Something bit their toes off..

[Wolf-Kim]

I have AM Coturnix quail that are about 5 weeks old. Adam just called me from his house and said that he thinks the dog ate some of their toes through the hardwire cloth and informed me there was now a hole in the floor or their cage. He thinks the dog did it because the blood is fresh and they're still bleeding.

I don't know the extent of the damage, but I do need to know what I am to do.

They should be fine without their toes, correct? As long as they can stand and walk, to eat and drink, they should live, right?

I'll check back in, in a little bit, I'm heading out the door to go over there right now. I'll post the extent of the damage a little later.

-Kim

 

[Mrs MIA]

Oh dear! They should be ok, after the toes heal, but keeping them clean and infection free is going to be tricky! Do you have a stiptic pencil (used for dabbing shaving nicks?) to staunch the bloodflow? I find that it works really well when someone has toe-bleeding. I've had a couple of mine lose their toenails, for some reason, and that helps. Good luck Kim! :aww

 

[dangerouschicken]

Sorry to hear that happened. I hope they are going to be able to still be functional adult birds.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Raccoons do that too...they grab pieces through the wire and eat em.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

We will be setting traps out, as soon as I can convince Adam to buy them.

The dog suspected of it, is our youngest and smallest. He hangs out below the cages usually waiting for "fresh treats"..

I got over here(I'm at Adam's house where the quail are) and got a good look at the quail and cages.

Something has been working at it for a while. The wood beneath the cage has been gnawed and scratched up quite a bit. There are even three spots on the hardcloth floor that had been broken and pulled downwards.

The scratch marks seem too small to be the dog, but the gnawing matches his handywork perfect. This is small hardwire cloth, I'm thinking 1/4". I don't even think a dog his size(BeagleXLab sized) could get his teeth into hardwire cloth, which leads me to think it was a coon. I looked for prints in the dirt below the cages and couldn't find any. There was one dog print, but like I said before he eats the "treats".

The quail are fine. Just a little bloody, but fine. They are only missing the very tips, just behind their nails. We'll be hotwire around the legs to the cages today for good measure.

Thanks everyone. I didn't know how bad they were hurt until I got here(Adam's house). They'll be okay.

-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Having described the damage to the cage, do you think it was a dog or coon?

Can a medium large dog get enough grip on 1/4" hardwire to break it(Keeping in mind this was the BOTTOM of the cage, so a dog would have to look UP)? I know coons have dextrous(sp?) paws and would probably be able to do it given enough time..

-Kim

 

[horsejody]

Could it have been rats?

 

[chickenzoo]

My Dalmation pulled the legs clean off one of my ringneck pheasant chicks and a toe off another through very small wire. She squeezed through the wire around the legs and pushed her teeth up against the floor wire. It was horrible, I didn't know why it was dieing until I noticed it's legs were gone. Dogs are now banned to the front yard only.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

We placed two strands of hot wire around the legs of the pen. After we were done, we decided it was time to test the wire to see if it was truly hot. So, we called the suspect down to the pen. He came happily bribed with the peanut butter we were to smear on the tin foil for the hotwire.

He immediately found a hole in the hotwire and was back under the cages. *sigh* Dog is too smart for the initial setup. We block his hole with cinderblocks. While we fixing the hole the dog starts screaming and runs for the house.

It works. The quail should be safe for now.

They are all eating and drinking and aren't visibly stressing too badly. They'll be alright.

Thanks everyone.

-Kim

 

[Mrs MIA]

That's what happened to our dog, too!!! Now all you have to do is string yellow wire around something, and he stays WAYYYYY away!
*wiping tears of laughter* I hope your babies' toes are ok.