Bobwhite Quail chicks mysteriously ailing.

[Jerank]

Hi. Three months ago I hatched ten Bobwhite quail. They were in a batch of eggs being brooded by a hen who suddenly abandoned them, so I put them in an incubator afterwards. All seemed healthy except for one chick who was born last with badly splayed legs, who weakened and died within two weeks. The remaining birds are now about three quarters grown.

However, in the last week, I've had to isolate two females who seem to have come down with an illness of some sort. They have developed an awkward stumbling, hopping gait and have poor posture, often with slumped wings. Their breathing is perfectly normal, and their appetites seem intact, but they are distinctly lighter than their companions. They are currently in isolation together, but do not seem to be improving. They spend the majority of their time asleep, and are reluctant to move. When I prompt them (I.E nudge them awake), they will readily eat and drink, then settle back down and quickly go to sleep again.

Has anyone seen their condition before? Their droppings are slightly wetter than normal and slightly smellier, but not extremely so. If this is a disease it doesn't seem infectious, as the other birds are still all healthy.

For some extra context, I also keep guinea fowl and chickens, which are separated from the quail by wire. I also have an older male with these chicks who, many years ago, had a serious respiratory infection. I've heard they can sometimes remain carriers after infection, but his symptoms don't match these at all (he had trouble breathing, a swollen face and severe bubbled discharges from the eyes). From my own research, I'm somewhat leaning towards Coccidosis, but if anyone else has advice, I'd appreciate it.

 

[007Sean]

It is most definitely not coccidosis! It is most likely, it's a form of MG, Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, could also be MS, Mycoplasma Synoviae, it is seen more frequently in quail and in pheasants.
Likely got infected from the older male that you mentioned as having, by you're definition, swollen face, bubbly eyes, etc....typical signs of MG infection....all birds infected may not show the same clinical signs of the infection.

There is a possibility that it could also be Infectious Coryza. It has similar clinical signs. And although it is primarily a disease of chickens, pheasants and quail can be infected, especially if in close proximity to chickens.

There is no cure for either of these diseases, antibiotics are usually given to alleviate some of the symptoms from secondary infections. Oxytetracycline, Erythromycin, Tetracycline or Duramycin are usually given, morbidity is high but mortality is low. And after recovery, they will be carriers for the rest of their lives.

 

[Jerank]

It is most definitely not coccidosis! It is most likely, it's a form of MG, Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, could also be MS, Mycoplasma Synoviae, it is seen more frequently in quail and in pheasants.
Likely got infected from the older male that you mentioned as having, by you're definition, swollen face, bubbly eyes, etc....typical signs of MG infection....all birds infected may not show the same clinical signs of the infection.

There is a possibility that it could also be Infectious Coryza. It has similar clinical signs. And although it is primarily a disease of chickens, pheasants and quail can be infected, especially if in close proximity to chickens.

There is no cure for either of these diseases, antibiotics are usually given to alleviate some of the symptoms from secondary infections. Oxytetracycline, Erythromycin, Tetracycline or Duramycin are usually given, morbidity is high but mortality is low. And after recovery, they will be carriers for the rest of their lives.

Hmm. Very interesting. I'll remove him from their proximity immediately then. I have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I doubt it's Coryza, as our chickens are over twenty meters away and there's a solid wall separating them from the quail.

My question is; are there any tests that can be done to determine if your assumption is true? If so I can suggest them to the vet. Quail aren't common where I live and so local vets don't really know a huge amount about them. The culture in my locality amounts to 'sick bird = dead bird', so it's quite hard to find decent resources willing to give them a serious look at.

Edit: On top of that, is there a vaccine for the remaining birds? It's unclear whether they're all infected or not. I'd rather not have to permanently separate them all forever.

 

[007Sean]

Hmm. Very interesting. I'll remove him from their proximity immediately then. I have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I doubt it's Coryza, as our chickens are over twenty meters away and there's a solid wall separating them from the quail.

My question is; are there any tests that can be done to determine if your assumption is true? If so I can suggest them to the vet. Quail aren't common where I live and so local vets don't really know a huge amount about them. The culture in my locality amounts to 'sick bird = dead bird', so it's quite hard to find decent resources willing to give them a serious look at.

