Quail advice please...

[SXWWK]

Hiya - I'm new to the forums!

Hope you can just put my mind at peace please, as I am worried about something!

I have had 5 female quail since September, and in the last week I have noticed orange very smelly poos and looking at bit watery - I am getting 1 egg a day from the 5 of them (and am presuming only 1 of them is laying....) and I was wondering if anything is wrong?

I have just googled "quail orange smelly poo" and not a lot came up. A bit on chickens having cecal poo. But I have not seen this since the start, which is why I am concerned, it's the smell that alerted me.

Is there anything I can give them for general health?

Any advice would be appreciated...... thanks Sam

 

[JJMR794]

what are you feeding them Sam?

 

[Friend2Fowl]

Watery poo could be a sign that they are too hot, I don't know about smelly poo. Hope you find out what's going on

 

[SXWWK]

Hiya...

I am feeding them daily: (mixed together)

chick crumbs
plain canary seed
grit
oyster shell
mealworms

and they get millet on the stick as a treat once or twice a week (they enjoy pecking it and chasing it round a bit)

I have tried giving them some lettuce and they ignored it and would like to know which other green things can they eat (seems to be limited advice on the internet about this)

(can they eat crushed up egg shells to help them make new shell???)

I don't think they are too hot, I am in England and they are not in the full sun, but in the shade at a protected side of the garden...

Thanks for your replies - Sam

 

[Friend2Fowl]

If you give them oyster shells, they don't need egg shells as well, though yes, they can eat egg shells. I have some wheat grass that I sprout for mine from time to time, basically anything green they can eat. Get some scissors and cut some grass from your yard, they'll go nuts

Hope you figure out what's going on with them

 

[jenjscott]

Have you changed anything in their diet lately? If they always get the same thing, it shouldn't be diet related.

 

[SXWWK]

I have only added some crushed chicken egg shells??? which I didn't think would bother them, and it seems to aid them laying! the days I haven't added extra shell they haven't laid.......

so no - nothing else changed.....

is there any supplements that would help them? just a general tonic I could add to their water??

thanks for your replies/help

 

[aprophet]

I found this to be a rather informative link http://www.smallholderfeed.co.uk/articles/Feeding-Quail.aspx

 

[SXWWK]

thanks for that! they seem to be ok again and are randomly laying eggs now - one day I had 4 of them lay and 2 days 3 of them laid. But the last couple of days we are back to 1 egg - hey ho, eggs are eggs and we'll get all 5 laying at some point! Thanks for all your advice.....