[ponylady]

Having had chickens forever, I decided last year I would have 4 quail (Japanese Quail) this year. I read up about them, took plenty of advice from the farm I was buying them from, and set up a big (emphasis on the word BIG) rabbit hutch for them. They have water, renewed 3 times a day, quail mix twice per day, about a dozen meal worms once day in the afternoon and fresh willow branches every couple of days. They are bedded on woodchip (shavings), same as my guinea pigs and chickens. They are laying pretty much one egg a day per bird.
A couple of days ago I noticed blood on one of the birds and found a cut/crack/split on one of her legs. The others started picking on her and as she was much smaller than the rest, we separated her. Within minutes, another bird started limping, and had a crack/split on the leg.
What's going on?
Can anyone suggest my best course of action?

[Clansman]

Can you post a picture of its leg?

[Eve]

Is it at all possible that the second injury wasn't obvious at first and not noticed? If it definitely wasn't there before I would suspect bullying.

How bad is the injury? I once found a chick dead one morning with both legs broken and barely hanging onto the bird's body. I never found out what had happened though the broody was a terrible mum and I suspect it was her (it wasn't the first casualty and we took her chicks away after that.)

Sounds like your birds are very well looked after [size=78%] [/size][/size]Same problem here with having to change their drinking water so often, btw. I also use rabbit drinkers but can't rely on them entirely.

[ponylady]

The birds are healing, slowly. Today it looks like one has had an access on its foot.

[in the hills]

Is it 'bumble foot'? 

[ponylady]

Possibly, although I've not seen it before. What are the causes, symptoms and treatments

[devonlady]

Could rats possibly get into the hutch?

[ponylady]

No. There is absolutely *no* way rats can get to them. They are on the too floor of a triple layer hand made incredibly stout hutch. They are in my uncles field, where we know rats aren't living ... my guinea pigs are there too and I'd know if rats where about

[chrismahon]

You may find that it's the wood shavings causing the injuries Ponylady. They can have some very sharp bits in them so you need to be careful what you buy. For our bantams we bought special 'small pet rodent' softest shavings and even then we found splinters of wood which had to be removed. Don't try Aubiose as it cut our chicks feet to pieces, the splinters going under the skin at the top of the claw leaving a really bloody mess to sort out.

[ponylady]

Ah. Now that's interesting. Our local poultry supplier recommends aubiose (its a product I'm very familiar with as its a horse bedding). I'd actually rejected it for quail, thinking it would be too sharp. I will change their bedding immediately.  What does everyone use for their quails bedding?

[in the hills]

We use shavings, the same type that we use for our chickens.

We did on one occasion have a quail with 'bumble foot'. The quail were being kept in an ark on the lawn but we suspect that it cut its foot on a sharp piece of the wire floor ..... it had sort of buckled up exposing the join in the wire slightly.

Google 'bumble foot' and you'll find photos and information. Basically a swelling/sore on the foot that can break open if left untreated.  You need to handle affected poultry with gloves .... seem to remember that the bacteria can infect humans through tiny cuts on your hands. 

[Eve]

We use wood shavings too, the small soft type of Snowflake, not the bigger rough type. The quail very much preferred these wood shavings over Aubiose, when the shavings went back after trying Aubiose in they had a blast, they were so much happier in them.