Lead Poisoning of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract Body tissues from Japanese quail, which had received various amounts of lead in their diet, were investigated by atomic absorption spectrometry and transmission electron miscroscopy. A fine structural analysis was made of material fixed in either glutaraldehyde alone, or in glutaralde-hyde followed by post-fixation in osmic acid. Special attention was paid to the reproductive organs. Nuclear inclusion bodies characteristic of lead poisoning were found within the tubular epithelium of the kidney, within hepatocytes, the germinal epithelium of the male and follicle cells of the ovaries. The possibility that lead might bind to acidic nuclear proteins which influence specific gene regulation is suggested.     

Mating Call Discrimination in Female European (Coturnix c. coturnix) and Japanese Quail (Coturnix c. japonica)

Each year, thousands of domestic Japanese and hybrid quails are released within the breeding range of the European quail. We showed recently that no post‐zygotic isolating mechanisms have yet been established between these subspecies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether pre‐zygotic mechanisms are strong enough to prevent hybridization. We tested the level of subspecies selectivity in females of European and Japanese quail respectively using playbacks of European, hybrid and Japanese male mating calls. European quail females emitted the greatest number of rally calls in response to mating calls by conspecific males. Their responses were the weakest to mating calls produced by males of the other subspecies and intermediate to mating calls by hybrid males. In contrast, Japanese quails produced similar responses to all types of mating calls. These results suggest that mixed pairs could form in the wild. The European quail could thus become one of the most endangered galliforms of the Western Palearctic.     

Stimulus control of social behaviour in male Japanese quail,Coturnix coturnix japonica

Three experiments were conducted to identify stimuli that control social proximity behaviour and suppression of crowing in male Japanese quail. Visual access to a conspecific female through a narrow window stimulated both social proximity and suppression of crowing in male quail. These responses did not occur when male conspecifics, birds of other species, or an empty cage were visible through the window. Taxidermically prepared models of female and male quail elicited differential social proximity behaviour and crowing suppression similar to the differential responses elicited by live female and male conspecifics. Thus, static visual cues of female quail were sufficient to stimulate social proximity behaviour and suppression of crowing in males. Much of the behaviour elicited by female and male models was controlled by visual cues provided by the head and neck, which contain most of the sexually dimorphic feathers. Visual features of the head and neck appeared to be additive in their effects on social behaviour.     

Comparison of migratory tendency in European Quail Coturnix c. coturnix, domestic Japanese Quail Coturnix c. japonica and their hybrids

Since the 1970s, the decline of the occidental populations of European Quail Coturnix c. coturnix , a partial migrant Galliform species, has driven the release of domestic Japanese Quail Coturnix c. japonica into the wild as game birds. Recent experiments suggest that reproductive isolating mechanisms have not developed to prevent hybridization between European and Japanese Quail. To assess the potential impact of hybridization between the subspecies in the wild, this study aims to compare the migratory characteristics of captive European Quail, domestic Japanese Quail, F₁ hybrids and a backcross. In a laboratory experiment, birds hatched in summer and reared under a natural photoperiod were transferred during winter to an artificial photoperiod (light–dark) of 14 : 10 h. Behavioural (migratory restlessness, crowing activity in males) and physiological (sexual development, fat accumulation, body mass) measures were recorded. Domestic Japanese Quail showed no migratory tendency in response to the increased day length. F₁ hybrids showed rapid sexual development and few of them exhibited the typical profile of a migrant bird. Backcrosses showed great variation in their response, comparable with those of the European Quail. Therefore, hybridization could lead to an increased proportion of quail showing sedentary rather than migratory behaviour. Furthermore, hybrids that do show migratory behaviour have the potential to facilitate Japanese gene flow into areas where the release of domestic Quail as game birds is not yet practised.     

Experimental aspergillosis in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Intratracheal inoculation of 2-week-old quail chicks with Aspergillus fumigatus resulted in the development of clinical signs within 24 h of infection. These were characterized by anorexia, depression, accelerated respiration and gasping followed by death. The acute course of the disease lasted for 7–10 days followed by recovery in the surviving chicks. The overall mortality during a 6-week observation period was 20%.Although the mean body weight of A. fumigatus infected quail chicks continued to be slightly lower throughout the experiment but the difference, in comparison to controls, was not significant except at 42 days post-infection.There was no appreciable difference in the mean values of Hb, TEC, PCV, MCV, MCH and MCHC between the infected and control chicks at any stage of infection but TLC revealed a leucocytosis from 2–7 days which was the result of increase in the relative percentage of heterophils and decrease in lymphocytes.     

