I’ve been raising coturnix quail and today I found one too weak to stand and I’m thinking she may have smacked her head on the wooden support beam in their cage. There’s no blood but her skull felt uneven under the skin and she’s obviously in distress. Do you guys think it’s just a head injury or something contagious that could affect my other quail? And either way do you think she’s got a chance at survival or should I just put her down? Right now I have her in my brooder resting on a towel
If it's bad enough for her actual skull to feel different, I'd probably just cull her and put her out of her misery - and then cut the head open to look for signs of an injury, to make sure is't not a disease.
If we are talking a swelling beneath the skin making the skull feel strange, she might stand a chance.. But she sure does look pretty dead already in that picture, I don't think her chances are good. Coturnix are pretty resilient though and can get over many things you'd think impossible, but unless she can eat and drink she's pretty unlikely to survive - even if you hand feed her.