Golden Quail, death of hens

[mosca]

Hi
I wonder if anyone can help me. I live in southern Spain, which I think has a climate like California (we grow mangos). Anyway the environment issues here are heat, not cold related.
I wanted to make a start with quail in order to learn quickly about poultry husbandry.
I bought 9. 2 males and 7 hens. They looked like Italian Golden jumbos though the seller just said "eggs" and nodded when I asked "meat?"
3 hens have died. One had a blood speck on her wing and all feathers stripped from the back of her neck. She was of good weight and otherwise healthy. The second had a very pronounced breastbone. It seems I had missed the fact that she wasn't eating. On feeling her corpse she seemed emaciated. Today I have a hen that cannot walk. She's quite fat and has been fine, but I expect her to be dead tomorrow. I have isolated her because she was being attacked. She is in a darkened box with food and water, on her own.
I have four hens left. They all look good, though slightly bashed, and the cocks are immaculate. They have been giving me 4 eggs per day for about 2 months. I incubated 32 eggs and got 15 healthy chicks and 15 dead in shell. I guess the DIS are because of the fatal Gold gene?
Any comments? Please? They are caged in and 8ft by 3ft pen with a 0.5cm mesh run (floor and sides) and a box at one end. They get dust baths and lettuce and seeding weeds each day plus a game mix and water ad lib.
Thanks for your he4lp!
Mosca

 

[buttonquailtx]

It sounds like you may have an overly aggressive male. Do the girls have any hiding places. Give the girls at least 1 to 2 hiding spaces each. I also suggest sitting by the cage for a while and watching their actions. If you see a male bullying the hens, take him out. One male can handle the 4 girls by himself. If I get an aggressive bird, he/she goes into the freezer for dinner. In some instances aggression can pass genetically. It's best to keep the more docile birds for breeders.


Still we can't rule out disease or predators. Keep an eye on the other hens. Can you post pics of their cage? This will help us see if it is predator proof.

 

[mosca]

Thanks for your kind reply. I am a beginner so I don't know what an extra aggressive male cock behaves like, but I have one that constantly attacks the other cock and knocks the hens around. I'll eat it.
As for predators, I see no evidence of them. Wouldn't they eat at least part of a bird they'd killed?
I will post a picture of my set up. It has green plastic mesh separating the box from the run. Oppressed quail duck in there and are usually OK, but you are quite right - I don't sit and watch them enough. Thanks again. I'll post some pics of my set up.

 

[buttonquailtx]

Aggressive males will chase the hens around whenever they can. They will constantly try to mount the hen and pull the feather out of the back of the hens neck and their backs.

Predators will often stress the birds to death, even id they can't reach the birds. Some predators, such as raccons will reach into cages and pull the birds to the wire. But, based on your description I would believe it is an aggressive male before predators.

 

[mosca]

Thanks for your help. The lady who sold me the birds thinks I'm running them on the wrong floor. I use 80mm weldmesh wire - the same on the floor as I use on the front and back of the cage. She thinks that the wire is cutting their feet and there is indeed a small mark in the centre of the right foot pad on two of the affected hens. Trouble is, the problem doesn't seem to be wounds. They don't seem to be able to use either leg, they can't get onto their feet and it doesn't get any better if I put them in a solid floored cage to recoup. I had another hen go down this morning. I have 14 youngsters running on the same wire, all OK so far.
My immediate action is to isolate the affected hen, and medicate her wound. She has no infection or temperature or swelling of any kind. I will put a perforated heavy green plastic mat over the floors of both cages until I can think how to replace the floors.
I would post pictures but this page won't uploads my photos. I keep getting an "error" notice. Have been trying for days.