my quail are dying suddenly

[flick]

hello, well today we think we saw a very smal black speck on the white bird, a black mite..bought powder and liquid and treated the cages, etc. no cats caught last night. and yes we fully agree no agressive cat like that should live.
so i need to do my homework on these mites and the medications. i hope this is what is going on, it all makes sense now.
i will let you know and thanks again for all your help, yous have been great!

 

[flick]

Been Very Busy, managed to save 3 quail out of bout 12....he is doing well. treated the birds and cages with powder to kill mites..want to thank everyone for their help..We have learned an awful lot....It is called Garden and Poultry dust, gaurd starter.. ready to get some more

 

[Tony K T]

There is a much easier way to dust for mites.Get a shallow pan,about 3" deep,,at least a 12"x15",put play sand in it,sprinkle dusting powder over the top of the sand,and the birds will dust themselves.You don't have to pick them up and stress them out and get dusting powder all over yourself.Keep the pan in their pen at all times and every week or 2 srinkle more dusting powder over the top.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[navasima]

More detail please. What is their diet? What is the bedding? What size cage for how many birds?

3 month old Cots should be just fine outside. Dogs and cats sniffing through the wire at first may cause them to freak out and stop laying for a bit....but not cause heart attacks. If quail from different sources have died - it's environmental.

....we should be able to noodle this through! Sorry you've been going through this.....

 

[WinterRoseFarm]

I had an older pair of coturnix quail that lived in a cage outside for years. A few weeks ago I found them both dead overnight. I believe an owl probably tried to get into the cage and freaked them out so that they broke their necks. It was very sad. Have you considered rats? Rats can get into very small spaces so make sure the cage 'holes' are very small. If I were you I'd move my birds inside and see what happens. You only have a few so that shouldn't be a big deal. Most of my birds are kept in my barn all year round. Also I was under the impression that it was not good to give them chick starter because it's medicated and not good for quail but I could be wrong.... I thought you said you were using that so might be an issue. Also, the food should have a high protein content. From what I read it should be 28% but the best food I can get here is 22%.

I give mine apples, blueberries, strawberries, corn on the cob, salad greens and other greens I pick out in my fields, millet, bird seed, oyster shells, crushed up & cooked egg shells...

Hope you find and solve your problem,
Nan

 

[aaabirdman]

A few years ago a weasel got in and left me with only 5 quail I had eight. Found one dead and two missing. so check for that too.

 

[Leigh47]

My offering is that the problem might be Coccidiosis.

When I first got my quail I was clinical with them. Best food, cleanest water, cleaned their floor constantly. They were so very healthy, happy, hardy, thriving. Then one day I decided to go out into my yard and get some dirt and branches and put it in their Rubbermaid container. Fortunately a relative was over and looking at the birds the same afternoon I did this and noticed one dead, and I saw others walking funny. I knew immediately it was the dirt. I had a "medic" container that I quickly put them all into while I got rid of the dirt and sanitized their permanent home. I put them all back into it, with branches no dirt, and they all got back to normal right away. If the relative had not noticed it I expect all would have been dead by the next day due to the amount of dirt, walking over diseased poop and then walking in their food and then eating the food. -- I use only pine shavings for their floor now and potting soil for their dirt bath, because it's cheap and "clean." The disease that came from the dirt is called "Coccidiosis."

I keep my coturnix inside because of that, and because of predators, and because there are chickens next door and I read that chickens have diseases that transmit to quail even by air.

 

[le_bwah]

My offering is that the problem might be Coccidiosis.

When I first got my quail I was clinical with them. Best food, cleanest water, cleaned their floor constantly. They were so very healthy, happy, hardy, thriving. Then one day I decided to go out into my yard and get some dirt and branches and put it in their Rubbermaid container. Fortunately a relative was over and looking at the birds the same afternoon I did this and noticed one dead, and I saw others walking funny. I knew immediately it was the dirt. I had a "medic" container that I quickly put them all into while I got rid of the dirt and sanitized their permanent home. I put them all back into it, with branches no dirt, and they all got back to normal right away. If the relative had not noticed it I expect all would have been dead by the next day due to the amount of dirt, walking over diseased poop and then walking in their food and then eating the food. -- I use only pine shavings for their floor now and potting soil for their dirt bath, because it's cheap and "clean." The disease that came from the dirt is called "Coccidiosis."

I keep my coturnix inside because of that, and because of predators, and because there are chickens next door and I read that chickens have diseases that transmit to quail even by air.

First, this thread is ancient—might want to start your own.

Second, letting quail eat and play in dirt is a bit like giving them a vaccine. It exposes them to the dangerous and the healthy microbes—it's good for their guts and their immune systems.

I'd urge that the next time you raise chicks, you let them get a little dirty—you should keep a coccidiostat on hand just in case, but the benefits of inoculation generally outweigh the risks.

 

[Nabiki]

First, this thread is ancient—might want to start your own.

Second, letting quail eat and play in dirt is a bit like giving them a vaccine. It exposes them to the dangerous and the healthy microbes—it's good for their guts and their immune systems.

I'd urge that the next time you raise chicks, you let them get a little dirty—you should keep a coccidiostat on hand just in case, but the benefits of inoculation generally outweigh the risks.

This reply is pretty old too. It looks like a mod came along and deleted a trollish resurrection of this thread (I happened to see it), which is why the thread got bumped.

 

[le_bwah]

This reply is pretty old too. It looks like a mod came along and deleted a trollish resurrection of this thread (I happened to see it), which is why the thread got bumped.

Huh, really? Post before mine is timestamped as today. Didn't know a post deletion could change that—good to know.