EMERGENCY! egg bound!!!

[CliftonQuail]

I have my feed custom milled, so I don't have to worry about getting something I don't want in my feed.

Do you have a recipe for coturnix feed that you're willing to share? Your operation is a lot larger than mine and I'm a newbie to raising animals, but I'd love to have better control over what I'm feeding my birds.

 

[Nabiki]

@Nabiki ..Thank you for that info; she is actually going to be 12weeks old in one week.
I just ordered an organic maintenance feed & I have oyster shell grit. Do you dry the egg shells in the oven?
The only concern I have about how she is doing is frequent liquid poop, but I'm hoping this is a result of all the fluid they injected into her at the vet last night. It was the last thing they did before I brought her home. I questioned whether is was necessary, but they told me what she didn't absorb would just come out in her poop.
Thankfully she did not lay an egg today.

I'm a tightwad and it's hot, so I dry the egg shells in the sun.

The liquid poop is probably from the fluids, but they should solidify in a day or so.

 

[YWoody]

I'm a tightwad and it's hot, so I dry the egg shells in the sun.

The liquid poop is probably from the fluids, but they should solidify in a day or so.

great idea on drying the egg shells, I'm a tightwad too, I'll do the same!
Update on Myrtle...
Still in "hospital" kennel in my darkened office, I gave AC vents closed, so its staying about 80-82° in there. She's doing well! No issues, no signs of infection & she hasn't laid an egg!

Poops have solidified, eating & drinking, feisty & social, and she trys to bolt out of kennel every time I open it!
I'm so grateful for you guy's advice & inputs.
Question: how long should I keep her in this "recovery" mode? When do you think she'll be "out of the woods"?

 

[Nabiki]

Quail heal quite quickly, so I'd give her a week to be safe, but you should be able to put her back with the others then.

 

[007Sean]

I was going to say, "wait until she lays another egg." .....but she may or may not lay again? @Nabiki , has better advice than I do!

 

[Nabiki]

I was going to say, "wait until she lays another egg." .....but she may or may not lay again? @Nabiki , has better advice than I do!

Hopefully since she's being kept in the dark she's taking a break from laying. I'm guessing, but I think a week long break from laying should be enough for her to heal. What do you think?

 

[YWoody]

Hopefully since she's being kept in the dark she's taking a break from laying. I'm guessing, but I think a week long break from laying should be enough for her to heal. What do you think?

The last time Myrtle was inside recovering was just early last month when my rooster (good riddance roo!) wounded her head seriously with aggressive breeding. (this poor hen has had a rough summer). After she healed I moved her into the garage to gradually get her acclimated to the higher heat before putting her back out in the 100+ weather. The garage has 2 huge skylights and the first day she was out there she laid an egg. So I'm thinking I'll transition her out with the flock the same way this time. That way I can observe how she tolerates laying her first egg since this ordeal.

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

I'm a tightwad and it's hot, so I dry the egg shells in the sun.

great idea on drying the egg shells, I'm a tightwad too, I'll do the same!

I just rinse mine and throw them in the cupboard in a bowl lined with a paper towel for a day or so. They dry up pretty quick, but my climate is dry so that probably helps! I never thought to put them in the sun before.

 

[Nabiki]

I just rinse mine and throw them in the cupboard in a bowl lined with a paper towel for a day or so. They dry up pretty quick, but my climate is dry so that probably helps! I never thought to put them in the sun before.

When I lived in Petaluma I dried them in the sun there too.

 

[YWoody]

Hello @Nabiki, @007Sean, @CliftonQuail & ALL of you who have been so helpful to me this first season with my quail!
I REALLY value & appreciate your feedback & answers to my questions.
First, just want to give you guys an update... Myrtle & the rest of the hens are all doing great. With the automatic misters & fan they are tolerating our 100+ degree weather well, (it was 110 degrees the other day!).
They are now on 1/3 Layer feed & 2/3 Organic Maintenance feed and I'm offering ground egg shells mixed with Oyster shell grit& a handful of white hulled sunflower seeds, (they go for it like it's chocolate cake!).
After her egg bound ordeal, I kept Myrtle tucked in darkness for a full week recuperating (as advised), the first day I put her back out in the Aviary she started laying again, I've been holding my breath, because she is still laying these gigantic eggs! ( I attached a pic so you can see how much lager they are compared to the other hens).
But so far she is doing perfectly fine, and its been a week she's been back with the rest.

But I have a little leak in my automatic (gravity) watering system; it has not been an issue so far as it was slight & gave them a cool place to lay in the damp sand. However, it has progressively gotten worse & is draining their 5 gallon bucket too fast, so I have to repair it, & plan to do it this Wednesday; because I'm going to lift the aviary off the base to do this, I'm going to give the aviary a good "going over" at the same time (add fresh sand etc). That means taking all my hens out for a few hours. My question is this.... can all 5 of my hens remain in a large dog carrier (24 x 17 inches... picture attached) for about 4 hours? I know that's cramped, but right now, I have nothing larger.