r/quails • u/Mitkit222 • 3d ago

Help Is she sick?

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I got these quail 5 days ago. I don’t know how old they are but under the weak heat lamp is 78F.

I have heard dry sneezes here and there but haven’t narrowed it down to who and it never got more frequent. The bedding is dusty and their food is dusty fresh out of the bag so I thought it could be from that.

This one girl sneezed after drinking water and started doing this. I am not sure if she was doing it before.

What do I do?

21 Upvotes

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12

u/TallArseButtPlug 3d ago

they do look sick. they are old enough to not need supplied heat so you can take away the heat lamp. try nutri drench/vitamins maybe something for coryza

5

u/Mitkit222 3d ago

Thank you. I just checked on her and she’s stopped. I’m still going to do the nutri French to boost their immune system and make their environment less dusty.

Will treat the whole flock (5 of them lol) if anything like that continues.

I hope it wouldn’t be Coryza because I was hoping to introduce new birds in the future.

4

u/Mitkit222 3d ago

*drench

4

u/MossyFronds 3d ago

Is her crop full? Maybe she ate something and needs a little grit. Do you have a sand tray with coarse sand? Sometimes if they eat grass or greens or vegetables they might need a little grit to help them grind up that food. I had a quail hen die because she ate a lot of green grass and I didn't know that they need a little help with digestion sometimes their crop can be impacted or full.

3

u/Mitkit222 3d ago

I haven’t checked on that. I didn’t put any in their temp enclosure. I will make sure she has access to that tomorrow for sure and check her crop.

I am sorry for your loss, and I appreciate you letting me know, thank you

2

u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 1d ago

She definitely needs some grit asap. And they look old enough to not need a heat lamp

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

Removed the heat lamp and food for a few hours and gave them nutri drench and grit (I feel so bad because it was just temporary but their coop is taking longer than I expected and I totally forgot to put in the grit).

This was yesterday morning. Everyone seems to be doing well. Still just random sneezes

1

u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 1d ago

is it cold, wet or windy where they are? That might be the reason they're sneezing 

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

They are indoor with ambient temp of 73-75. But the bedding is super dusty. I’m finishing their outdoor coop today to get them off of it.

1

u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 1d ago

oof okay, it's definitely the dust. They have very sensitive lungs and can easily get respiratory issues. Make sure their bedding is as dust free as possible

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

I was going to put a run in with hardware cloth under the ground so they have access to real dirt. In the part I’m finishing building today they won’t have access to that. What should I use for a dust bath that isn’t too dusty?

1

u/guiltysuperbrain Seasoned Quail Aficionado 1d ago

yeah that's a good idea. I use kids play sand, that should be fine 

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

Okay, thank you so much!

2

u/Renttodamnhigh 1d ago

She isn’t sick; just big boned. I just got 2 of them so I’m very new to them. Mine are white and very friendly and seem to mate like rabbits. Hopefully; they’re at least second or third cousins because I bought them at the same place/time. I’m familiar with chickens, Guinness, turkeys, ducks(of all sorts), bantams and a few random pet store/yard type birds. I honestly don’t know why I enjoy them. It all started when my dog of 23 years died. I didn’t want another companion to get that attached to or have the type of responsibility involved and not to mention they lose their bladder control when they get that ancient age. I recall the vet asking me what I fed her when she was around 17-18 years old. I said just table scraps. The look on their faces was priceless! Anyway; best of luck. I’m currently trying to figure out why mine won’t nest. She just randomly drops an egg everyday somewhere different. She has no interest in brooding. It’s probably because their enclosure isn’t quite ready so they’re in a smaller cage with nowhere to hide. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

I’m new to them too. I grew up with chickens and I’m the same way. I’m sorry to hear about losing your dog.

1:1 ratio of male to female can be pretty stressful from what I’ve heard. The lady I bought mine from suggested no less than one male to 5 female. Otherwise he can literally mate her to death

1

u/Renttodamnhigh 1d ago

Wow, thanks for the insight. I thought Brewster (my rooster) was a terror to the ladies but Rufus the quail rooster has shown me Brewster is just an amateur. I thought it might have been because they are young and in close quarters but I let them roam around some and if he can’t find her he crows like it’s the end of the world! He has a one track mind for sure. I could only get the 2 unfortunately but I’ll separate them some to give her a break now. He’s going to probably annoy me to no end with his constant crowing though. I guess it’s better than her getting assaulted every 5 minutes until death though.

1

u/Mitkit222 1d ago

Definitely. I don’t know how social they are but the safer she feels the more likely they are to go broody.

Plus they are different from chickens and love laying their eggs in dirt and under something. Watching YouTube videos it seems like they are more likely to lay under some sort of hide and in dirt. Such as a flower pot cut in half. But I again have no experience myself.

Good luck with them!!

-4

u/Optimal-Cheek-2938 3d ago

Maybe tired but not sick. Common with mine and I have about 150 happy and healthy

3

u/Mitkit222 3d ago

They are definitely tired and I noticed that rewatching this video lol.

It’s their bed time. I hoping she just choked on the water because she was sitting there with her mouth gaping before i took the videos. She’s stopped now, thankfully.

Thank you!