Button Quail hasn’t laid today after a couple of months of regular laying…? I’m worried!

[Carterborchers]

My favorite button and only hen, Speckles has been a regular egg layer since 6 weeks old or so. Every day at 3:30-4:30pm, her regular egg would be in the same spot.

Today, I checked to remove it, because she never goes broody, and it wasn’t there. She’s been hiding under the shoebox, and not coming out, which isn’t like her. When I change out their food daily with a mixture of feed, gourmet seeds/treats in one combo, and mealworms, she’s all over it right away. She didn’t even come out to eat.

I’ve also noticed that her usually hard shells have felt soft. I’ve sprinkled oyster shell powder on her food, crack open her eggs, rinse them, dry them, and let her have at those too for extra calcium.

Nothing new has happened. No changes, except the bedding from paper bits to pine wood shavings. I was having to change out the paper daily because of her gargantuan poops that her and her hubby step all over. With the pine shavings, I’m able to just pick them out. It has gotten suddenly colder outside, but I keep my birds indoor.

I’m so worried she’s egg bound or something, and worried sick. My husband lost his job recently and we just moved, so we definitely couldn’t afford the hundreds of dollars quoted by the exotic vet I was referred to the time she was an hour late with her egg. She’s my favorite little Speckles McQuill, and housed with her hubby, Leonard.

 

[Carterborchers]

I felt her belly a bit more extensively, and swear there’s an egg-shaped lump sitting there. How can I help her if I’m right, aside from spending $600 at the vet, which is what I was quoted to expect for the appointment fee, X-rays, tests, possible procedures, etc. I love her to death, but we can’t even make rent on time this month.

 

[Nabiki]

If she's egg bound, try a warm (a few degrees above body temp) epsom salt bath to help her pass the egg.

I would also give her some calcium citrate as soon as possible.

If she is egg bound, she needs to pass the egg as soon as possible. This is a fatal condition if not fixed.

One of the most common causes for becoming egg bound is not enough calcium in her diet, though it could also be caused by an issue with her reproductive tract.

 

[Nabiki]

How much are you feeding her in the way of treats? Her diet should consist of a good feed with treats (everything else) not being more than 10% of her diet.

 

[Carterborchers]

she finally passed the egg on her own late last night. But today, we have the same thing… egg isn’t there when it usually is and she’s acting off. :/

80% of her food is game bird show bird starter grower feed. The rest is a “festive blend of fruits, nuts, veggies & seeds” and some dried mealworms. It’s a parakeet food blend that claims to be like a food and treat all-in-one.

I also sprinkle oyster powder on her food, but am not sure how much. I give her shells back to her as well.

 

[Carterborchers]

*oyster shell

 

[Nabiki]

I would give her crushed oyster shell on the side. Make sure it's small enough for her to eat and she will eat as much as she needs.

Definitely cut back on the parakeet treat blend. As I mentioned earlier, her diet shouldn't be more than 10% treats.

Did you get any calcium citrate into her?

 

[Carterborchers]

I just bought some, since I thought we averted the problem yesterday and it’s back today. She’s not moving much, not walking. When she tried, she waddled. She was doing the mouth-open gobbling sort of thing, but her partner isn’t. She’s been sitting in her normal laying area. I’ve been taking water and food to her in case she’s thirsty.

How much of a tablet should I give her and how? I also got some epsom salts. If there’s an egg in there, it’s not as low as it was last night. She passed it around 10:00pm, just as I sent hubby out to get the “goods.” She is stressing me out! Of my 15 button quail, she’s my sweetheart, contently snuggles on top of my shirt between my boobs at night while I pet her and give light scritches under the beak until her “husband” calls for her to come home. No other quail will tolerate this. lol I would be devastated if anything happened to her.

 

[Carterborchers]

Oh my god, she’s lost part of one outermost toe, and the other one on the other foot is so necrotic it looks like it’s going to fall off. For some reason, when I put these two birds together on pee mats, her mate kept pecking at her toe sticking out (maybe thinking it was a worm?). She was limping and standing on one foot back then. I kept applying antibiotic ointment, changed the bedding to hide her toes better, and he eventually seemed to stop. She seemed to be walking normally. When I turned her over today, I noticed one toe was small and more like a stump with no nail. The other is black. This had to be going on for a while now. Not sure what to do. Apply ointment to the exposed toe and bandage it?

 

[Nabiki]

@007Sean can probably give you a better idea of dose, but I'd give her 1/4 to 1/2 a tablet (1-200 mg).

You don't want to keep that level of dosage up for long, but it may help her pass the egg. Once it's passed, I would recommend keeping her in a warm, dim place for a week or two. Don't let her have more than 10 hours of light a day so she gets a break from laying so she can heal.