Dead quail?

[Elbent]

I am new to quail, never had chickens before. Got three coturnix quail about three months ago. Today we found one dead in their sand bath, she looks fine except her eyes I think were pecked out by the other two after she died. No wounds, missing feathers, diarrhea, nothing obvious that would have caused this or indicated something was wrong. None of them have laid any eggs though which I assumed was due to lack of sunlight. When I found her she was still warm.

They have access to food, clean water, a sand bath. Their coop has hardware cloth on the bottom to prevent predators and a layer of wood chips on top. They eat 28% protein poultry feed and have access to grit and oyster shell. They are kept in a small coop outdoors. Coldest it’s been is 45F. What could have caused this? And how can I ensure that the other two are not sick?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What's the ceiling made of?

 

[Elbent]

What's the ceiling made of?

Hardware cloth so I don’t think she flew up and hit her head but it’s possible I suppose

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Hmm, I'm not sure. I've lost several to head bashing, but not since they moved to wire.

 

[Elbent]

Hmm, I'm not sure. I've lost several to head bashing, but not since they moved to wire.

The coop looks like this and I found her under the wooden portion, but there’s very little clearance between their heads and the wood so I’m not sure if that would have done it?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Mine were able to do it in 8 inch spaces.

Maybe @Kiki has any ideas? I'm absolutely not anyone with a ton of information about them

 

[Kiki]

I am new to quail, never had chickens before. Got three coturnix quail about three months ago. Today we found one dead in their sand bath, she looks fine except her eyes I think were pecked out by the other two after she died. No wounds, missing feathers, diarrhea, nothing obvious that would have caused this or indicated something was wrong. None of them have laid any eggs though which I assumed was due to lack of sunlight. When I found her she was still warm.

They have access to food, clean water, a sand bath. Their coop has hardware cloth on the bottom to prevent predators and a layer of wood chips on top. They eat 28% protein poultry feed and have access to grit and oyster shell. They are kept in a small coop outdoors. Coldest it’s been is 45F. What could have caused this? And how can I ensure that the other two are not sick?

Do you know how old they are?
Do you know if they are male or females?
Can you post clear photos of each bird?

 

[Kiki]

The weather being cold should NOT be an issue.
Feed can be an issue if they are females and laying age.
Do you still have the one dead bird and would you be willing to open it up?

 

[Elbent]

Do you know how old they are?
Do you know if they are male or females?
Can you post clear photos of each bird?

They are about four months old, all female. I can try and get pictures but they are hard to grab since they go under the lower portion of the coop (see above). They eat 28% protein game feed. If I were to open her up what am I looking for?

 

[Kiki]

They are about four months old, all female. I can try and get pictures but they are hard to grab since they go under the lower portion of the coop (see above). They eat 28% protein game feed. If I were to open her up what am I looking for?

The first thing I would look for would be a stuck egg.

What color are they?

I switch my quail to a layer type chicken crumble feed at about 5 or 6 weeks of age because they need the calcium in it to lay eggs.