Adult Bobs dying

[weimwoman]

Hi all, My adult Bobwhites are dying. They get ruffled looking ,stop laying and start standing around looking miserable then drop dead. They are not losing lots of weight before dying and their droppings appear normal.
  It's seems to be only the Bobs that are affected. I have Coturnix and Huns in the same building and they are fine.
  Though the fertility of my Cotunix has droppe3d as well as the Bobs fertility.
 I was getting upwards of 80% hatch and now it's closer to 60%.
I havn't changed feed or anything, they are all raised on wire and I am baffled!
 Any ideas?

Weimwoman

[derk1]

Take a dead one to the Vet. That is the only sure way to know.

[deansgt]

How old are they? How long have they been laying(both your bob's, and your cortunix).
I believe the fertility will drop off after some period(I'm not sure what that is, probably every year if you are using the same birds), and if your birds are about 4yrs old, I believe that is about as long as they live.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[weimwoman]

My Coturnix are about 9 or 10 months old and I have just read that thier fertility and production will drop then so that is one mystery solved. The Bobwhites are about the same age and I wasn't expecting them to drop in fertility yet and I thought they lived longer than that. So I still don't know what is killing them. Whatever it is it comes in waves. I will get a bunch die over a couple weeks than none for awhile then a month or two later more will die.
 I checked about getting an autopsy done on a bird but it is over a hundred bucks! So haven't done that yet.
 Weimwoman

[EMTP431]

Hi Weimwoman

        I have had the same problems. Do you have your bob white's were they can come in contact with your other birds droppings ? They can get very sick and drop over dead. I am looking up the medication they need. I believe you need to give the medication  every so often, to provent them from getting sick. I believe it is a bacteria that they get from droppings or from litter, possably witch will causes  enteritis. Maybe someone else will have some idea one this topic.

[weimwoman]

Thanks EMTP  I would really be interested in knowing what medication I should be giving them.
  My Bobwhites are all raised on wire and I don't think they could get in contact with any of the others droppings. But perhaps they have been affected some how by the other birds.
  I  guess my next project will be to move the Bobs to the other side or my building on their own.
  I have talked to someone who has been raising Bobwhites for many years and she said they can be very difficult to keep healthy. So I don't feel like such an idiot now. I would still like to improve my numbers though so I will look forward to  hearing from you about the medication as well as anyone else who has any advice, Thanks again
weimwoman

[deansgt]

I usually only keep my birds until the Fall, and then sell them to people who train bird dogs, but I raise my birds on the ground, and they are all very healthy. The birds I have now however, I have had since last Spring, and they have been outside on the ground through sun, rain, and snow, and they are all very healthy as well.
The problems that can arise with raising birds are so numerous it could be difficult to diagnose your problem by anyone other than a vet.
It could be the feed. If the birds are having problems digesting their feed, you would not know until they started dying, that you had a problem, because they would continue to eat.
Then there is avian flu. I don't know what the symptoms are, but this is just another example of a problem that can arise, as well as things like worms, bacteria, etc., etc.....
Sorry I haven't been more help, but you may never know without getting them looked at by a vet.

[Fivehollers]

I use an all around antibiotic if they start looking sickly. Terrimycin (check spelling) also I worry about West Nile, so I try to keep things clean in and around the area where the birds are kept no standing water that sort of thing, I use that granual fly bait that attracts them and kills them. We get a bucket of sand and let them fluff in that it seems to make them feel better and I know it makes them look better. (Its funny to watch also) Mine are also kept on wire but if you are not diligent in cleaning the cages the poop creates a dust of its own and the other birds can breathe in diseases. In fact so can people...my oldest daughter can no longer be around the birds cause she got this lung infection from dropping dust.  :lol: I think guys who clean gutters get it also from bird droppings. Anyway...cleanliness is most of the battle and it is an all consuming project somethimes. I love my Bob's tho so its worth the extra time.  

[CalebK273]

ACTUALLY BOBS LIVE FOR 7+ YEARS IN CAPTIVITY<<<<<<<

[jk]

do you put Sulmet in their water? If you dont you should because it is probably a bacterial infection or some type of disease. I had the same problem

[ridgetop]

I AGREE WITH JK SULMET IN THE WATER