Edit: On top of that, is there a vaccine for the remaining birds? It's unclear whether they're all infected or not. I'd rather not have to permanently separate them all forever.

A common diagnostic tool is agglutination and ELISA reactions. This amounts to the isolation or identification of hemagglutination-inhibition because nonspecific 'false aggultination' reactions are a possibility. Isolates should be identified, because birds could be infected with nonpathogentic Mycoplasma (ssp).
A polymerase chain reaction is used to detect the particular bacterium that is affecting the upper respiratory tissues.
Other pathogens should be considered, though, to eliminate the possibility of other respiratory diseases, ie; IB--Infectious Bronchitis, AI-- Avian Influenza, or Newcastle Disease.

There are a few live vaccines that are used in the USA, they require permission from a state vet to be used. It is given to birds that are 10 to 14 weeks of age. Even with vaccination, the birds will remain carriers and the immunity doesn't last for very long.

To prevent vertical transmission in eggs, a solution of enrofloxacin has been used to reduce the possibility of transmission and increase hatchability.

Other than the above mentioned solutions, you can also just let them continue their lives (closed flock) or euthanized your entire flock....that includes other poultry you may have....not very enticing!
After, elimination of the flock, around 100 days is recommended to allow enclosures, pens, other structures and ground to become disease free.

Also, you say it can't be Infectious Coryza but it very well could be....unless you're practicing a very strict biosecurity protocol, you can have cross contamination between your chickens and your quail.
HTH

 

[Jerank]

Going to take my birds into the vet soon. The good news is that all the ones who were ill now seem much better. The weather outside is very bad at present, so bringing them inside in a warm and isolated environment has really perked them up. I hear no real sounds of respiratory distress from any of them, so I'm hopeful that with good care they'll all recover safely.

 

[Jerank]

Sorry to bump this, but I feel a need to update and perhaps get more opinions on this persistent odd illness.

The vet trip was inconclusive. Vet confirmed there is no symptoms related to a respiratory condition, nor have any developed since then. No further birds have displayed similar symptoms, though I have a feeling that one or two may have very minor cases of the same illness or issue.

The trio of birds that originally fell ill still are. Two (one male, one female) are in a stable condition; they are no worse, perhaps a little better. The third, aka the first female I saw with symptoms, seems almost certain to die. She is very lethargic and unsteady on her legs. Every six-eight hours or so she has a seizure and lies as if dead for several minutes, but then stands back up and acts relatively normal again. Several times I've thought she was dead, only to pick her up and find her practically paralyzed and still barely breathing, then have her almost spontaneously come back to life again.

I was given treatment for coccidosis and administered it to the whole flock. There were no signs of improvement that I could tell. Sadly the vet also informed me this was the only thing she had medicine to treat, so there is nothing else that can be done for them besides this unless I buy medicine myself. All three birds are in isolation together away from all other birds, in artificial surroundings that are cleaned regularly. As a precaution I also de-wormed the whole flock and administered ivermectin for parasite control.

This is speculation on my part, but I'm starting to think this may be a genetic issue as much as anything else. All the sick birds had more muted coloring than their counterparts. All were much smaller even prior to symptoms displaying, and none have developed adult plumage like the others. These quail are a second generation of a group that were originally born from eggs bought from a factory farm, so I have no way to tell how inbred they are.

In the past I've seen one or two quail die from a condition similar to this. Lethargy, followed by death from an abrupt seizure that was potentially indicative of heart failure. But at the time I assumed this was natural causes; they were very old birds that had lived healthy active lives for years, and I figured it was just their bodies shutting down at the end stage of life.

That's all I can really say here. It frustrates me that my resources are so limited, but maybe somebody here can shed more light on this mystery. I only have about twenty birds in total and keep them mostly as pets/novelty animals.

 

[007Sean]

Sorry to bump this, but I feel a need to update and perhaps get more opinions on this persistent odd illness.

