Chick suddenly has runny poop! Help!

[chopin_the_quail]

We have a little quail buddy (4-5 weeks old) and he hangs around us all the time and begs for attention. Wonderful, we love him! BUT yesterday night as we were giving him his evening pets, we noticed he had runny wet poop that got stuck to him bum and his entire backside is constantly wet. We cleaned him, blow-dried him (safely, and he absolutely loved it), but the next morning it's all the same. His poop is very watery and sticks to his bum. He also walks a bit funny, I can see he's uncomfortable with the wetness.
What could be wrong? How can I help him?

 

[sourland]

Have you changed his feed - increased/added treats ?

 

[chopin_the_quail]

Have you changed his feed - increased/added treats ?

About 2 weeks ago we started adding a protein rich insect mix (mealworm, gammarus, daphnia, shrimp) to his food, but it has been fine the weeks since then. Package says to provide it freely in addition to regular feed. Other than that nothing has changed.

 

[Kiki]

Is he your only quail?
What is the regular feed you feed?

 

[chopin_the_quail]

Is he your only quail?
What is the regular feed you feed?

Yes, he's the only one. We also keep doves, but quail was a new venture.
We feed him a seed/cereal mix (yellow/red/white millet, oats, linseed, safflower and some other seeds). Oh, and also add a bit of oyster grit with calcium once a week.

 

[chopin_the_quail]

Update: My partner suspects an E. coli infection, since our bud has started sleeping upright and avoiding laying down, and we suspect he might've eaten his own poop at some point because he does stupid things. We refurbished his brooder to have an improvised wire floor (we did not have anything separating him from the poopage before) and added apple vinegar to his water as per some other forums suggestions. As I understand, it would be perfect to have amprolium/corid to treat him with, but I cannot for the life of me find any information on it in my native language or any farm animal specialized veterinarians, as we usually go to an exotic pet vet. Will start calling around first thing tomorrow to see if the regular vets around know anything.

 

[chopin_the_quail]

Update with good news!

We were able to, through contacts at the central zoo, find an expert on bird veterinary medicine who turned out to be right around the corner, and he had an appointment.
Turned out our buddy has worms! No idea where from, but we got all the necessary medication, extra vitamins, electrolytes and food additives for Chop (that's his name ), and a suggestion on where to find specialized food for him. Also, the reassurance that we are not the only weirdos keeping quail as an apartment pet. I'm sure this will be our go-to vet for all troubles now.

Thanks, @Kiki and @sourland for getting involved, we appreciate it.

 

[Kiki]

Update with good news!

We were able to, through contacts at the central zoo, find an expert on bird veterinary medicine who turned out to be right around the corner, and we had an appointment.
Turned out our buddy has worms! No idea where from, but we got all the necessary medication, extra vitamins, electrolytes and food additives for Chop (that's his name ), and a suggestion on where to find specialized food for him. Also, the reassurance that we are not the only weirdos keeping quail as an apartment pet. I'm sure this will be our go-to vet for all troubles now.

Thanks, @Kiki and @sourland for getting involved, we appreciate it.

What type of worms?

 

[chopin_the_quail]

What type of worms?

The vet did not say specifically which, only noted that worm eggs can be seen in his poop under the microscope. Unfortunately, I wasn't inside to ask, as we have the one pet/one person restriction at clinics currently. The medicine isn't marked either, but they gave the first dose and we have to give the second in 10 days.