Quail with droopy wing, some swelling in joint

[TeePants]

Hey all!

One of my female quail, who are turning 6 weeks this week, has had a droopy wing for the past week. I assumed she hurt it on something and left her alone as I didn't want to pull her from the pen and stress her out more, but it was still droopy today so I gave her a more thorough examination. She feels solid (good weight etc) but when I felt her "wrist" joints (the final joint between the last section of wing and her body, the one that bends backward) it was more swollen on the drooping side. The other quail seem fine. She is also acting normal.

Is it likely it's an injury? I don't see a wound. She has one broken blood feather, but that's it. I'm thinking she might have broken the wing at that joint, but I'm not sure what I can do about it. I do have an avian vet thanks to my parrots, but it's rather expensive and for an injury like this, as long as it's not infected (there's not any seepage and it doesn't feel warm/the skin looks normal) I'm not entirely certain they'll want to do anything besides let it heal on it's own? Happy to call them anyway, of course.

 

[Nabiki]

I'm guessing injury. Quail normally heal pretty quickly, so if you don't see any improvement over the next couple of days, then you can start to worry more.

 

[TeePants]

I checked on her again when I went out there to turn their litter over this morning, and she was hiding in the hut. When I pulled it out the other quail started chasing her, so I moved her into the house. Looks like she’s been picked on; she’s missing feathers on the back of her head/neck. Not a ton, so I didn’t notice actually until I was already walking her into the house, but enough that her head looks kinda scaly and funny when you really look at it.

She is eating and drinking now that she’s in the hospital pen, and since it’s under my desk in the corner away from everything I’m hoping she’ll be able to rest and recover.

Should I put any of the antibiotic poultry spray I have on her head/neck? It’s scabby where the feathers got pulled but no open wounds. I’m also gonna touch base with my avian vet and see if they want to see her, since I’ve got a tech appointment anyway with them tomorrow for our Amazon parrot.

Could this just be a result of having two boys in the pen? There are 8 females, so I had hoped that was enough to keep them polite. The “extra” boy is still the smallest quail besides Wrong End so I don’t want to slaughter him as he’s barely a dog treat. Also, he’s the only celadon-carrier male I have, and he’s rather handsome for a little guy, haha.

I’d love to let the other male go but it’s Sunshine/Flower/one of the ones the kids named, which ended up being basically identical and impossible to tell the difference between, haha.

 

[Nabiki]

It could well be from having 2 boys in the pen. If I keep 2 boys in the pen, I have 10 hens, and they have to have the right personalities to get along.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If you can build a divider, you can have them in separate pens and that makes a big difference.

 

[TeePants]

Hmmm, after 24 hrs indoors she is neither better nor worse. Which is to say, she is eating/drinking/pooping/fat but her wing still looks funny. There's another one in there with some droopy feathers on the opposite side - could their feathers have just grown in funky from the high protien feed, like angel wing in ducks?

Also now that they are laying do I need to change them over to a layer feed? They juuust started this week.

 

[FloorCandy]

Hmmm, after 24 hrs indoors she is neither better nor worse. Which is to say, she is eating/drinking/pooping/fat but her wing still looks funny. There's another one in there with some droopy feathers on the opposite side - could their feathers have just grown in funky from the high protien feed, like angel wing in ducks?

Also now that they are laying do I need to change them over to a layer feed? They juuust started this week.

My feed store has been having issues getting my adult feed, all my birds have been getting 28% starter since last October ish (hubby is literally at the feed store now, supposedly picking up 200lbs of adult pellets). No one has grown any funky wing feathers. I have 2 boys that injured/broke wings several weeks ago when Tiger died, I assume they flushed and got injured. Even though the wings seem to have healed and don’t appear to hurt them at all, they flap and play and sand bathe like nothing is wrong, they still hold the injured one down droopy. I think they just developed the habit, I can’t imagine that a break so close to the tip would make them unable to fold them, even if it healed a bit off. I think they got used to letting it droop and the muscles developed differently by a bit.

 

[TeePants]

Her wing is still droopy, and she still has a bald patch on her head but I’m seeing pinfeathers so I assume it’s getting better! None of the other girls have any missing feathers etc in spite of both boys still being in the pen, so I’m not sure why she was picked on.

Should I keep her inside till her head feathers finish growing out or kick her back into the pen before they forget who she is, lol?


Re: food, I found a 26% protein “quail layer” crumble on amazon that I ordered a bag of, as well as some oyster shell. We now have 3 normal layers and one celadon layer, although the celadon has only laid once so far.

 

[FloorCandy]

Her wing is still droopy, and she still has a bald patch on her head but I’m seeing pinfeathers so I assume it’s getting better! None of the other girls have any missing feathers etc in spite of both boys still being in the pen, so I’m not sure why she was picked on.

Should I keep her inside till her head feathers finish growing out or kick her back into the pen before they forget who she is, lol?


Re: food, I found a 26% protein “quail layer” crumble on amazon that I ordered a bag of, as well as some oyster shell. We now have 3 normal layers and one celadon layer, although the celadon has only laid once so far.

If it’s homestead harvest watch out for cement balls on the feet, and if you have a gravity feeder it gets clogged.

 

[Nabiki]

Her wing is still droopy, and she still has a bald patch on her head but I’m seeing pinfeathers so I assume it’s getting better! None of the other girls have any missing feathers etc in spite of both boys still being in the pen, so I’m not sure why she was picked on.

Should I keep her inside till her head feathers finish growing out or kick her back into the pen before they forget who she is, lol?


Re: food, I found a 26% protein “quail layer” crumble on amazon that I ordered a bag of, as well as some oyster shell. We now have 3 normal layers and one celadon layer, although the celadon has only laid once so far.

It sounds like she's doing well enough to go back out with her companions. She'll be happier then.