is my new quail sick

[muttsmutt]

Okay muttmutt I will try to help as much as I can. First the "malia" sounds like just ground corn which is not enough for quail. You can feed her egg everyday until you get the better food, look for protein 20-28% (16-18 if not laying) on the package, here we buy it at farm stores, where you would buy horse, cattle or other farm animal feed. As stated before it is used for turkeys and ducks but is not whole grain it is crumbled pieces like pellets, if they are too large you can smash them up a bit. Add half pet finch seed to the crumbles. The canary seed is different from the finch, it should have red millet, canary grass seed, white proso millet, niger seed and rape seed. You can feed her veggies to help until you get better feed and she will like them daily once she eats her crumbles. You can feed her broccoli, spinach, cooked carrots, peas, any veggie that is soft you can try, apple without the seeds and skin, even banana and orange. I also chop up sunflower seeds and give them as a treat once every couple weeks.
They do move very cautiously sneaky like it is because they are scared. Remember that danger comes from above them so anything that is above her is or could be a threat.
Be sure to show her where the food and water are if you change the cage. It sounds like she knows where they are now so that is good. I cover my birds at night, I keep one pair a male and female who hatch their own eggs and I then give the chicks away. Your bird might be happier if you get it a mate. Do you know if it is male or female?
The cage sound great and they dont really play like other cage pet birds so the hiding spaces are important and so is the food and water. I really think she would love a mate. You can use a tiny stuffed toy for now to see if she calms down.

Best of luck and let us know how everything is going.

thank you grandmabird.
i will look for food soon, the store i think is most likely to have the feed closes before i get home, so it is a bit hard to find time when i can go.
until i get that, i will do as you said, mix the malia with egg every day, and add finch seed [i actually have finch seed, not canary seed, i didn't think they were different.]. as for veggies, should the spinach and peas be cooked, or raw? i have ready access to those, and sunflower seed. i will make sure to chop up a bit and mix it in.
when i take her out then, should i stay as low to ground as possible to minimise danger i pose to her, then?
i will make sure to show her. i will not change dish so she will recognise them easy i hope.
i covered the cage this night, she was a bit calmer but she boinked a few times.
i do wish to get second quail. this is female, i want more female, no male, because i do not want chicks.
thank you for the info, i will make sure to give her a lot of hiding places. do they like tubes to go through?

 

[muttsmutt]

i went and bought her food today, i was mistaken about closing time.
nice old lady sold me, she said to mix it with corn flour [i figured that is how to call our malai] at 1:4 ratio. it has 30% protein content. the feed is for chicken but it is suitable for quail too.

 

[muttsmutt]

you said to get her more quail so she is not alone. in the cage size i said, how many quail should i house? i will get them once she is settled in and i am sure the cockatiel does not bother her.
how should i introduce new bird to her? one by one, or get all at the same time. should they be same clutch, or different, or it all don't matter?

 

[GrandmaBird]

Lets see if I can help. The veggies can be either cooked or raw but hard ones like carrot should be cooked to make it easier to eat and digest. You can chop them or just place leaves in the cage but be sure to remove them everyday so they dont eat moldy food.I give mine veggies, about a tablespoon for one pair, almost everyday. Mine like the pea cooked and I squeeze the flesh out of the shell so I dont have to find the shells in the cage same with cooked corn, or if you want you can try corn on the cob either cooked or raw. I give them the chopped egg every 3rd day or so as a treat they dont really need that much added protein if you have a good food.. The females and males need added calcium, I use oyster shell which is sold for pet birds.
Now if you get a male to fit with your female they will mate, as they should and you can remove the eggs and either boil them and feed back to the birds, shell and all, or toss them in the trash. Other pets like them too. Makes a great treat cooked for dogs or cats. I would not get another female but if that is all you can find it would be fine. One bird is not a happy bird. When you get one be sure to place it in a different cage sitting next to the old bird for a couple days, where they can see each other and even sit next to each other through the bars. Then move things around in the full time cage then add the new bird. This helps with aggression due to territory fighting.
I would not worry about putting toys or tubes for them they really dont need anything. I think you said you were putting them in a flight cage for a cockatiel so they might be startled by it during the night. Most smaller cages we suggest putting something on top to keep them from boinking their heads when frightened.
Wow I wrote a book!
Hope this all helps...

 

[muttsmutt]

Lets see if I can help. The veggies can be either cooked or raw but hard ones like carrot should be cooked to make it easier to eat and digest. You can chop them or just place leaves in the cage but be sure to remove them everyday so they dont eat moldy food.I give mine veggies, about a tablespoon for one pair, almost everyday. Mine like the pea cooked and I squeeze the flesh out of the shell so I dont have to find the shells in the cage same with cooked corn, or if you want you can try corn on the cob either cooked or raw. I give them the chopped egg every 3rd day or so as a treat they dont really need that much added protein if you have a good food.. The females and males need added calcium, I use oyster shell which is sold for pet birds.
Now if you get a male to fit with your female they will mate, as they should and you can remove the eggs and either boil them and feed back to the birds, shell and all, or toss them in the trash. Other pets like them too. Makes a great treat cooked for dogs or cats. I would not get another female but if that is all you can find it would be fine. One bird is not a happy bird. When you get one be sure to place it in a different cage sitting next to the old bird for a couple days, where they can see each other and even sit next to each other through the bars. Then move things around in the full time cage then add the new bird. This helps with aggression due to territory fighting.
I would not worry about putting toys or tubes for them they really dont need anything. I think you said you were putting them in a flight cage for a cockatiel so they might be startled by it during the night. Most smaller cages we suggest putting something on top to keep them from boinking their heads when frightened.
Wow I wrote a book!
Hope this all helps...

thank you for the info with food. instead of oyster shell, would it be good to feed them grounded up quail egg shells?
i don't want male, i want only females. i really, really don't want male. thank you for info for introduction of new bird.
it is quite the other way around, the cockatiel may get fightened by the quail. it is not a flight cage, it is permanent cage, for both cockatiel and quail. not to worry, quail won't have what to boink head on.
for taming, i have been spending time talking to bird when she is in cage, and taking her out for 5-10 minutes to let he roam the room, and pick her up to hold her on my lap until she decided to run away. i have tried offering food but she showed no interest.

 

[GrandmaBird]

The egg shell will help but you would need to add calcium somehow or the shells will get thinner and could cause all kinds of troubles. Like I said get a female or 2 but they wont be as happy as those kept in pairs. Everyone does it their way so you can too. You can try to train them but you never know. good luck.