Lady Puffs-a-lot

[itsy gritsy]

I have, I think 8, lady quail. One of them has me confused. I cleaned their pen last week and at the same time we moved the three identified males into a separate pen. After the move...I didn't notice it before, one of the remaining "ladies" had fluffed all the feathers on her body and neck. She remained active in the pen walking around and was the first to the mealworm treats. She kept her feathers fluffed for all of the last week, that I was able to observe. At one point early in the fluff I watched as she walked around the pen and another bird started to follow and fluffed as she followed lady Puffs-a-lot.
Today, Lady P-a-l was unfluffed when I first walked up to the pen and shortly after began to fluff herself. She really is more active than I think she would be were she actually ill.
Any ideas what she is trying to say???
Is fluffing feathers a show of dominance?
Weather was cool, was she cold?
Would another quail puff up to respond to her puffiness?
Any quail behavioralists out there?

 

[tacothechicken]

I have zero quail experience but lots of chicken experience! How old are you're girls? In chicken language I'd assume she's being a Broody and fluffing like she would whith chicks.
An orp I had did this 70% of her time till she had actual chicks herself.

 

[itsy gritsy]

I have zero quail experience but lots of chicken experience! How old are you're girls? In chicken language I'd assume she's being a Broody and fluffing like she would whith chicks.
An orp I had did this 70% of her time till she had actual chicks herself.

Possible, the girls were laying eggs til we removed the boys. I think they were stressed by it

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Possible, the girls were laying eggs til we removed the boys. I think they were stressed by it

About half my hens stop laying or slow way down without a boyfriend, just a genetic imperative/energy conservation thing I think. We haven't bred it 100% out of them the way we have with chickens. It's not the stress of the social change per say, they just need a male around.

Re: your issue, I doubt she's gone broody, especially without a boyfriend. My guess is she's either chilly (no need to change anything as long as she's out of the wind and has some insulation like fluff or straw) or has an illness (many can take weeks to onset fully and fluffing is a symptom from early on), but I couldn't begin to tell you which without other symptoms. If she starts acting weird in any other way, QT her immediately, but until then I think you should just continue as normal.

 

[itsy gritsy]

My guess is she's either chilly (no need to change anything as long as she's out of the wind and has some insulation like fluff or straw) or has an illness (many can take weeks to onset fully and fluffing is a symptom from early on), but I couldn't begin to tell you which without other symptoms. If she starts acting weird in any other way, QT her immediately, but until then I think you should just continue as normal.

OK...weeks later and the fluffing has come and gone as mentioned before. However, today she has me worried. Puffed and breathing heavily, she has stopped moving for the most part.
I have brought her inside and she is keeping warm near the wood stove. She has water, water with a little vinegar, food and greens within beakshot. Picked her up a little bit ago and her feet were cold. Her poop what little I have seen is water with the white nitrate (?) topping.
It has been a hard weekend our weather has been COLD we set up an extra heat lamp

under the canvas tarp covers we have been using to protect the quail from the worst of the wind as it screams up and down our slope. The extra lamp seems to keep the temp in the 40's while the outside temp is in the 30's, it is getting colder overnight.
What else should I be looking for, what else should I be doing?

 

[itsy gritsy]

OK...weeks later and the fluffing has come and gone as mentioned before.

RIP LADY PUFF

 

[le_bwah]

RIP LADY PUFF

RIP, poor quail.

The others should be able to handle the cold as long as wind isn't hitting from the side or the bottom. Hope the rest of your flock remains in good health.

 

[007Sean]

The description and the pic bring to mind Ulcerative Enteritis or UE. This is caused by feces in the water and feed. Usually associated with overcrowded conditions. UE can run through a flock lighting fast and totally wipe it out in a few days to a week.
Symptoms also present are the ruffled feathers, lethargy, droopy head and wings, watery whiteish feces. Often times it can be confused/ mis-diagnosed as Coccidiosis.

The treatment consists of Duramycin, Tetracycline mixed in their water. Usually for 1 to 2 weeks. If caught early, the birds can recover.
Wish the best to you and your flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

Sean really knows his birds

 

[itsy gritsy]

The description and the pic bring to mind Ulcerative Enteritis or UE. This is caused by feces in the water and feed. Usually associated with overcrowded conditions. UE can run through a flock lighting fast and totally wipe it out in a few days to a week.

Thanks for the info, other birds seem ok for now. I am having a hard time keeping their bedding etc out of the food and water. I caught three today dust bathing next to the suspended water fount...the shavings and whatever they were in was everywhere!

The pic posted was simply the bucket I had on hand to put the bird in to bring it into the house and warm it.

Wondering if this is the same or a different subject I have another quail who is at present quite feisty, but worried me as she has been lingering near the heat lamp kinda fluffy with her feathers. yesterday I noticed her chest looking a bit bulgy and this morning too. This evening I got my hands on her and there is a rather large (pecan nutmeat) sized firm-hard bulbous growth? on her chest.
It looks as though she rubbed off some feathers and maybe scratched the skin. She didn't like me trying to move her. None of these birds was very accustomed to being handled when I got them so it has been an experience learning how to handle them without losing my grip.
I'll try to get a pic up shortly.
Do you have any ideas what it could be. under the skin it appears to be deep red/purple in color.