Silver Quail, Brain damage?

[npiet1]

So I've been given some silver Quails, I told were a boy and a girl. The Girl has no feathers on top of her head from what I was told was due to other quails. The thing is it's a huge divot. It randomly falls a sleep constantly. It hasn't laid any eggs nor do I expect her to due to stress of the new environment. I will post a picture when I can, though I'm a little ashamed as the cage is only 20cm x 30cm and I'm waiting for the local store to get hay for bedding. I've already order a much bigger cage, just waiting for it to come in the mail as I live rural. Do you think it's got brain damage?

Some general questions, Any plants they like?
Is hot glue okay to stick rocks together for them.
best substrate? Currently using coconut rusk.
What's the best way to keep them cool, it hits 45'c (113'f) in the shade in summer. They are in Air con but still hits around 30'c (86'f).

 

[JaeG]

Does the male seem overly aggressive towards the female? Were they in with other quail at their previous home? She possibly is just stressed out with the change of environment but a photo would help.

I think hot glue gun would be fine to stick rocks together. They are generally very active little birds. Substrate would be dictated by what you find easiest to clean. The hen should enjoy some hay to hide in too. They love swiss chard so if you had a few pots of that you could swap out as they munched on them they'd be very happy birds.

 

[npiet1]

Thanks for the reply. It wasn't this male, I heard they were with a large flock and she got abused. The guy I revived him from put him with her and then gave them to us. He's fine and doesn't show any aggression.

 

[JaeG]

She should recover now that she has a gentle partner and no one else to compete with. Hopefully she'll perk up a bit as she settles in. She's probably pretty stunned by the change if she was in with a lot of other birds. She's very pretty even if she is a bit bald.

If her head was plucked excessively she may not fully grow back all those feathers and it does look like there is some scar tissue there. It depends on how badly the feather follicles have been damaged.

 

[JaeG]

I've just seen the bit you added. They prefer tropical temperatures so should cope with 30C just fine. Just make sure they have lots of water and I'd offer them sprouted seeds and greens too.

 

[npiet1]

Ok thanks so much for the help, It's still a little scabby which is hard to tell by the pics but that's good to hear.
Is there any potted plants they like, maybe something shrubish.
What greens specifically?

 

[JaeG]

I had mine in an aviary but with cockatiels you can't add plants because they are little chewing monsters.

As for greens they love spinach, Swiss chard/silverbeet, dandelion leaves, chicory leaves, but try whatever you've got (lettuce may be too watery though). Mine liked cucumber but I've read some don't. You can peg up a whole leaf of something or chop it finely. They also love millet sprays as a treat and will eat sprouted seeds for caged/aviary birds.

 

[Quailobsessed]

You can try giving them a dust bathing box. You can put either dirt or sand in it. My quails love dust bathing.

Quails are notorious for jumping straight up and hitting their heads. Because she's already got an injured head, its very important that you make sure the top of her cage is not too hard. You might want to consider padding the top of her cage with something soft.

 

[npiet1]

You can try giving them a dust bathing box. You can put either dirt or sand in it. My quails love dust bathing.

Yeah the coconut rusk is pretty finely shredded. They love digging/bathing/nesting. They were silver now they are brown. They are in a normal bird cage and their new one is quite large.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Yeah the coconut rusk is pretty finely shredded. They love digging/bathing/nesting. They were silver now they are brown. They are in a normal bird cage and their new one is quite large.

Even better then. I have a group of three king quails that love bathing in their bedding too. My white japanese quail also loves dust bathing. It turns him brown pretty quickly.