Half my quail are dead!

[CnJHutch]

Just got our first 5 quail (3 female, 2 male) and they were doing fine. Got back from the store just now and my 3 females have died.. anybody know what could cause a sudden death like this?

 

[CheerfulChirp]

I don't think there's enough information to make any suggestions at this point:

How old were they?
Were there any clues about the dead quail (e.g. injuries, missing feathers, died in pile, died near water, unusually hot/cold weather etc)?
What does the poop in your quail housing look like?
What are you feeding them on? Did you see them eating and drinking?

 

[DK newbie]

Assuming those were coturnix quail, 3 females for 2 males is way off - very likely to cause both fighting and over breeding, which could have caused the females to try to escape the males in a panic and, depending on your cage, break their neck by flying into the top of it. If you want to try again, get rid of a male and get 4-7 females for the other male.

But yes, we definitely lack some answers as there could be other explanations for the deaths. In addition to the questions from Cheerful, I'd like to know:
Were they coturnix?
How long did you have the quail?
Did they lay any eggs while you had them?
Picture of their enclosure

 

[CnJHutch]

Sorry..
Yes they are coturnix, eating habits were fine, no recent changes in feed, temperature was normal, no noticeable sign of injuries. It could very well be what DK suggested as it was only the females. They are roughly 3 weeks old.

 

[DK newbie]

Oh.. At just 3 weeks, the males wouldn't have started mating them yet, so I don't think that's the cause. What is 'normal' temperature? Even if there haven't been any changes in feed, the feed in question might be relevant - in particular how much protein is in it. I'd also still like to know how long you've had them.