My button quail is sick, what do I do?

[JackH]

Hi! Before I talk about my button quail, some background info. One of my hens had hurt her foot. I’m not sure how, but I noticed it about 3 weeks ago. There was a large scab on her leg, and some of her toe nails are either missing/regrowing or bloody. I trim the nails every now and then when they get to long, and get the poop off there feet, but right after I saw it I put nealsporn on her cuts. Some time before this, a couple months ago, I had seen she wasn’t acting energetic and was kinda lazy. It was clear something was wrong, but I have checked her for being egg bound multiple times and she hasn’t laid eggs in / months even though I give her enough light. I provide grit, 23% protein, seeds, fresh mealworms, warmth (it’s about 74 degrees in the room I have her in) and oyster shells. She has a male by her, and I have a few other pairs of quails in the same room but not in contact. My other hens lay eggs, eat the worms, and receive the same treatment. The male has never gotten sick from her, and is acting totally normal. The cuts in her legs are healing slowly but they don’t look infected or puffy. Her systems have gotten worse over the past months, but in the past week or so they remain constant. She eats very little but still does, she drinks very little but still does, she closes her eyes and looks like she’s breathing hard, but when I tap the cage she seems to almost wake back up. Somtimes I catch her moving her head moving up and down slowly almost reaching for so thing. She doesn’t feel pain on her leg, when I tap it she has no reaction. She stopped mating with the male and yells at him when he tries ( for the past month or so). She will puff up her feathers a little, but when I hold her she appears to be a little skinny, but not bad, and she’s warm. I have recently started giving her water with a little sugar and electro lights. I got a vet appointment for tomorrow but I’m just so worried she’s on the way out very soon, and they say they do poultry but don’t specialize in it. She also tends to darker parts of the cage, limps around, and likes to sit down, but she still can move if she needs to. She has no sniffles or runny nose and her poop is normal, but she doesn’t seem to be getting any better. If she does pass, I don’t know what I’m going to do with the male as it took me 9 months to even find someone selling button quails in my area and I doubt I’ll find a replacement for her. I really need help, so if you know anything, plz let me know. Thank you!

 

[Wezdin]

hi! How is her poo? Is there any sign of blood in it? I would inspect the bottom of her feet for a staph infection, also known as bumblefoot.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I'd suggest incubating some of your fertile eggs to obtain a new girlfriend for this hens mate. An incubator with an automatic egg turner makes the task of incubating quail eggs so much easier but with diligence, you can hatch eggs with nothing more than a plastic tote, portable garage light (the light socket on the end of an extension cord looking contraption), and thermometers to help you position the light bulb the correct distance from the eggs for the perfect temperature. Tilting the tote several times daily by placing a spoon under one edge or the other of the tote (moving the spoon from one side to the other). Just over two weeks is all it takes. You may be able to raise a new girlfriend for her mate.
I raise Japanese Coturnix Quail & bantam chickens. It sounds as if she's either internally laying or she's too old to lay; both of these scenarios would involve the need to find a new mate for her boyfriend. If he's the same age as she, you may need to consider raising a new breeding pair. Button Quail are short-lived birds and have a very compressed lifespan. They hatch in 16 days, start laying eggs themselves in 8 weeks, and are often entering old age by 18 months.

 

[Quailobsessed]

How old is your hen? could you post a picture of her? Has the male been acting aggressive toward her?

It can be hard with bonded birds when a mate dies. How bonded are they? I had a pair of king (button) quails who were really bonded, they'd preen each other, the male would feed the hen, they'd huddle together at night. When my hen was broody, her mate died from boinking. She was so depressed, she'd call for him every day and didn't even run away from us when we touched her. She ended up hatching chicks and now lives with her daughters from her clutch. However, two daughters have died since then, and when it happened each time, the rest would call for the dead hen or hide in the corner in grief. These birds get extremely bonded and show obvious signs of grief (in my experience).
I really hope your hen is okay and will improve.

 

[JackH]

hi! How is her poo? Is there any sign of blood in it? I would inspect the bottom of her feet for a staph infection, also known as bumblefoot.

No sign of blood, her poo looks normal

 

[JackH]

How old is your hen? could you post a picture of her? Has the male been acting aggressive toward her?

It can be hard with bonded birds when a mate dies. How bonded are they? I had a pair of king (button) quails who were really bonded, they'd preen each other, the male would feed the hen, they'd huddle together at night. When my hen was broody, her mate died from boinking. She was so depressed, she'd call for him every day and didn't even run away from us when we touched her. She ended up hatching chicks and now lives with her daughters from her clutch. However, two daughters have died since then, and when it happened each time, the rest would call for the dead hen or hide in the corner in grief. These birds get extremely bonded and show obvious signs of grief (in my experience).
I really hope your hen is okay and will improve.

My birds are really bonded, she was hiding for 3 mins and the male went crazy. She’s not old, while I bought her the woman told me she was 3 months old, but I’m almost positive she was only around one or two, making her under one year old. I’ll see what the vet says, I hope she makes it

 

[Nabiki]

Let us know what the vet says. We'd like to know how things turn out.

 

[Quailobsessed]

My birds are really bonded, she was hiding for 3 mins and the male went crazy. She’s not old, while I bought her the woman told me she was 3 months old, but I’m almost positive she was only around one or two, making her under one year old. I’ll see what the vet says, I hope she makes it

I really hope so too.

 

[JackH]

I got done from the vet, he had told me some interesting things. She is probably sick, but she also has very low energy levels in general, and he gave me antibiotics. I placed her in a glass tank with a lid, then put the hole tank in the original cage, they both have everything they need and space, still can see each other, but they can’t interact. She is free to rest now, and the vet said she should get better soon. If she gets worse, I’ll let everyone know, but she should be getting better. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Quailobsessed]

That's good to know!