Sick Coturnix Quail and Sad Cagemate

[jaymean]

Sometime last night, my favorite Japanese coturnix quail passed. She was lethargic for the past few days, but she seemed really bad last night. I thought she was egg bound, but I've never experienced it before. I just got this based off of watching videos and reading posts/articles online. Her breathing was labored, she was fluffed up, her eyes kept closing, and she wasn't eating or drinking. I tried putting her in a warm bath before I went to sleep, but she was gone when I woke up.

I have two questions that hopefully the community can assist with:

1) Does anyone have any ideas on what happened to my quail?

2) The cage mate has been crying all morning and keeps walking around the cage looking for her friend. It almost sounds like a loud cricket / sonar sound. Anyway, has anyone successfully added a new quail to a cage? She's a female and was with the female that passed. I wanted to note that I have them for pets, not for breeding. I initially got these 2 quail in hopes of adding them to a male/female cage, but they (the male/female pair) attacked the new girls. I immediately separated them and kept the new girls in a separate cage. I'm scared to get another quail in the event the lone female doesn't like her. Would it work to just keep her in a cage next to the other cage (so they can see each other)? I also have a cage of buttons.

Any ideas or recommendations?

 

[JaeG]

I'm sorry about your quail. I'm not sure what happened and it's always difficult to pin down a reason unless there are specific symptoms.

Integrating quail can be challenging. If she's happy living next to the others I'd try that. Being a female you could try setting up a big cage with a pair of Buttons for company as long as she isn't aggressive towards them (I've had one female do that - the rest were fine). Or find her a friend that's the same colour as her old buddy. They'll need to be caged next to each other for a week before letting them meet on neutral territory. Rearrange the cage they will be sharing and even change its location before introducing them both to it as then it will be unfamiliar to both birds, making the original occupant less likely to act aggressively towards the new bird.

 

[jaymean]

I'm sorry about your quail. I'm not sure what happened and it's always difficult to pin down a reason unless there are specific symptoms.

Integrating quail can be challenging. If she's happy living next to the others I'd try that. Being a female you could try setting up a big cage with a pair of Buttons for company as long as she isn't aggressive towards them (I've had one female do that - the rest were fine). Or find her a friend that's the same colour as her old buddy. They'll need to be caged next to each other for a week before letting them meet on neutral territory. Rearrange the cage they will be sharing and even change its location before introducing them both to it as then it will be unfamiliar to both birds, making the original occupant less likely to act aggressively towards the new bird.

Thank you so much for the kind words and suggestions. The poor girl is crying and looking for her friend. The buttons actually have a huge cage, so I'll consider adding her in once I do what you suggested.

Thanks again! This has been the bright spot in my day.