Help !!!

[007Sean]

I noticing my month old quail feather are bared back . Are they packing each other or they haven’t feathered out ? I check there no mites View attachment 3847783

Overcrowding is usually the culprit! They are bunching up and stepping on eachothers backs.

 

[007Sean]

I know this is not my thread, but what to do with a quail who looks like the dead one but is somehow alive

That appears to be pecking....other quail as well as the chickens can cause those type wounds.

 

[Nabiki]

Not sure if I have pictures of the coop, but yes I know from when I was younger and had a rat for a pet, a rat could probably get in. I just have not seen any signs of rat, no poop, no little toe prints in the fresh mud, no chew marks. I just got (hopefully) all the raccoons off my property, and they never went after the quail coop.

If it's not rats, then I would suspect the chickens.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

If it's not rats, then I would suspect the chickens.

when I get home, I will borrow a heavy duty stapler, and use it to fix the coop.

 

[scyllarus]

It could definitely be a rat. We had a juvenile possum get into our cage (we left the door open, we're amazing keepers I know) and it caught and killed one of the birds in the...probably 5 minutes before I happened to see it on camera. A young possum is smaller than a full-grown rat, and this one starter with the side/rear of the bird.

Attaching a picture I managed to get of the little dude. Even a small rat could injure a bird.

 

[GoosesGeeses]

@scyllarus Does it have a quail in it's mouth?

 

[scyllarus]

@scyllarus Does it have a quail in it's mouth?

Yes. I figured it would be reasonable to post as there's no gore or anything visible. The possum was probably about twice the size of the quail, and that particular bird was a younger bird who had juuuuust reached 8 weeks.

 

[GoosesGeeses]

I'm sorry that that possum got it

 

[GoosesGeeses]

@scyllarus How long ago was that? You should get a cage trap and catch them. I'll send a link in a minute

 

[scyllarus]

@scyllarus How long ago was that? You should get a cage trap and catch them. I'll send a link in a minute

It's okay! We were able to catch and release him far away. This time it was 100% our fault that the predator got in, the Husband had accidentally left the cage door open and this little guy figured it was an all you can eat buffet - luckily he only caught one bird before I saw him on the quail cams.