Lethargic quail help :(

[mathilda yuen]

Hello folks!

I have a couple of questions, experienced quail owners, please do share your insights.

1. My darling quail hen #1 has been
• lethargic
• puffy, fatter than normal
• barely eating
• sits in a corner
• waddles (more like limping on one leg)

I couldn't feel any egg in her vent, but soaked her bottom in warm water anyway. Fed her a little Apple cider + water mixture as a form of natural dewormer. Her poo is large and smelly, looks healthy to me.

What is happening to her, and how can I help her?

2. Another beloved quail hen #2 died SUDDENLY. I went out for 3-4 hours, and she was dead. Laid an egg outside her of usual corner, and seems to have collapsed just like that. No symptom, no nothing. Why is this so? :'((((

Background information: I have 3 couples for close to half a year now, with ample space, fresh water twice daily, oyster shell, soft boiled eggs, occasional veggies and fresh mealworms, and daily dried mealworm. With fresh bedding weekly.

Suspicion: each time a quail is introduced to a different, live-in cage for 2-3 minute, somebody dies the next day. Could the 2-3min spent in a different cage have caused their death?

 

[DK newbie]

I don't know much about sick quail, but I have a few questions..
You say you have '3 couples' - meaning 3 pairs? If so, what kind of quail are we talking about? If they are coturnix, they usually shouldn't be kept in pairs, as far as I know. It might cause over breeding and stress the hen.
I'm also curious as to what their basic feed is - I assume it's not oyster shell and soft boiled eggs (and shouldn't those be hard boiled?).
Last but not least, what happens when you put them in a different cage? Why do you move them? Is anything different about their new cage? Fresh bedding, newly disinfected cage, anything?