Vitamin B deficiency in quail chick

[Boxtor]

Hello again,

I've successfully begun hatching a second generation of quail after breeding some that I hatched from a local farm. I have two healthy males and have just hatched two more, but one of them I was worried would not make it. They hatched three days ago. I left it in the egg after it had pipped through for about 24 hours and then decided to help it out. I chipped away at the egg as it would naturally with a toothpick by the advice from another online source. The chick made it out unharmed, but its legs seem crippled and curled inward. Its little toes are balled up and its struggling to walk around. It doesn't seem in pain or in distress, just extremely wobbly. With a little more research I've discovered this was possibly a vitamin B deficiency of some kind and so now I have a few more questions I thought would be best answered here.

How is a baby quail born with a deficiency? Should I take a second look at the parent's nutrition?
How can I correct this problem naturally? Do I need to order supplements online or bind its feet in any way?
If it is untreatable, will this quail have any quality of life moving forward?

Thank you for reading.

 

[Kiki]

What are you feeding the parents?

I would not bind its feet.

Can you post a clear picture of it trying to stand on its own?

 

[Boxtor]

What are you feeding the parents?

I would not bind its feet.

Can you post a clear picture of it trying to stand on its own?

Apologies, I don't have a very good camera at my disposal, but here are some photos I managed to take. It is in a small brooder separate from the other one. It's a bit wet because it just fell into the waterer, which is what my main concern has been, that it'll drown.

I'm feeding the parents a mixture of two feeds right now, a game bird starter/grower crumble from Purina and an egg layer crumble from NatureWise. They're at 30% and 22% crude protein respectively. They get mealworm treats rarely, some kitchen scraps (they seem to prefer greens), and also whatever they forage from outside, as they live in a ground coop.

 

[scyllarus]

In my limited experience, too-high humidity during hatch seems to contribute to curled toes - or chicks who hatch late seem to tend towards issues like curled toes regardless. You mentioned this chick is 3 days old - if it was going to fix itself, it would do so by now.

You can make corrective shoes for this baby with a little bit of painters tape or a bandaid. You want to make sure the toes are flat on the ground - don't worry too much about the exact positions - and leave the shoes on for at least 24 hours. Usually the bloody things will pop off by themselves by the time they need to come off. None of the quail I've fixed using this method have issues with walking or movement later.

Otherwise, your food sounds fine to me? Sometimes these things just happen - I'd consider switching up my feed if you start seeing a trend, but a single chick with curled toes wouldn't really worry me.

 

[kabuky]

I've had chicks (usually the ones I've "helped") hatch out with similar toes. I haven't had success with straightening out the toes. I've tried taping toes, bandaging, making splints but nothing really helps and the chicks usually died. If you find a solution, please post!