Quail and chickens living together

[CartierChicken]

While doing a search, I cam across a heated thread, well several, on this topic. Most of the quail owners I know, here in Sweden, have their quail cages by their chickens. I have my quail hutch in the chicken run, as the run is quite large. I see that many have talked about the many diseases chickens are passing on to the quail. I just don't hear about that here. Maybe it is not an issue if the birds are kept in hutches that don't share the ground with the chickens?

 

[TwoCrows]

Ah....this could be your problem. Chickens all over the world carry diseases that can kill quail. And although your quail may not be in contact with the ground your chickens are in, there can still be cross contamination. Your hands, feet, clothing, equipment to clean, feeders, waterers can transfer deadly disease. And I might even think the chicken dander could be a carrier of disease. You really should keep your quail out of the chicken area. It is possible that your female is sick from something that came from the chicken yard.

 

[CartierChicken]

Possibly, it is just strange that she is new, and the others are not having this problem.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I keep my Button Quail with the chickens, they were raised together from tiny chicks. I've never had a problem, nobody had gotten sick or show signs of becoming sick. The quail lay an egg every day and are perfectly healthy. Thats just my quail, I know that others have had problems with their quail becoming sick.

 

[JJMR794]

Yes This Topic Gets Heated

Something To Consider... While We Dont Have Newcastle's Disease Here In The Usa Y'all Do There In Europe. This Biologic Warfare Thing Cuts Both Ways... There Are Studies That Show Coturnix Quail To Be Somewhat Resistant To The Disease Itself But Make Great Carriers And Can/ Have (its Documented In The Studies) Contaminate And Wipe Out Entire Chicken Flocks With It. Diseases Can Be Very Environmental In Nature... For Example Someone Here In Hot Humid Florida May Not Have Problems With Illnesses Common Elsewhere In Cold Or Dry Such As Alaska's Climate And Vice Versa. So There Are Many Variables To It

 

[ravenzero]

I have my chickens free range in my backyard, and I have my Quail in a pen that is two feet off the ground, The two never meet and feeders and food are never cross contaminated. Worked out well for me so far.

 

[CartierChicken]

Newcastles is not an issue here in Sweden. There had been a quarantine in one section of sweden for a few months, but it was contained. They are so serious about such diseases here. Everyone is supposed to keep a log of each chicken and it's illnesses. Any vet that treats a sick bird has to report the illness and what meds were prescribed. At the same time, it's hard to get antibiotics. You must see a vet for any form of them. This is so expensive, and they don't make animal grade. I have to go to the chemist and use antibiotics you give to humans, which means it is more costly. So preventative measures are the best option here.

I wish I had known about the chicken and quail issue before, however. I have a brooder full of the lovelies, and my son has recently exposed the 3 week old one to the others. This means all my babies are exposed to whatever the others may have.