sick japanese quail hen!

[Aeon]

Hi all,
I have discovered there is scant info on the web re quail health & disease.
Apparently they are somewhat of an enigma! I have a Jap hen who is more than 6 weeks howver I bought her from a pet store so i cant be sure just how old. I had just moved her and 3 other hens to a new quail tractor setup and I noticed the day after that she was struggling to walk using her wings like crutches. There were no visible signs of disease or injury other than lameness- one leg looking particularly weak - no toe curling. I thought she might have rickets so i isolated her in a hospital cage with a heat pad etc and made up a typical poultry rickets diet - cod liver oil, probioticcs, oatmeal, crumbled egg yolk etc and offered her chick starter as well hoping this might help if she had cocidiossis. She'd been in her cage for about a day when I noticed a large urine patch below her and upon lifting her up noticed her vent area had a lot of bright green droppings congealed and stuck around her feathers. i wondered if the colour had to do with the probiotic powder in her water or rickets diet. I then realised she hadnt laid an egg and wondered if she might be egg bound so I gave her a bath in warm
soapy water, cut out the dried droppings as best I could, cleaned her up and applied some cod liver oil to her vent with a plastic syringe. She doesnt appear to be egg bound - I palpated her abdomen gently and found no suspicious lump. I then gave her an injection of a broad spectrum antibiotic - about a quarter of the dose I give my chooks which is 0.5 mls ( i'm not great with numbers - I just go by increments on the syringe). She has been enjoying lots of meal worms but not really touched the rickets diet. Drinking well also. No nasal discharge or other symptoms.
She done well over night and appears bright and happy - still lame - no eggs.
Any ideas on what I should do next?
Cheers,
Aeon


gs

[GaryD]

Hi Aeon,

While they able to contract common poultry diseases, Japanese quail are usually quite hardy.

I think you've done a commendable job in trying to cure her but there is the issue of a transmissable disease.

So, for the sake of your remaining birds, my usual advice in these situations would be to cull the bird.

Gary

[cazador]

Hey
Same thing happen to one of my aviary quails.
First noticed it a few months ago, she waddles around using her wings as paddles and isnt as fast as the other hens. Thought she would quickly pass on but she's still going. Doesn't seem to be in any pain, she eats just like the rest, drinks and slowly hobbles away when I get too close.

Doesn't seem to be any issue with spreading whatever it is she has, as none of the other quails have had the same symptoms.

cheers

[Aeon]

Hi cazador,
My quail is completely well again. I kept her isolated and gave her a protein & mineral rich diet. - There is a chook recipe for rickets which involves boiled egg yolk, oatmeal, vit & min supplement powder, cod liver oil, yogurt, and grated apple. I gave her this and powdered dried cat food as well. The other thing i gave her which she loved was a handful of live mealworms every day. it took about a week but she began to use her feet and legs and now she appears fighting fit.I'm pretty sure rickets is a common thing for quail as they lay so many eggs they can become depleted of amino acids & calcium etc really quickly. If you google "chooks rickets diet" you will get a link to the proper recipe. I would definitely try it for your quail as she's probably feeling not so great - if its not rickets the diet wont do her any harm I shouldnt think.
I was too much of a softie to cull her when she started to improve - I'm sure though that if I breed more and have a lot of birds I probably would as it gets too time consuming and expensive to nurse any sick ones.
They're all safe until then.

Cheers and thanks for your info - these birds are a real mystery sometimes.

Aeon

[GaryD]

Hi Aeon,

There is a chook recipe for rickets which involves boiled egg yolk, oatmeal, vit & min supplement powder, cod liver oil, yogurt, and grated apple. I gave her this and powdered dried cat food as well. The other thing i gave her which she loved was a handful of live mealworms every day.

If there was any hope of bringing a bird back from the edge it would have to be a diet like the one you've used.

Quail hens work so hard that they can easily become depleted of calcium. Keep all of your eggs shells and when you have a heap of them put them in an oven to kill off any bacteria and then put them through a kitchen blender. Mix the powdered shells in with their food. Since eggs shells are almost pure calcium (and soluble) they are good for laying birds.

Notwithstanding my advice (and for normal circumstances it wouldn't change), there is always someone who succeeds against the odds.

I remember responding to a question about quail setting their own eggs and I said that, in our experience of tens of thousands of birds, I had never had one go broody. A week or so later, Salman had one of his quail hens do it. Several months later, one of mine gathered up a clutch of eggs and proceeded to sit on them. It pays never to be too definitive about anything.

Congratulations on nursing your quail back to health.

Gary

[Bidadisndat]

Strang birds at times, I agree. Last season wached a couple of hens rolling eggs from around the pen into one pile, where they took turns at sitting on them. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself.

[Aeon]

Thanks Gary

Ive never had much success with sick birds in the past. Ive had outbreaks of fowl pox, mareks, rickets, coryza - all the common ones and the birds have all died.
This time around on a new property and having obtained some injectable antibiotics things are going well. The internet helps too! I have few friends - actually make that NO friends who are in to gardening, or even pets for for that matter- in my main social group ( mums and toddlers mostly). But being part of several online communities of food growing enthusiasts means help, ideas and encouragement are always close by.
If it wasn't for the stuff I have learned online, I would easily have been put off by all the negative comments from ignorant family & friends who don't see why I bother when i can go up the road and buy a BBQ chook from Coles ( scary but true). Although on a more positive note, I have a sister who is keen to try some guinea pig next time she comes over!
Thanks again
Aeon