why are some of my quail dying ?

[cluckawhile]

Hello there,
I have been having problems with Japanese quail dying since last year. I have been keeping quail for several years. They live outside in roomy enclosures with plenty of shrubs and grasses. They have houses for shelter and get fed regular game crumble, some budgie seeds plus greens, which they love.
Since last year I have experienced that quail are dying as young birds. They fluff up, stop eating and on feeling them are very skinny and their breastbone sticks out. After loosing a few I decided to cut one open and I found a very enlarged section of the gut with a semi liquid brownish substance inside. Since then I have had more death and found the same symptoms every time. It has not affected my covered aviary run, and not all birds but is really distressing.
I have been reading a few articles and it seems to be some kind of enteritis? ( but not sure about that). Cleanliness of the runs seems to be a big thing and I have been removing the dirty topsoil more regularly and liming and recovering the ground more than once, but I am afraid it is still happening, although seems to have slowed down.
I am also using apple cider vinegar once a month and a product called diamol which we can buy here in NZ as I prefer natural remedies if possible, but most of all want my quail to be well and happy.
Would appreciate any help. many thanks

 

[sourland]

Have you run fecals to check for worms or coccidiosis ?

 

[Lady_Bat]

Can you post any pictures of your setup? You said it's covered, so that means wild birds aren't able to drop poop into their run/home? (just double checking/ruling stuff out). Are they down hill from anything? I'm asking about watershed. Like if a wild animal were to poop uphill, then it rains & gets washed into their run.

We (personally) do ACV in the water all the time as a preventative. So I'd advise that. Have you considered adding DE to the soil? I have no idea if it reacts with lime & I know that some people advise against it but...it's natural & maybe couldn't hurt to try? Look into it & make your own decision.

Probably dumb questions but I'm trying to rule stuff out so please humor me:

Do they have grit provided to them?
Do you have multiple generations in the same space? (it read like you did) If so, did you get all of them from the same breeder? Or breed your own? It read like only the young ones were dying, can you confirm that?
Do any of the plants look diseased at all?
When in the seasons did this start? (Like Spring, Winter, etc)
Was there anything of note in the news when this started?
Where do you live as far as city, suburbs, rural?
Do any of your neighbors have quail? If so, have they noticed anything similar or out of the norm?
Do any of your neighbors have other animals? (Probably sounds like a super dumb question but I ask with good reason. Our neighbors cows got eye infections one summer & one of our cats got it. The regular vet had no idea what was wrong with our cat & it was very scary for us. A week later we happened to speak with our neighbor & he causally mentioned that his cows had caught eye infections due to a virus supposedly carried on the wind from a farm "down yonder". We took the cat back to the vet & got it sorted. We had no idea some diseases jump species as easy as they do.)
Could someone have sprayed weed killer near by?
What kind of access or protection does your run have? Do random people have the ability to mess with them without your knowledge? (A bunch of wayward teenagers kept unlocking our gates/helping cows escape for a bit. Security cameras are well worth the investment)

That's all of the questions I can think of for the moment. No promises about more later.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Can you post any pictures of your setup? You said it's covered, so that means wild birds aren't able to drop poop into their run/home? (just double checking/ruling stuff out). Are they down hill from anything? I'm asking about watershed. Like if a wild animal were to poop uphill, then it rains & gets washed into their run.

We (personally) do ACV in the water all the time as a preventative. So I'd advise that. Have you considered adding DE to the soil? I have no idea if it reacts with lime & I know that some people advise against it but...it's natural & maybe couldn't hurt to try? Look into it & make your own decision.

Probably dumb questions but I'm trying to rule stuff out so please humor me:

Do they have grit provided to them?
Do you have multiple generations in the same space? (it read like you did) If so, did you get all of them from the same breeder? Or breed your own? It read like only the young ones were dying, can you confirm that?
Do any of the plants look diseased at all?
When in the seasons did this start? (Like Spring, Winter, etc)
Was there anything of note in the news when this started?
Where do you live as far as city, suburbs, rural?
Do any of your neighbors have quail? If so, have they noticed anything similar or out of the norm?
Do any of your neighbors have other animals? (Probably sounds like a super dumb question but I ask with good reason. Our neighbors cows got eye infections one summer & one of our cats got it. The regular vet had no idea what was wrong with our cat & it was very scary for us. A week later we happened to speak with our neighbor & he causally mentioned that his cows had caught eye infections due to a virus supposedly carried on the wind from a farm "down yonder". We took the cat back to the vet & got it sorted. We had no idea some diseases jump species as easy as they do.)
Could someone have sprayed weed killer near by?
What kind of access or protection does your run have? Do random people have the ability to mess with them without your knowledge? (A bunch of wayward teenagers kept unlocking our gates/helping cows escape for a bit. Security cameras are well worth the investment)

That's all of the questions I can think of for the moment. No promises about more later.

This is comprehensive.

 

[Lady_Bat]

This is comprehensive.

You are very kind!! I'm kicking myself for not remembering/thinking of more though!

Which reminds me....

Did you change food recently?
How old is their food?
Have you inspected the food recently? (like, could there be mold growing in the bin at the bottom or out of sight?)
When was the last time you changed or washed their feeders? &/or waterers?
Do they have enough feeders (in case of bullying)?

 

[Tadler]

I'd like an update to this. Mine are having the same issue and unfortunately pass on the weekend so that I can't bring a fresh one to the avian vet for necropsy. I am going to send a fecal sample out with me next week. Just wondering what you found to be the issue.

Thanks1

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

I'd like an update to this. Mine are having the same issue and unfortunately pass on the weekend so that I can't bring a fresh one to the avian vet for necropsy. I am going to send a fecal sample out with me next week. Just wondering what you found to be the issue.

Thanks1

Yoy can refrigerate or even freeze the bird maybe?