Poo-mud balls on toes

[xcalibor67]

Went out to give my quail fresh water and noticed one of the birds hop/flopping when it walked.. It had several of these concrete hard balls dried on its toes. I remember when i got my quail from a breeder a couple had this on their toes.. As being a complete newby at quail, i didnt think anything of it, kinda figured it would just fall off....wrong. Its seems the poo balls attracted more mud and became larger. I took the bird and ran water across the toes a few minutes, but no luck. I sat and held the bird for 20 mins letting its feet soak in water, until i could use my thumbnail to split it off. A couple of the toes were smaller where the balls were, it had constricted growth. I did not see any raw/infected places, just the weird looking size difference. The bird could now walk better. I will keep an eye to see how the toes do.. Im really ashamed of myself for letting this happen, but in honesty i didnt have a clue about the balls when i purchased the birds, and the fellow did not tell me anything...Lesson learned. The question is: What caused it? I briefly looked at some other birds in the run, but saw no balls, but want to be sure not to let it happen. Thanks.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

A muddy run is usually the culprit. Check out the deep litter method. This should prevent it from happening again.

 

[cereall]

I bought my birds from a breeder and had the same problem with at least 20 of them. It happened because they were on dirt and their waterer leaked, creating a muddy area that they had to step in to drink. If any more of them get mudballs try soaking the foot in mineral oil for a minute and then using a pair of pliers near the edge to crack the ball. Good luck!

 

[DK newbie]

I have had it happen to my buttons several times. Actually have one waiting for her treatment right now. I find there are several factors that increase the risk:

High concentration of birds = more poo that hasn't dried yet for them to step in (the one I have with poo balls lives in a 2x4 ft cage - usually only with her boyfriend but she hatched chicks several weeks ago so there are 8 birds in the cage now).

Heavy bedding - sand or wood chips for instance doesn't allow the poop to fall through - it stays on top. Shavings let it fall through and reduces the risk.

High humidity/low temperature - the poo dries slower, making it more likely to stick to the toes

Age - interestingly I rarely have chicks/very young birds with poo balls. Maybe they are better at cleaning their toes.

It might be somewhat different for coturnix as they have larger and wetter poops.

I have found a treatment that has worked for me every time with minimal effort from my side and minimal stress to the bird. All you need is a water proof container of some kind that can fit the bird inside and allow it to walk around a little and has air holes, and some pebbles, sand or similar.
I use a small hamster cage, add a layer of pebbles at the bottom, insert the bird and pour warm water on the pebbles so they are just covered. Wait 1½ hours and enjoy the lovely clean feet the bird then has.
I don't think it's ever taken more than 1½ hours (though often less) to get rid of a poo ball that way and I only have to handle the bird when catching and releasing it, greatly reducing stress and the risk of hurting the bird when pulling at the poo balls.

 

[Dani xxx]

I had issues when I first got my quail I had them on bark chips in run and paper shavings in house as I thought it would be kinder on their feet but it stuck to their feet really bad so I changed to saw dust which was better but I now use poultry chopped straw which is really good got it from amazon it's called unibed a lot cheaper than the saw dust and paper.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Yeah, usually just the build-up of mud or poo if the cage/coop isn't cleaned often. But, other than that, it should be easy to get rid of and prevent.

 

[birdmandan]

I had this problem using deep litter. I've been converted to wire now. I would use a pair of long nose pliers to squeeze the sides of the mud balls until the sides were crushed, then pull them off slowly. Don't squeeze the middle or you will crush their toes.

 

[NinjaGamer2022]

I bought my birds from a breeder and had the same problem with at least 20 of them. It happened because they were on dirt and their waterer leaked, creating a muddy area that they had to step in to drink. If any more of them get mudballs try soaking the foot in mineral oil for a minute and then using a pair of pliers near the edge to crack the ball. Good luck!

I have this same problem. Would olive oil work?

 

[Nabiki]

I have this same problem. Would olive oil work?

You're better off putting pebbles and a shallow layer of water into a container and letting the quail walk around in there for a while. That will get it off much more gently and not take toenails or even toes with it.