Advice for Two Old Quail Hens with Health Problems

[KweallCeypur]

I've got two old quails (both are no longer laying), Octopus and Tsapa, who have quite a few health problems and I was wondering wether anyone has advice for some of their issues.

Octopus has -what we believe is- gout on her feet and we've been giving her chopped salad and buckwheat in addition to her pellet food. Her pellet food is high protein, but we've been having a hard time finding any low protein pellet food. Shes also been losing quite a bit of weight, so Im hesitant to put her on solely salad.

Our second quail Tsapa has been walking a bit strangely (stepping on her own feet, a bit off balance) and keeps scratching her eye. We've also noticed some cloudy blobs in her eyes, so we started spraying colloidal silver and occasionally dropping eye wash. Recently she's also developed a gap in her beak. Tsapa is a big girl, at her peak she was around 320g, but she seems to only eat pellet food and not much salad.

If anyone has advice on what we can do to help them, or even to relieve some pain, please tell me.

Tsapa:

Octopus:

 

[Eggcessive]

Gout can have a number of causes. Protein over 30% in feed, too much salt in the diet, mold poisoning, too much calcium, running out of water, and other causes are possible. What is the amount of protein in the feed? Some chicken owners have tried sour cherry extract to treat articular gout. Here is some reading about gout:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry

The cloudiness in the eyes could also be from a number of different causes. Ammonia fumes from droppings, vitamin A or E deficiency, eye infections, or cataracts are common reasons for clouding. You can give Terramycin eye ointment into the eyes twice a day, or use Vetericyn eye gel or plain Neosporin. Make sure they have plenty of ventilation overhead.

 

[KweallCeypur]

Gout can have a number of causes. Protein over 30% in feed, too much salt in the diet, mold poisoning, too much calcium, running out of water, and other causes are possible. What is the amount of protein in the feed? Some chicken owners have tried sour cherry extract to treat articular gout. Here is some reading about gout:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/gout-management-in-poultry

The cloudiness in the eyes could also be from a number of different causes. Ammonia fumes from droppings, vitamin A or E deficiency, eye infections, or cataracts are common reasons for clouding. You can give Terramycin eye ointment into the eyes twice a day, or use Vetericyn eye gel or plain Neosporin. Make sure they have plenty of ventilation overhead.

Thanks for the advice, but not much applies. Their food is 12.5% protein, they have a separate bowl for calcium, multiple water sources, and I clean their area often enough that I don't think mold is a problem. As for the eye, I give Tsapa plenty of salad but she doesn't seem to eat any. I see her occasionally peck at it, but not much. Any ideas on how to coax her into eating it? I use an eye wash by Bausch & Lomb. I was told if its good for humans, it should be good for birds too.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, the B and L eye wash is what I usually recommend for irrigating the eye, but an antibiotic eye ointment may help to lubricate the eye, and treat an eye infection. I know very little about quail, especially what type of food they eat. There is not much that can treat gout once it is there. I think some birds may be more prone to getting gout.

 

[KweallCeypur]

Yes, the B and L eye wash is what I usually recommend for irrigating the eye, but an antibiotic eye ointment may help to lubricate the eye, and treat an eye infection. I know very little about quail, especially what type of food they eat. There is not much that can treat gout once it is there. I think some birds may be more prone to getting gout.

Okay, I'm glad that at least the eye wash is in the right direction. Octopus's gout seems to be growing, even though she's been eating her salad fantastically (Half the container is gone in an hour). Thank you for the advice, Ill try to look into antibiotic ointment.

 

[Eggcessive]

Gout is irreversible, so it may be good to just try to help her get along without further damage and try to control the pain. You might check into the tart cherry extract capsules that humans use for gout to see if it helps. They sell them in the vitamin aisle at Walmart, Rite Aid, and online.

 

[KweallCeypur]

Small update:
Tsapa hasn't changed much, but she can eat with her funny beak and hasn't lost a lot of weight.
Octopus looks a lot better, her gout isn't growing and shes starting to put a bit of weight on her feet when she eats or drinks.
I'll try to get some photos in the morning when I do a full health checkup.