How to determine cause of death quail

[Brashlie]

I just had a couple of quail die unexpectedly. I’m concerned about the others so I’d like to determine what happened. Any suggestions about how to do that? What should I look for? I suspect maybe a blockage issue because maybe they weren’t getting enough grit. Do birds require grit to eat the pellet food vs crumble? They’ve gotten oyster shells occasionally but maybe not enough.

 

[Nabiki]

Your best option would be to send the quail to your state necropsy lab. They will also be able to test for certain diseases.

If you don't want to do that, you can open the bird up and look for physical issues. If you suspect blockage, open up the crop, intestines, etc. to look for one.

That being said, grit is technically not necessary if they are only eating milled feed. Grit is helpful, but only absolutely necessary if they are getting other things to eat in addition to their milled feed.

Did the quail show any symptoms before passing?
Were they eating and drinking normally?
Did their poop look normal?
What are you feeding them?
What is their housing situation like?

 

[Susan Skylark]

Species? Age? Number alive and dead? Any symptoms prior to death? One bird might be a blockage, multiple sudden deaths are more likely to be toxin (noxious fumes, moldy feed, accidental exposure to novel toxic substance like pesticides…), environmental (several days of frozen water, extreme heat or cold, stress or injury from startlement including bonked heads), or an extremely nasty pathogen (e. Coli, clostridium, avian influenza, salmonella) that kills swiftly before symptoms present.

 

[Brashlie]

Two dead, 8 still living. They are coturnix quail living in a hutch with good air flow. Temps down to mid 30s right now at night. They’ve been eating pellets. I did give them black fly larvae yesterday. They have all seemed very happy and healthy and laying regularly.