Cutaneous candidiasis in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Cutaneous candidiasis involving the foot pads of 5–30 weeks old Japanese quails was recorded in a large quail breeding unit. Histopathological lesions comprising granulomatous reaction in the dermis and hyperkeratosis resembled with those of candida granuloma of human beings. The causative fungus, isolated from the foot pad lesions on Sabouraud agar, was identified as Candida albicans on morphological and biochemical characteristics. Predisposing factors such as overcrowding and un-sanitary conditions were found to be apparently responsible for candidiasis in quails. These factors when taken care of resulted in a marked decrease in the disease incidence. This appears to be the first report of cutaneous candidiasis in avian species.     

Spatial orientation in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Finding a given location can be based on a variety of strategies, for example on the estimation of spatial relations between landmarks, called spatial orientation. In galliform birds, spatial orientation has been demonstrated convincingly in very young domestic chicks. We wanted to know whether adult Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) without food deprivation are also able to use spatial orientation. The quails had to learn the relation of a food location with four conspicuous landmarks which were placed in the corners of a square shaped arena. They were trained to find mealworms in three adjacent food cups in a circle of 20 such cups. The rewarded feeders were located during training between the same two landmarks each of which showed a distinct pattern. When the birds had learned the task, all landmarks were displaced clockwise by 90 degrees. When tested in the new situation, all birds redirected their choices with respect to the landmark shift. In subsequent tests, however, the previously correct position was also chosen. According to our results, quails are using conspicuous landmarks as a first choice for orientation. The orientation towards the previously rewarded location, however, indicates that the neuronal representation of space which is used by the birds also includes more fine grain, less conspicuous cues, which are probably also taken into account in uncertain situations. We also presume that the rare orientation towards never rewarded feeders may be due to a foraging strategy instead of being mistakes.     

Further Observations on the Toxicity of Navy Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) for Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

S ummary . The lethal and growth depressing effects of feeding raw navy beans (RNB) to Japanese quail have been shown to be due neither to poor palatability nor to dialysable, lipid or carbohydrate constituents, but to a protein material soluble at pH 3 and precipitable by saturation with (NH₄)₂SO₄. This material proved resistant to digestion by pepsin and proteolytic bacteria but was destroyed by autoclaving at 121° for 15 min. Germfree birds given a diet containing RNB which had been fermented by coliforms grew well, indicating that toxicity of RNB is not dependent on the release by intestinal bacteria of poisons from innocuous precursors in the beans. Examination of the effects of feeding diets containing other raw legume seeds to quail have shown that toxicity is associated with the presence of high concentrations of phytohaemagglutinins (PHAs). Quail given RNB diet showed a greater incidence of liver infection than birds fed an autoclaved bean diet but bacteriological examination of gut contents of such birds revealed no marked qualitative or quantitative differences. Chemical examination of gut contents likewise revealed no marked differences. Experiments with gnotobiotic quail showed that coliforms derived from a variety of sources were capable of causing the death of birds on RNB diet and that the numbers attained in different parts of the intestine by a single coliform strain were not affected by the diet fed. The results suggest that toxicity of RNB may be due to impairment of body defence mechanisms by PHA leading to tissue invasion by normally innocuous components of the intestinal microflora.     

The acute phase response in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, from S. typhimurium) or muramyl dipeptide (MDP, N-acetylmuramyl-L-ala-isoglutamine) in Japanese quail. Doses of MDP between 0.3 and 10 mg/kg body wt. had no effect on body temperature. In contrast, doses of 1.0-22.5 mg LPS/kg body wt. caused significant increases in body temperature. None of the doses of LPS or MDP resulted in mortality. The febrile response to LPS was diminished following a second injection 48 h after the first, and was absent following a third injection. Plasma zinc, an indicator of the acute phase response, was significantly reduced by either LPS or MDP after the first injection (P<0.001), but not after the second or third injection. Splenic interleukin 1-beta (IL-1beta) mRNA expression was increased after the first and last injection of LPS (P<0.001), but only after the first injection of MDP (P<0.005). Hepatic IL-1beta mRNA expression was increased after the first, but not the third injection of LPS (P<0.001), while MDP had no effect. These data indicate that Japanese quail are less sensitive to MDP than LPS, and that quail demonstrate tolerance to LPS following repeated injections.     

The Structure of the Spermatozoon of the Japanese Quail,Coturnix coturnix L., var. japonica

The spermatozoa of the Japanese quail conform, in their general ‘sauropsid’ plan, to that of other non-passerine birds. They are notable, however, in that the flagellum is very elongated (208 μm) and carries approximately 2,500 mitochondria in an extensive midpiece. Ultrastructurally, the acrosome and acrosome-nucleus junction is exactly as reported for other galliform birds. The neck region contains two centrioles arranged almost in-line; this unusual layout apparently occurs also in guinea fowl sperm. At the tip of the axoneme, beyond the termination of the central pair microtubules, is a structure—the tip granule—previously recognized in sperm of the domestic fowl. Trypsin digestion splits the axonemal cylinder, and the doublets then spiralize. This response has been reported before, in the sperm tails of other avian species.     

