Quail taking fright

[Sapphire22]

Not sure if this is the right place for this post
My quail have been in place now for 4 days and seem to be settling well, However I also own 2 cats and although the birds are safe in their enclosure and the cats cannot get to them, If one of the cats walk past the birds go beserk and leap in to the air and the male knocked himself out, on the coup roof. he was lying on his side twitching which was very distressful to see and then after a few minutes he was up and sitting in the corner, He is now walking about okay. the question I have is will the birds get used to other animals going near their enclosure, as although I can keep my cats away from, living out in the countryside we get rabbits and other cats in the garden plus the odd deer!
Am really worried that the quail are going to keep hurting themselves, they don't leap about when I approach them. Any advice would be helpful Thanks

 

[JaeG]

That is their startle response and in the wild saves them from being eaten by predators. You will need to pad the ceiling or give them cover so they feel safe.

It's best to keep them in an enclosure no more than a foot high or 6ft + to prevent 'boinking' injuries. At 1ft they haven't built up enough speed to do damage and at 6ft they will be slowing down. They can break their necks or do serious damage, but padding the ceiling or suspending a net curtain or similar lower than the ceiling to stop them hitting it will prevent injuries too.

 

[Sapphire22]

That is their startle response and in the wild saves them from being eaten by predators. You will need to pad the ceiling or give them cover so they feel safe.

It's best to keep them in an enclosure no more than a foot high or 6ft + to prevent 'boinking' injuries. At 1ft they haven't built up enough speed to do damage and at 6ft they will be slowing down. They can break their necks or do serious damage, but padding the ceiling or suspending a net curtain or similar lower than the ceiling to stop them hitting it will prevent injuries too.

Thanks for that will look into sorting out some padding as the run it 2.5ft high sloping down to 2ft high, As an update Eric seems okay as just checked on them all, though hubby says with 10 girls in their with him they may be a bit put out as he's the one with a headache!

 

[JaeG]

 

[Sapphire22]

Quick update, Eric seems fine this morning, though not his usual horny self so assume still a bit hungover! poor girls! however one of them seems to be walking backward now, she is eating and drinking but keeps walking backward all the time, could this be a result of bumping her head? and do I need to worry about her or is she just a bit odd? Alternatively, maybe she wants to watch what Eric is up too!!

 

[JaeG]

It may be from bumping her head. All I know is they are tough little birds so they should recover.

 

[Sapphire22]

Further update, Dizzy (now I can recognize her have named her) seems to be doing well she is eating and drinking, still walking backward! but having dust baths and doing everything the others are doing just backward!!! Maybe she is just a bit 'special'
oh well will keep an eye on her and as long as she is not suffering or in any distress then I feel that walking backward is not that bad.