explain o her hat this his not the norm. Any thoughts or ideas? Could it just have been a bad batch with weak genetics? I got them from a big quail farm here and have never had quail from there before. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[007Sean]

Possibly Ulcerative Enteritis, primarily seen in Bobwhite quail but can infect other gallinaceous birds. Bacitracin and Streptomycin is the drug of choice to administer to the infected birds. Usually by mixing with the water or in feed.
UE is caused by the bacterium Clostridium colinum. Highly contagious, spread by consuming feces of infected birds via waterers or feeders. HTH

 

[Crofters Quail]

Possibly Ulcerative Enteritis, primarily seen in Bobwhite quail but can infect other gallinaceous birds. Bacitracin and Streptomycin is the drug of choice to administer to the infected birds. Usually by mixing with the water or in feed.
UE is caused by the bacterium Clostridium colinum. Highly contagious, spread by consuming feces of infected birds via waterers or feeders. HTH

Many thanks Sean, the new hens are in set ups with older birds...all very harmonious.. no fighting going on....but it’s the new hens that seem to be dropping off...the older birds seem ok. Could this still be consistent with UE? Could the younger birds be more vulnerable? Thanks again.

 

[007Sean]

Many thanks Sean, the new hens are in set ups with older birds...all very harmonious.. no fighting going on....but it’s the new hens that seem to be dropping off...the older birds seem ok. Could this still be consistent with UE? Could the younger birds be more vulnerable? Thanks again.

Have the ones that have died, lost weight? If so, then it's most likely UE. Quail hide their condition pretty darn well, and with UE, once they have recovered from being infected will always be a carrier. Much harder to cure if re-infected.
Are they hunched up or rather feathers all puffed up with wings drupping and head down? It's one of the signs along with the weight loss.

 

[Crofters Quail]

Thanks again Sean, all the losses seemed sudden and unexpected. I didn’t notice them puffed up with dropping wings etc etc unless this stage happened very fast within a few hours. One of the quail I lost seemed slightly less active than usual the day before but I kept checking on her and there seemed no other concerning signs, until I found her the next morning. I attend to the quail morning and evening but during the heavy rains I didn’t hang around for so long at the set up.

I’m thinking maybe the older birds might be carriers and have passed UE on to the younger ones? Not a good idea to mix ages, I know, but I had a couple of long living roosters who were in need of some companions, hence I got 4 new hens each for them. The set up is on the ground and the weather has been hot and wet. I guess not a good scenario. Could cocci be a factor together with UE? Looks like it’s time for a major clean up of the set ups and to disinfect everything ...not so easy in the heavy rain! Is there anything else I can do to protect the remaining quail (who all seem healthy and active, not that I take much comfort from that!) what should I use to disinfect? I hear UE can be fairly difficult to get rid of! Many thanks for your advice.