Sudden quail deaths

[islandpoultry]

Hello - I have 8 Chinese-painted quail which I hatched out in an incubator and they have grown up together in the brooder. 4 male, 4 female. From what I read online, colonies of quail like this should be fine if they have grown up together. They have an aviary to themselves, which I moved them out to about 5 days ago, which is 3.6m x 2.4m, with a coop and branches, twigs and hiding places and they are 7.5 weeks old. This morning when I went to them, 2 males had died, and the 2 others were sitting motionless with their eyes closed. The 4 females are fine except one has a wound above the beak (see photos) but otherwise they are all carrying on as normal. The 3rd male then died, and the other which I've removed and nursed a bit still has its head up and seems to be feeding and drinking a bit, but I wouldn't be surprised if he died too. None of the males have any signs of blood or loss of feathers, so does anyone know what's happened? I've tried to read up about it online, but there doesn't seem to be the same situation, where usually a female dies as the male prefers another female he is in with. Initially I thought the female with blood on the beak had attacked and killed them, but the more I look at it, it looks like a wound, rather than blood from killing. Because they are 7.5 weeks old, they are transitioning from being siblings getting on to being sexually mature and maybe trying to mate, so I don't know whether this has changed their dynamic. But they have always been getting on just fine, and I've never seem them fight or even squabble. Even yesterday all 8 of them were happily running around, so it seems quite a mystery, so can anyone help solve it?

Also, as an additional thought, if the 4th male pulls through, presumably it wouldn't be safe to put him back in with the females?

 

[maadroj]

I'm sorry. Sitting motionless with their eyes closed sounds like they may be sick, or have a head injury. Did you notice any changes in behavior, diet, or feces over the last few days? Is it possible that something scared them and caused them to flush suddenly, with the males hitting their heads and the female scraping her beak? Have they been de-wormed recently?

Separate the motionless birds and keep them in a warm, quiet place with food and water, monitor their consumption, and check feces for abnormalities. Good luck.

 

[Crestcrazy2]

Sorry for your loss .
Do you think it could have been something they ate ?

 

[ameliathedominant]

maybe the males were foraging in the aviary and accidentally found some mites living in one of the branches?

 

[Nabiki]

What temperature are they at? It sounds like they are sick or may be cold. Chinese painted quail are tropical birds, and they don't handle cold well.

 

[islandpoultry]

Hi and thanks so much for your responses. What's strange is it's all 4 males affected and not the 4 females. Temperature is summer weather so going down to a minimum of 13 oC overnight and 20+ during the day. They've all been moving around the aviary as a whole group and not splitting up so all 8 have been exposed to the same things. All very strange!

 

[islandpoultry]

Sorry for your loss .
Do you think it could have been something they ate ?

Can't see how as the females are eating the same thing and are fine.

 

[Nabiki]

Those night temperatures are too cold for Chinese painted quail. 20+ is okay, but I wouldn't want to go much lower than that.

 

[FloorCandy]

How tall is the aviary, could they have bonked themselves on the roof?

 

[islandpoultry]

I

Those night temperatures are too cold for Chinese painted quail. 20+ is okay, but I wouldn't want to go much lower than that.

I did a lot of research about temperature and people seemed to be keeping them in minus temperatures, although I've put a heater in their house which I would put on after the summer. Since they hatched they would always form a clump together when they sleep so I presumed that would help keep them warm at night.