Quails

[alisa2860]

I have a female quail who is having some trouble right now, I don’t know if she’s having trouble laying an egg or pooping because she’s been standing still with her butt moving constantly. Also there are times where there are very tiny piles of poop that come out but it doesn’t look like what her poop usually does. She is also making noises from her mouth or nose like she’s having trouble breathing. Does anyone know what’s going on?

 

[Nabiki]

Pictures? Can you upload a video to Youtube and post a link? What is her setup like? What have you been feeding her?

 

[alisa2860]

We have this large box with bedding and we feed her bird seed and once in a while we give her dried mealworms.

 

[Nabiki]

Bird seed? That doesn't sound good. Can you post a picture of the nutrition information?

Post a picture of her poop?

 

[alisa2860]

Sorry it’s all crumpled up and she hasn’t pooped in a bit but whenever she does it’s a small pile and it’s liquid and the choice of food is made by my parents.

 

[Nabiki]

I think your problem is the feed. That is not what a quail needs for nutrition. It is way too low in protein. Get some game bird food as soon as you can and start giving her a proper diet. If she is over 8 weeks old, 18% protein feed should be good enough, but young quail need more like 28% protein.

 

[alisa2860]

Okay thank you and also I don’t know if this could also be a cause, we separate males from females and a male flew into her box, do you think if that could also cause some problems.

 

[Nabiki]

Okay thank you and also I don’t know if this could also be a cause, we separate males from females and a male flew into her box, do you think if that could also cause some problems.

Not likely. She doesn't look injured, but she probably is malnourished.

 

[alisa2860]

Oh ok, we’ve been feeding this seed for a while now and she didn’t have problems before until last night which is convenient since that’s the first time she has been with a male for a long time.

 

[Nabiki]

Oh ok, we’ve been feeding this seed for a while now and she didn’t have problems before until last night which is convenient since that’s the first time she has been with a male for a long time.

It takes a while for food issues to show up. For example, if a child had a vitamin D deficiency, rickets wouldn't show up right away. It takes a while for malnutrition to show.