Inexplicably dead bird.

[Jerank]

So I have a bunch of Bob White Quail that I keep in a large outdoor run. They appear perfectly healthy, and produce eggs at a frankly prodigious rate. However, today, one of them (a hen) was dead in the run. Right in the middle of the run, next to a perch, and it looks a lot like she just keeled straight over off of it and fell to the floor dead. The body is completely pristine; no signs of injury, trauma, weight loss, unusual swelling, etc. I lost a favorite hen of mine to egg peritonitis a few weeks ago, but that was a well-telegraphed death with a long period of weight loss, followed by a quiet passing. This is like a bolt of lightning struck her dead in the middle of the run.

This hen and all the others were eating meal-worms out of my hand yesterday. She was still alive as early as this morning, and healthy enough that I had no idea there was any problem with her. No other bird in the run shows any real symptoms of anything. Some of them are a bit fluffed, but that could simply be from the rather poor, damp weather we've been having for the past week or two. They're all eating happily and doing general quail things that point to them being entirely normal.

So, any ideas what on earth happened to this poor lady? I also keep chickens and Guinea fowl, but in separate runs. I was thinking maybe some transmitted illness might be at fault, as I've had that happen in isolated cases before. But again, those birds showed long-term health issues and steadily worsening conditions, and I was able to cure them with antibiotics. This has none of those signs. I'm at a real loss here, and worried it could happen again.

 

[Kale the Quail]

she might have bonked her head. I might be wrong. @danalovesdogs ?

 

[Kiki]

What exactly do you feed your birds on a daily basis?

 

[Jerank]

What exactly do you feed your birds on a daily basis?

A variety of foods. Meal-worms, salads (rocket leaves are a huge favorite), rolled barley, sunflower hearts and assorted mixed grains marketed for game birds.

 

[danalovesdogs]

So I have a bunch of Bob White Quail that I keep in a large outdoor run. They appear perfectly healthy, and produce eggs at a frankly prodigious rate. However, today, one of them (a hen) was dead in the run. Right in the middle of the run, next to a perch, and it looks a lot like she just keeled straight over off of it and fell to the floor dead. The body is completely pristine; no signs of injury, trauma, weight loss, unusual swelling, etc. I lost a favorite hen of mine to egg peritonitis a few weeks ago, but that was a well-telegraphed death with a long period of weight loss, followed by a quiet passing. This is like a bolt of lightning struck her dead in the middle of the run.

This hen and all the others were eating meal-worms out of my hand yesterday. She was still alive as early as this morning, and healthy enough that I had no idea there was any problem with her. No other bird in the run shows any real symptoms of anything. Some of them are a bit fluffed, but that could simply be from the rather poor, damp weather we've been having for the past week or two. They're all eating happily and doing general quail things that point to them being entirely normal.

So, any ideas what on earth happened to this poor lady? I also keep chickens and Guinea fowl, but in separate runs. I was thinking maybe some transmitted illness might be at fault, as I've had that happen in isolated cases before. But again, those birds showed long-term health issues and steadily worsening conditions, and I was able to cure them with antibiotics. This has none of those signs. I'm at a real loss here, and worried it could happen again.

How old was this hen, and how large was her cage? Would you happen to know the brand or the gamebird crumble? A sudden death without any sort of forewarning or wasting makes me lean a little more towards a head bonk or hepatic lipidosis, or both. Would it be possible to do a necropsy?

 

[Jerank]

How old was this hen, and how large was her cage? Would you happen to know the brand or the gamebird crumble? A sudden death without any sort of forewarning or wasting makes me lean a little more towards a head bonk or hepatic lipidosis, or both. Would it be possible to do a necropsy?

Their cage is about 6x4 foot square for 10 birds. A necropsy isn't feasible at the moment, sadly. However, here is the brand of bird food we give them.

https://www.glanbiaconnect.com/shop/product/Country's-Best---Chicks-and-Quail-Grain-Mix/9111925

 

[danalovesdogs]

Their cage is about 6x4 foot square for 10 birds. A necropsy isn't feasible at the moment, sadly. However, here is the brand of bird food we give them.

https://www.glanbiaconnect.com/shop/product/Country's-Best---Chicks-and-Quail-Grain-Mix/9111925

Based on the feed and history of treats, I think hepatic lipidosis could very well be the cause. Fatty liver disease occurs very commonly in quail with non-homogenized foods because they will pick their favorite morsels out of the feed (such as the seeds in the food you linked above). Dried mealworms are also very high in fat. Quail on these diets tend to die suddenly because even a minor trauma will rupture the liver, such as a peck or bonking their head. Would it be possible for you to switch to a food without the seeds?

 

[Jerank]

Based on the feed and history of treats, I think hepatic lipidosis could very well be the cause. Fatty liver disease occurs very commonly in quail with non-homogenized foods because they will pick their favorite morsels out of the feed (such as the seeds in the food you linked above). Dried mealworms are also very high in fat. Quail on these diets tend to die suddenly because even a minor trauma will rupture the liver, such as a peck or bonking their head. Would it be possible for you to switch to a food without the seeds?

Okay, I will definitely cut down on their feed like that. Do you have any recommendations regarding alternate foods? They very much pick just what they like from the food we give them. They refuse to eat several types of the seed completely, and will just ignore a lot of it. I would personally put them on just rolled barley with greens and maybe mealworms once or twice a week, but some other family members like to give them lots of treats and other foods. If what they're on right now really is that dangerous, though, I'll crack down hard.

 

[danalovesdogs]

Okay, I will definitely cut down on their feed like that. Do you have any recommendations regarding alternate foods? They very much pick just what they like from the food we give them. They refuse to eat several types of the seed completely, and will just ignore a lot of it. I would personally put them on just rolled barley with greens and maybe mealworms once or twice a week, but some other family members like to give them lots of treats and other foods. If what they're on right now really is that dangerous, though, I'll crack down hard.

Haha, that’s totally understandable! My family is the same way, if I go on vacation for a few days I come back to find their bowls overflowing with treats and their food untouched. For now, I would assume that the other birds likely have the same condition and switch them over to another name-brand feed with uniform crumbles so you know that they are getting lower fat while still meeting their other nutritional requirements (especially methionine and lysine, they have higher needs of those than most birds). It might be good to cut down on treats as well for now, though you shouldn’t need to eliminate them completely.
Feel free to post the nutrition facts of any brand you’re looking at here so we can take a look at it!