Urates and allantoic regulation in embryonic Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica

During embryonic development, allantoic fluid represents the shifting balance between renal excretion and reabsorption by chorioallantoic membranes. Allantoic contents of Na+, K+, Cl-, urate, pH, and water were followed over days 10-15 of the 16 day incubation. Water volume remained near 0.9 ml until day 13, then declined very rapidly. The pH declined more steadily, from 8 to 5.5. Contents of Na+ and Cl- fell regularly to final values 80-88% below day 10. The K+ content changed differently and nearly doubled by day 13 but returned to day 10 values at the end. Urate content rose until day 13, then fell suddenly to low levels. This was due to the abrupt precipitation of most urate into masses not sampled by our method, so that after day 13, urate was underestimated (probably by 90-96%). Ion binding by urates was low (about 3% of Na+ and Cl-, 10% of K+) and appeared to be nonspecific. The underestimate of urate contents means, however, that in late incubation about one third of allantoic Na+ and 65-70% of K+ and Cl- are bound to precipitated urate and do not appear in balance sheets of allantoic ions. These precipitated ions account for the significant amounts of Na+ and K+ that remain in the allantoic remnant, left in the eggshell after hatching, but whose presence is not predicted by analysis of allantoic fluid.     

Acute reversible cataract due to nitrocompounds in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

The present study was designed to examine the usefulness of the Japanese quail as an experimental model of cataractogenic activity. Chemicals, 2, 6-dibromo-4-nitro-phenol (2, 6-D), 2, 4-dinitroanisole (2, 4-DA), and 2, 4-dinitrophenol (2, 4-D; for the positive control), were administered singly through an oral route to 2-week old male Japanese quails to investigate the reversibility of cataracts. A single administration of 2, 4-D (36 and 43 mg/kg) produced reversible cataract in 14 of 16 animals (87.5%). This cataract was seen 1 or 2 hours after treatment and continued for 1 to 12 hours. Treatment with 2, 6-D (20 and 25 mg/kg) and 2, 4-DA (120 and 150 mg/kg) caused cataracts in 7 of 11 (63.6%) and 8 of 8 surviving animals (100%), respectively. Cataracts produced by 2, 6-D and 2, 4-DA, which were observed from 1 and 2 to 4 hours after the treatment, continued for 6 to 15 and 1 to 13 hours, respectively. Mortalities in the 25 mg/kg group of 2, 6-D, 120 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg group of 2, 4-DA were found in 2 of 5 animals, 1 of 5 animals and 5 of 9 animals, respectively. These results indicate that the Japanese quail is useful as an animal model to evaluate toxicity to the eye and cataractogenesis.     

The Life Cycle of Eimeria bateri (Protozoa, Eimeriidae) in the Japanese Quail Coturnix coturnix japonicum

SYNOPSIS. Eimeria bateri, a parasite of the Indian quail, was described from laboratory infections in Japanese quail. First generation schizonts developed in the glands of the duodenum and upper intestine. Second, 3rd and 4th generation schizonts and gametocytes occurred in the villous epithelium. There was a gradual spread along the small intestine until the whole organ was affected. The prepatent period was 4 days and the patent period 6 days. Graded doses from 5,000 to 1,280,000 oocysts produced very little pathogenic effect in young quail. E. bateri did not infect young pheasants or chicks.     

Dynamics of crowing development in the domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Species-specific behaviours gradually emerge, via incomplete patterns, to the final complete adult form. A classical example is birdsong, a learned behaviour ideally suited for studying the neural and molecular substrates of vocal learning. Young songbirds gradually transform primitive unstructured vocalizations (subsong, akin to human babbling) into complex, stereotyped sequences of syllables that constitute adult song. In comparison with birdsong, territorial and mating calls of vocal non-learner species are thought to exhibit little change during development. We revisited this issue using the crowing behaviour of domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Crowing activity was continuously recorded in young males maintained in social isolation from the age of three weeks to four months. We observed developmental changes in crow structure, both the temporal and the spectral levels. Speed and trajectories of these developmental changes exhibited an unexpected high inter-individual variability. Mechanisms used by quails to transform sounds during ontogeny resemble those described in oscines during the sensorimotor phase of song learning. Studies on vocal non-learners could shed light on the specificity and evolution of vocal learning.