The vet trip was inconclusive. Vet confirmed there is no symptoms related to a respiratory condition, nor have any developed since then. No further birds have displayed similar symptoms, though I have a feeling that one or two may have very minor cases of the same illness or issue.

The trio of birds that originally fell ill still are. Two (one male, one female) are in a stable condition; they are no worse, perhaps a little better. The third, aka the first female I saw with symptoms, seems almost certain to die. She is very lethargic and unsteady on her legs. Every six-eight hours or so she has a seizure and lies as if dead for several minutes, but then stands back up and acts relatively normal again. Several times I've thought she was dead, only to pick her up and find her practically paralyzed and still barely breathing, then have her almost spontaneously come back to life again.

I was given treatment for coccidosis and administered it to the whole flock. There were no signs of improvement that I could tell. Sadly the vet also informed me this was the only thing she had medicine to treat, so there is nothing else that can be done for them besides this unless I buy medicine myself. All three birds are in isolation together away from all other birds, in artificial surroundings that are cleaned regularly. As a precaution I also de-wormed the whole flock and administered ivermectin for parasite control.

This is speculation on my part, but I'm starting to think this may be a genetic issue as much as anything else. All the sick birds had more muted coloring than their counterparts. All were much smaller even prior to symptoms displaying, and none have developed adult plumage like the others. These quail are a second generation of a group that were originally born from eggs bought from a factory farm, so I have no way to tell how inbred they are.

In the past I've seen one or two quail die from a condition similar to this. Lethargy, followed by death from an abrupt seizure that was potentially indicative of heart failure. But at the time I assumed this was natural causes; they were very old birds that had lived healthy active lives for years, and I figured it was just their bodies shutting down at the end stage of life.

That's all I can really say here. It frustrates me that my resources are so limited, but maybe somebody here can shed more light on this mystery. I only have about twenty birds in total and keep them mostly as pets/novelty animals.

Sorry to hear of you're continuing troubles. Not a very good vet, gives you Amprolium or some other anticoccidial, then tells you they can do nothing else? It's clear they don't have coccidosis.
Did he/she even bother to take samples, swabs, etc?

Having seizures are usually signs of poisoning. What are you feeding them, exactly what?
The seizures sound like Ergot poisoning? but the weight loss and lethargic symptoms are not part of Ergot poisoning.

Sounds to me like you're vet just doesn't want to mess with it, or truly doesn't know anything about birds.

 

[Jerank]

Having seizures are usually signs of poisoning. What are you feeding them, exactly what?

We feed them game bird food specially for quail/pheasents/etc. It's a mixture of various seeds; kale, sunflower, grain, etc. All our birds get fed from the same sack, so I'd assume that if it was contaminated, every bird in the flock would be displaying symptoms.

 

[007Sean]

We feed them game bird food specially for quail/pheasents/etc. It's a mixture of various seeds; kale, sunflower, grain, etc. All our birds get fed from the same sack, so I'd assume that if it was contaminated, every bird in the flock would be displaying symptoms.

Not necessarily so, I've feed from the same source (sunflower seeds) to all my birds and only a few got ergot poisoning. It depends on how much and how long they have consumed the contaminated feed.

Cereal grains in particular can have the ergot fungus. Usually it's found in wheat, rye and barley. Feed manufacturers don't test the grain for ergot when they get the grain in from the producer, so they would have no idea it was present in the feed.
If the grain has a dark appearance in part of the grain, it's most likely the ergot fungus.

 

[Jerank]

If the grain has a dark appearance in part of the grain, it's most likely the ergot fungus.

I've just gone and taken some pictures of their food, since I was going to change it anyway. Perhaps you can see something I don't. I separated out some grains that seem to have a blackened outside, but I don't know enough about them to know is it's normal. In the morning I can get a complete list of the grains included in the feed. There might also be a mealworm or two mixed in as well.

EDIT: Apparently a symptom of ergotism in animals is lameness. I noticed a distinct loss in mobility of all the birds I saw that died this way! Their feathers are also discolored and the more ill the bird, the more quills and odd patterns seem to develop, which can also apparently be a sign of ergotism. This may actually be it, but I also could just be drawing conclusions out of thin air.

Spoiler: Pictures.