Button quail hatchling with a broken wing--what to do?

[TheWeeBee]

This little guy hatched early this morning, and before I could get to him the male and other hens were after him. He's holding his left wing straight down and turned up (backwards), so I'm sure the wing is broken at the shoulder. Doesn't seem to be in any pain and has been drinking and learning to peck at the egg food I have sprinkled on the cage bottom.

He's so tiny that when I tried to use gauze to immobilize his wing, I just couldn't keep him still long enough to wrap the stuff around him (that thin finger tape that sticks to itself, not actual tape). I know that for skeletal deformities like splay legs, the chick has a narrow window in which the problem can be corrected. I don't think I can secure his wing due to his size. Do I have any other options other than putting him down?

 

[CoopedChik]

I'm sorry no ones answered you I hope your baby is well, best you can do is VERY gently bind it to him in the proper place, he's so young it should fuze back together with none or very little deformities. But be careful with the binding you don't want to cut of circulation or have it get inbedded with his growth, it should fix itself ina few weeks about 3 or 4, maybe longer if you think need be. By the time he grows up I doubt you'll even notice he had a broken wing. Poor little bugger hope he feels better soon. Feel free to contact me if you have anymore broken bone questions or other injuries, I work with exotic birds and I've had to be stitching and resetting bones for years now.

 

[TheWeeBee]

Hi, CC, thanks for your help! I'm not 100% certain that his wing is broken, but he does seem to have little use of it. What has me concerned now is his development. He's definitely grown over the past week (especially his long legs!), but he seems to stumble more than he should and he sleeps a lot. I have a small plastic hamster igloo for him to hide inside, as well as a Beenie Baby bird that he snuggles under to sleep. Of course, the stumbling could be due to having some pine shavings scattered around his brooder. I think I'll take those out and see how he fares.

The only comparison I have is a female button chick that hatched on New Year's Day. She was a non-stop bundle of energy from the get-go. Also, his head seems to be growing ahead of his body, but perhaps that's a male thing? CBBQ hens have such small heads in relation to their body size, lol.

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u280/lilkim629/?action=view&current=VIDEO0046.mp4

 

[CoopedChik]

Well, if you willing to keep him as a pet I'd just let him grow with this, by the time he is full grown he may be fully functional just with a little twisty wing and he may even grow out of that. I had a chick hatched out with what looked like a crooked jaw. I thought there was no fixing it because it looked like the jaw was unhinged and almost all the way to the side. But after a few weeks her beak started to straighten out and now after a year she looks like a normal little quail, sometimes I can't pick her out from the rest of the flock. So I'd say the little guy will do fine and I hope the best for you and him, he's a cutey chicky.

 

[jbobs]

I think you're more likely to do more damage by trying to fix it - it is so impossibly small that trying to bind it or splint it will be impossible. I'd just let him be and see how he fares. If the wing is very mangled as he gets bigger, if you're willing to spend the money a vet that treats exotics might be able to just amputate it. Other than that, he'll either live with it and get by, die from it, or have to get put down because of it. Happens a lot when raising birds, just something everyone has to get used to. Save the healthy ones and cull the sickly ones.

 

[CoopedChik]

I think from what the video showed the little guy will fare with it and do just fine no need for culling just let him he'll deal with it

 

[TheWeeBee]

Hey guys! Scooter is nearly two weeks old and his wing looks completely normal! Perhaps it was dislocated and it's reset itself naturally? I made sure not to handle him very much, to give the wing a chance to hopefully heal. Here's his "bad" wing, he's holding it nicely against his body and tucked up just like the other one. He's a little camera-shy, lol :>

 

[Katfox]

So happy to see this happy ending. I don't have chickens but my cat brought in a tiny blackbird chick - with what looks like a broken wing. We're feeding it and keeping out of harms way till it gets it strength back - last time I took one of these to a nature place it died - so I wanna keep an eye on this one myself. Really encouraged by this story - thx for sharing

 

[TheWeeBee]

Awwww, the poor thing If you can place him in a box, under a heat lamp, that will greatly help his chances of survival! Temps for newly hatched chicks should be 85-90F.

Good luck with your little baby!

 

[TheWeeBee]

UPDATE: Scooter's wing injury has completely resolved itself within just a couple weeks of hatching. Here are some recent pics of Mr. Sir