I don't know what's wrong with my quail??! Please help!

[rbell]

I bought a common quail 2 years ago out of pity since the cage he was living in before was very small and the wiring was too large for his feet. He's always super social and every spring/summer he does his mating calls non stop.

This spring came around and his mating calls increased by A LOT like usual, all up until two days ago. I left my apartment in the morning and he seemed normal but when I came back at around 2 he was sleeping in the middle of the day with his feathers fluffed up. When I tried singing and talking to him he would just open his eyes slightly and sometimes make a few low chirps. I noticed my apartments was very very hot inside (more than he's used to) so I figured it was just the overheating and took him over to my boyfriend's house since it's large, ventilated, and cool. Since then he's seemed a little better but still no mating calls, no singing/talking, and very little activity. His eyes are also still mostly half open all the time or he'll just be sleeping.

I don't really know what's wrong? All the "sick bird symptoms" I've been reading about are extreme and don't fit. His feces appear normal, he's normal weight, and he's drinking and eating plenty it seems. The only things that are wrong are that he's sleeping a lot and not being social and when he's awake his eyes are half open.

 

[eggbert420]

Get him some girlfriends.

 

[chickmashnoon]

Maybe he's hitting old age. Quail only live 2-3 years from what I've heard.

 

[rbell]

yeah maybe if you want to eat them for breakfast... if you let them live to their full lifespan they average 11 years

 

[eggbert420]

yeah maybe if you want to eat them for breakfast... if you let them live to their full lifespan they average 11 years 

 

[chickmashnoon]

Wow. 11 years! I'm obviously reading the wrong stuff. I heard hens live about 2 years and roosters a bit longer since they don't have the physical drain of laying eggs, but I would have never guessed that long. Most of the info I've found is for homesteading and not pet tho, so I shall respectfully bow out. Hope you find out what has your rooster acting different.

 

[eggbert420]

Wow. 11 years! I'm obviously reading the wrong stuff. I heard hens live about 2 years and roosters a bit longer since they don't have the physical drain of laying eggs, but I would have never guessed that long. Most of the info I've found is for homesteading and not pet tho, so I shall respectfully bow out. Hope you find out what has your rooster acting different.

A rooster will die of loneliness after a couple of years. They need a mate to thrive, and they only live about 2-5 years anyway.

 

[rbell]

A rooster will die of loneliness after a couple of years. They need a mate to thrive, and they only live about 2-5 years anyway.

Considering there's not very much information on the internet about how to raise a quail as a pet, I did extensive research.

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Coturnix_coturnix/
http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Coturnix_coturnix
http://eol.org/pages/914847/details

Personally I think 11 in captivity and without a companion is pushing it very much so. But common quails can in fact live around 11 years in the wild and sometimes in captivity as well.
I don't believe my quail is dying currently, especially at the age of 2 but rather is just not having a great time due to the change of environment and I would like to avoid that next time. I expect him to live 4-7 years but am very much okay with him living to 11 as well

 

[DK newbie]

Personally I'd question any source that says cots lay pure white eggs. They are usually off-white with dark spots. I'm actually not even sure it's the right species you are looking at, when searching for coturnix coturnix, I think the coturnix quail commonly kept in captivity are coturnix japonica - at least around here we refer to them as 'Japanese quail', though the picture of c. japonica on the animaldiversity.org site appears to be much more similar to button quail - I think the picture is wrong. I recall someone on here saying that the japanese coturnix and the european one is basically the same thing, as at least in captivity they have been extensively crossbred. But I can't say what's true - I just strongly doubt that your 'common quail' hatched from a 'pure white' egg..
Anyway, that was very much off topic, I was just puzzled by the mention of pure white eggs.

Could your bird have hit his head on the top of his cage? What are you keeping him in? Do you know how old he was when you got him?
In general it's recommended to keep sick birds warm - if your bird actually appears to be getting better by being moved to a cold environment my guess would be he's either hiding his symptoms because he feels less safe in the new environment, or the cause of his sickness was the heat. I doubt he could get an actual heat stroke from the temps inside your home though, and in any case you should have noticed rapid breathing if that was the case. I haven't heard of quail showing symptoms of disease caused by over heating after they'd cooled down, so I really doubt that was the cause - and if it wasn't he might benefit from being in the heat.

 

[chickmashnoon]

And I'd question a source that says the average life span and the maximum longevity are the same. Granted, I am new to quail, so I only know what I read, but with how fast they mature and breed I would assume they have about the same lifespan as a guinea pig or rat. It's the ecological space they fill . . .
If you really want to know what's wrong get him to a vet. Birds are excellent at hiding symptoms and if there is nothing obvious wrong with breathing, feces, or eating it will be very hard to diagnose unseen. I have experience with budgies, parrots, macaws, and chickens, but they all hide their sickness until very late. Update us if you find out more