Whether you’ve decided to keep quail for meat, for eggs, or as pets, it is important that these birds remain healthy and happy. If your quail is acting strange, if the bird is laying on its side, you’d be right to worry.
This article looks into why quail do this.
Table of Contents
Quail laying on its side:
Keeping quail is a very fun and interesting experience.
Keeping these birds is fun when they are healthy and socializing with you and with each other, but, keeping these birds can be nerve-wracking if they start to show behavior that is out of the ordinary, like laying on their side.
Here is why your bird may be doing this:
The bird is sleeping:
If you’ve just received your quail and it is laying on its side, then the bird may simply be sleeping.
These birds look quite odd when sleeping, the birds often look dead when they sleep because they sleep splayed out. The birds may lay on their bellies, on their backs, or on their sides.
What to do:
This is quite normal behavior and is nothing to worry about, check that the bird is indeed sleeping by bothering it somehow.
You can bother the bird by poking it or moving it, a healthy quail will pop up quickly and run away when you try to bother it.
If the bird does not react when you bother it then the bird may be ill and you may need to take the bird to the vet.
Basking:
Another reason why your quail may be laying on its side is that the bird is basking in the sunlight.
If your quail is not sleeping, but has chosen a sunny location to lay down in, then the bird is likely getting its daily dose of sunlight.
These birds need at least 4 hours of sunlight per day, this keeps them healthy. The birds may choose to socialize out in the sunlight or may lay on their sides and enjoy the sun’s rays.
Laying quails need about 14 hours of sunlight a day to stay healthy so you will likely see egg laying quail lay out more than non egg laying quail.
Sunlight helps quail produce vitamin D which helps with calcium absorption. Good calcium absorption maintains strong bones and helps with good egg production.
What to do:
Basking is normal and natural for quail, these birds may choose to be active while getting their daily dose of sunlight or they may choose to lay down and bask while getting their daily dose of sunlight.
Both types of basking are normal for these birds and are not something to worry about. You can leave the bird to bask and enjoy its time out in the sun.
If the bird is laying down, but is showing signs of distress, if the bird is not eating, drinking, or pooping normally, then there may be something wrong with the bird and you may need to start to worry.
Take the bird to the vet if you see any signs of distress in the bird.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Making Weird Neck Movements, Chicken Shaking Head And Lethargic, How To Make A Baby Chick Sleep, Chicken Not Eating And Walking In Circles, Baby Chick Bleeding From Vent, Baby Chick Acting Drunk, Baby Chick Stumbling, Why Is My Baby Chick Wobbly, Quail Throat Movement,
