Quail pacing often - don't know why

[TERMINATORATIS]

Hi everybody,

No other threads about quail pacing could really answer what's going on with my button quail. I'm sick and groggy so this post is a little rambly, bear with me.

She has been pacing a lot for a while, probably over a month. She used to do it for a short while and then would stop, but it's picked up a lot lately. Some possible theories I've had:

• Trying to get poop off her feet. She gets poop on her feet a lot - I stopped putting pine shavings on the top plastic platform of her cage because it would all get kicked out onto the floor within a day, but yesterday I figured out how to keep it up there with some tape on the sides of the cage, so hopefully that will help. I clean her feet when I can.
• Stress. Her partner died a few weeks ago and I'm not sure if she's been pacing more or the same as she used to before that. I moved a couple months ago to a new apartment as well so maybe she is still stressed about the change. I also have been moving her and the other birds around a lot trying to find groups they won't fight in - it seems like the pairings I come up with work for a day and then everyone's unhappy again. I have been letting her roam the apartment now that it is decluttered enough for her to do that and I think it helps some.
• Loneliness. Again, she used to pace before her partner died, but maybe she saw the other birds and cages and wanted to be with them too (but as soon as I try to pair her with anyone she attacks them, even in an environment they're both unused to).

Any advice or questions about things I might not have thought to mention to try and help solve this would really be appreciated. I'm sensitive to repetitive noises so the sound of her pacing has been driving me nuts, and I've considered rehoming the other birds so I can focus more on her if the issue is stress which might be caused by the other birds, but I am trying to avoid that. Thanks in advance.

Quails are floc birds !. Getting her at least two more partners will make her happy again. You can keep the new companions physically divided, so that she can see them. After week or two when they become aware of each other's presence, you can join them together. Put some straw formed shelters, so that the newcomers can hide if she become aggressive. Time heals and she will become friendlier with new companions. Good luck
Good luck.