Sudden death in button quail

[CloneFly]

One of my button quail that I hatched out just passed... the youngest hatched out on 1/27.... the oldest is about a week older. They're all fully feathered. I had removed them off direct heat on valentines day and moved their enclosure to our living room that maintains a constant 70-75°f- they have constant access to fresh food and water. All of the quail have been very energetic and have been acting normally until this evening when I saw one puffed up and not run away when I tried to hold her. I gave her some nutri drench, b12 and offered some food which she ate... 5min later she died. Does anyone know what may have caused her to pass away? Did me removing their direct heat kill her? My apologies if my post doesn't make much sense, I'm in shock right now and praying nothing happens to the others

 

[CloneFly]

I forgot to add... she seemed a bit smaller than the others..

 

[WoDia]

I’m so sorry to hear. I wish I could help with this, but so far all of mine have passed due to old age. You said she was smaller than the rest. There could be a number of reasons she failed to thrive… getting chilled is possible. But, she was smaller than the others for a reason, and that may indicate that something was wrong even while she was still in the egg. Again, I’m sorry.

 

[Nabiki]

If your living room is 70-75 degrees, they should have been fine on temperatures.

What are you feeding them?
What is their setup like?
Are any of the others showing any symptoms?
What did her poop look like?
Is her keel (breast bone) really sharp and easy to feel?

It is possible that if she was smaller that there was simply something genetically wrong with her, but it wouldn't hurt to answer the questions above.

 

[CloneFly]

If your living room is 70-75 degrees, they should have been fine on temperatures.

What are you feeding them?
What is their setup like?
Are any of the others showing any symptoms?
What did her poop look like?
Is her keel (breast bone) really sharp and easy to feel?

It is possible that if she was smaller that there was simply something genetically wrong with her, but it wouldn't hurt to answer the questions above.

Sorry, I just saw this.
-They're eating a mix of protein crumble (20%), chick starter, seeds and dry nibbles that I feed my older quail and budgies. It's all blended into a mash to make it easier for them to eat.

What is their setup like?

-I currently have them in a 10gal tank with a wire lid. I was planning to move them all into their (much) larger 20gal long tank at the end of this week. I've been using pine pellets as their main substrate.

Are any of the others showing any symptoms?

-So far, no. I moved everyone back into our heated bathroom just in case and they're all acting normally. The one that passed had been acting normal the day before, it wasn’t until last night that I noticed anything wrong

What did her poop look like?

- I'm honestly not sure... it's difficult to monitor the individual chicks' poop. From what I could see in the cage though, it all looked/looks normal

Is her keel (breast bone) really sharp and easy to feel?

- I could feel her keel but it wasn’t super sharp. She still had some fat on either side

It is possible that if she was smaller that there was simply something genetically wrong with her, but it wouldn't hurt to answer the questions above.

Thank you for your responses. I really want to know what may have killed her. My mom thinks it was the cold, but I had weaned their father off of heat around the same time (it was in February as well). She was a bit smaller than the rest, but I figured it was also because she's the 2nd youngest. I did have a coturnix quail I had hatched suddenly die last year- she was still on heat but wouldn't eat and seemed smaller than her hatchmates :/

 

[Nabiki]

I'm inclined to think that this one was a runt, and their diet isn't good. As young as they are, they should still be on a game bird starter (until about 12 weeks) with 28-30% protein. The 20% chick starter mixed with all of those other things is not going to give them proper nutrition.

How many do you have? A 20 gallon tank might be enough space for a single pair, but I wouldn't put more than that in there. Another thing that might have contributed to your little one's loss is lack of ventilation. A plastic or glass tank with solid sided and ventilation only from the top isn't good for their health. When I had buttons, I kept one or two pairs in a 50 gallon tote with openings cut in the sides and the top completely open except for hardware cloth covers.