Sudden Death of Button Quail--Any Ideas WHY?

[ya chick ya]

do u think that they maybe had quail virus??? yea i hate when quail die so sad
i had one get killed 2 days ago and today while i was gone at a farmers market 2 went missing so now i got .......3 wah

 

[Chloe374]

I have had this happen also. I am stumped myself. One minute my were actually fine and within the hour dead or breathing hard and died. I have heard of a lethal gene combination that can cause sudden death but I am not sure if it would strike so young.

 

[DK newbie]

Lethal genes usually mean the chicks never hatch or die very soon after hatch.
Breathing hard could indicate an airborn toxin - carbon monoxide, over heated non-stick cookware and self cleaning ovens are possible culprits. In particular if several birds died at the same time. Otherwise, boinking is a very likely culprit - and it can also cause breathing issues, as the birds can damage the nerves that control breathing.

 

[Chloe374]

Thank you for the response and helpful information. What is boinking? My chicks just recently (hatched about 40) two died that were fine. They were about 3 days old. SHould I separate a large hatch like this?

 

[DK newbie]

2 dead at 3 days of age from a hatch of 40 is completely normal. There are always some that don't make it. If it was 5-10 from a hatch of 40, you were likely doing something wrong, but 2 is basically unavoidable.
Boinking is flying up and hitting their heads at the top of the cage - as they won't start flying till they are about 1½ weeks old that can't be the issue here.

 

[Chloe374]

Thank you so much for the help.