Quail keep dying for some unknown reason - why?

[quail2000]

I keep my quail in my garage in stacked cage, with quail in four layers of the cage currently. Over the past two weeks I've had four quail mysteriously die, and all from the same cage out of the four. Zero deaths in the other three cages. I can't figure it out. It's not the lowest layer, which is where I expect deaths would be if a predator like a rat got in. They're flopped dead in the cage with no injury at all that I can see. I clean out their water troughs regularly so I don't think there would be bacteria or anything else that could be causing it. Also, something systemic should be affecting the others, but that isn't happening. I have one cage of whites on top, followed by jumbo Egyptians, followed by the problem cage where I've had the deaths - these are quail I bought as 3-4 week olds - followed by young quail on the bottom that I hatched myself.
Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Kiki]

How long have you had the ones that are dying?
What exactly are you feeding them?

A picture of the cage?

 

[quail2000]

Maybe two months or so - it's strange, there were fine until just the last couple of weeks. This is Wynola Ranch cage, I don't have a photo but each level is about 2x3 feet, PVC covered hardware cloth for the floor, solid metal and wire walls. I keep the garage doors open during the day when I'm home and have the cage right behind one of the doors so they get sun and fresh air etc., though I don't think a predator would be getting in during the day. Plus it doesn't make sense that all the quail on the lowest level have been fine. I feed all of them Nature's Best egg layer crumble, it's an organic feed.

 

[Nabiki]

I just looked up the nutrition information of your feed. It is not adequate for your quail. Some of your birds will be more sensitive to malnutrition than others. If it were the feed, though, it's odd that you didn't see any symptoms beforehand, such as lethargy, difficulty walking, etc.

Have you done a necropsy on any of the dead birds?

Here is an article that may help you find better feed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/what-to-feed-your-quail.79205/

 

[Kiki]

I don't think the feed is an issue especially since it's just one of 4 cages.

The birds in the top two cages are how old/how long have you had them?

 

[Susan Skylark]

What do the birds in that cage have in common that the other birds/cages don’t? Clogged waterer? Adjacent to the window by your smoker? You left a lead battery or broken mercury thermometer in the cage (getting a little ridiculous here!)? Genetics or source? Toxin, infectious agent, feed or water issues should affect multiple cages and birds.

 

[quail2000]

So, trying to answer all the questions - I also would be surprised if it was a problem with the feed, as my quail in the other three layers have been fine. Haven't tried to open up the dead birds to see what was wrong - I have one now.
The top cage - white birds - two are actually from the same group but were removed, three others are about a month old. The Egyptian jumbos are about two months old - I hatched these myself, also have been fed only Nature's Best feed along with some weeds, all have been fine since they hatched. The younger quail are about two months old also, same deal, hatched them myself (hatching eggs from the same guy I bought the dying adults from - probably the same line), only Nature's Best, also all have been fine.
The only thing unique to the birds that are dying is that I bought them as a group, 3-4 weeks old. All the others I have hatched and raised myself. I do fill the waterers and feeders manually myself 1-2 times per day. There's a bucket system but I don't like it. My garage is very clean (for a garage), clean air, I never park in there, nothing running, etc.

 

[Susan Skylark]

it could be something insidious like clostridium (a genus of opportunistic bacteria famous for tetanus, botulism, over eating, blackleg, and quail disease not to mention C. Difficile in hospital patients). The birds could have picked it up at the breeder and be just fine until the ideal situation arises (depends on species, tetanus needs dead tissue, red water needs liver damage, etc). Most species multiple rapidly and produce a toxin that can kill in hours with few or no symptoms other than sudden death. In a herd or flock situation it tends to be a sporadic and random death every few days with no obvious signs or symptoms. Treating the flock or herd with penicillin or chlortetracycline and vaccinating (if available, like blackleg or over eating) can shut it down. I’m not saying this is the issue but it should be on the list. I had 20 percent death loss in my 3 day old chicks my first two hatches, no symptoms just sudden death. My third hatch I treated with amoxicillin the first 48 hours with no issues. Doesn’t prove anything but suspicious.

 

[007Sean]

Does the sun shine directly on the cage the dead birds were in?

 

[quail2000]

Thanks all for the advice. It may be hard to reach a vet on Saturday but I'm going to try calling around tomorrow.
About the sun - the front of the cage does get some direct sun during the day, but the back of the cage is shaded. Also - the direct sun hits all four cages, not just the ones where quail have been dying. I'm not sure if you're getting at the temperature, but I'm in Maine and it's cooled off quite a lot recently.