Found one of my coturnix hens dead...

[YWoody]

Sorry for your loss. Was her head floppy on her neck when you picked her up? That seems to be common with the birds I suspect of flushing into something and dying.
I haven't put anything on the ceiling of my cages, but foam sounds like a good idea. If they can reach the roof to peck at the foam, I wouldn't think it'd be high enough for them to injure themselves by flushing.

Thank you, and thanks for the feedback; and yes her neck was floppy. And has time goes on I'm more convinced that is what happened to her, because the rest of my hens are all still doing just fine. Thats a good point about the height of the roof, Im thinking they probably couldnt reach it.

 

[YWoody]

I have not tried it but it would most likely be a reliable cushion. My enclosures are either 7 ft. or 16 inches for my above ground pens/cage. I have a corrugated steel roof on my above ground pens and I have never had a problem with them 'breaking' their neck.

Thanks for your input, I bought some foam & I'm going to try the foam cushion; as this is the 2nd time this has happened; although the 1st time resulted in a very bad injury, it was not fatal. I wish I knew what scares them when I'm not home. I suspect it's a predator. I'm thinking about setting up one of those cameras.
The hens are so calm when I'm out there doing yardwork around the aviary and even when I'm cleaning up inside the aviary. Also they are not even frightened by my dogs barking. My dogs basically ignore the quail & they can't get directly into the area of the yard where the aviary is, but my hens can see the dogs when they are out there and they arent the least bit worried about them. I wonder how much a camera would cost? Not that it would solve anything to know what it is that is scaring them.

 

[CliftonQuail]

Thanks for your input, I bought some foam & I'm going to try the foam cushion; as this is the 2nd time this has happened; although the 1st time resulted in a very bad injury, it was not fatal. I wish I knew what scares them when I'm not home. I suspect it's a predator. I'm thinking about setting up one of those cameras.
The hens are so calm when I'm out there doing yardwork around the aviary and even when I'm cleaning up inside the aviary. Also they are not even frightened by my dogs barking. My dogs basically ignore the quail & they can't get directly into the area of the yard where the aviary is, but my hens can see the dogs when they are out there and they arent the least bit worried about them. I wonder how much a camera would cost? Not that it would solve anything to know what it is that is scaring them.

Trail cameras can be fairly inexpensive to breaking the bank. It depends on how many bells and whistles you want. A quick check on Amazon shows a range of $29.99 to $249.99. The less expensive ones have no external connectivity and you have to pull the memory card out to view the files. If you want something that you can access via WiFi, expect to pay between $50 and $100. I spent $60 for one with no connectivity that has yet to capture video of any animals. I suspect that's due more to where I have the camera than lack of ability of the device. The camera trips when I drive or walk within view and it has also captured a lot of wind driven motion.
Knowing what's coming around and scaring them could help you figure out how to get rid of the issue. For example, if it's a raccoon or similar, you could get a live trap and "rehome" the animal, or at least take it to your local animal control.

 

[Patiocoturnix]

If you want a nice WiFi camera I would look into something like wyze we don’t have this one but we have a different one that we’ve had for years and it works great (the one we have is indoors not out) and wyze is fairly inexpensive
https://www.wyze.com/products/wyze-...z2n8tvFljw566voVnALPYzVVknh8-f3hoCviYQAvD_BwE

 

[YWoody]

Trail cameras can be fairly inexpensive to breaking the bank. It depends on how many bells and whistles you want. A quick check on Amazon shows a range of $29.99 to $249.99. The less expensive ones have no external connectivity and you have to pull the memory card out to view the files. If you want something that you can access via WiFi, expect to pay between $50 and $100. I spent $60 for one with no connectivity that has yet to capture video of any animals. I suspect that's due more to where I have the camera than lack of ability of the device. The camera trips when I drive or walk within view and it has also captured a lot of wind driven motion.
Knowing what's coming around and scaring them could help you figure out how to get rid of the issue. For example, if it's a raccoon or similar, you could get a live trap and "rehome" the animal, or at least take it to your local animal control.

Sorry for delayed response & thank you for that info!
Those are excellent points, I'm going to look into & consider an affordable camera.