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Air bubble on newborn chicks neck, accidentally popped it
Hmm. I would stop watering them like that right away. You're more likely to make them aspirate force-watering them like that—aspiration is usually deadly since birds can't cough due to their respiratory anatomy. I can tell you really want them to live and do well, but for now they (and you)... -
Air bubble on newborn chicks neck, accidentally popped it
Just a couple things I'm wondering about: 1. How have you determined that it's not drinking enough? Newborns can but often don't gorge—they still have a yolk to metabolize. 2. How do you know it's full of air and not whatever you're feeding it? Because if food had been entering its crop, it... -
Air bubble on newborn chicks neck, accidentally popped it
Isn't that just its crop? Especially if it came back after feeding. Air bubbles I've seen make the skin seem more translucent. Also why are you droppering the little thing to the point it's soaked? Even day-old chicks should be able to drink and eat on their own. -
Air bubble on newborn chicks neck, accidentally popped it
Huh. "Popped" implies an opening in the skin—if you have anything like betadine, you might try diluting it and gently flushing the area. I'm just concerned about whatever caused there to be an air bubble in the first place—that's not normal. I've seen uninformed people accidentally puncture... -
Air bubble on newborn chicks neck, accidentally popped it
Can you post pictures? While there could be air leaking under the skin if an air sac was punctured, there's a lot of important anatomy in that area. It'll help people help you better if we can see what you see. -
Quail pets flooring
Stall pellets/bedding pellets (compressed wood shavings and saw dust) might be what you're looking for. They gradually loosen into wood dust as they absorb water. I use them when I have to take a bird or two indoors for "hospital," and have also brooded chicks on it in the past. Dries poop... -
Bumps on rescue quails' beaks for over 8 weeks
Hmm. You sometimes see wounds like this in birds who spend a lot of time stress-pacing against a wire wall—results in a sort of repeated abrasion injury (think "cheese grater" effect) that is not contagious. It doesn't' look like a disease I know of, but other folks could know more. Whatever it... -
Quail Poetry
I wrote another one! Hatch She takes a feather from her breast, weaves it, weft, through walls of dry grass. Puffed up like a winter vest, she settles Over her clutch, nestled in for the long haul. No one had to tell her how to build her nest, nor how to turn the eggs beneath her beak. It... -
Quail Poetry
Oh this is fun! Have a poem: Eggs They arrive mottled, blues and browns, So like Easter candies, so like and unlike the Stones you find at river’s edge in Autumn. They come out warm, smooth with bloom, Heavy with potential. Liquid seeds, they Could germinate in the heat of your hand. If you... -
‘Old’ quail
When I have a puffy or shaky quail in an aviary setting, and they aren't ancient yet, I treat the whole flock with liquid CORID—at least for my ground-based flock, it's almost always an early sign of coccidiosis, which is common and treatable. My oldest bird was about 5 and a half. In the week... -
My quail chick is running backwards?
I have had a handful of chicks do that, across many different sources of hatching eggs. Most stopped the behavior when they hit sexual maturity, but one of my living birds still does it as an adult (2.5 years). Because she only does it after eating, drinking, or foraging, it makes me wonder if... -
‘Old’ quail
Like pretty much any older vertebrate, they slow down. Sleep more, eat and drink way less, cease grooming and social behaviors. My 4+ year-old hens are always a little quivery in the wings in the days before they go, too. What has you worried your quail is close to dying? -
Coloring quail eggs?
If the color isn't strong enough, just add more dye! Lots of uses for these little eggs! -
Having a hard time finding this...
Hi! I also live in a Zone 7 climate, but high desert—we get relatively mild winters (weeks in single-digit lows, Farenheit) and hot summers (highs in the 110s F). My young hens do fine with a good windbreak (I made tarp panels I can screw into the aviary) and deep straw to burrow in at night... -
Your Quail's Names
I keep quail for fun and eggs, and I've never had more than 20 birds at a time. I keep only the hens. All the females get names, but I stopped naming the males pretty early on (makes it much harder for me to kill them 😅). Mostly nature names, older names, book characters, foods and such. Right... -
Harmless / Safe plants that quails don't like
Grasses! I use muhly grass because it doesn't have a "bias" so it's less likely to get stuck if they happen to swallow a bit of leaf. My birds (Japanese quail) also use the grass to line their hides and nests. I've had mine planted for 4-5 years and they just keep growing! I do cut the seed... -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
So glad she got some relief! How is she doing? -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
Of course, hope it goes well (and sorry she's so injured 😔). They're tiny critters, and they get hurt easy and can also die easy. You're doing the right thing by shortening her suffering. -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
Cervical dislocation is essentially internal decapitation, but if you botch it then the bird suffers (e.g. paralyzing them instead of killing them). I'd advocate for decapitation with kitchen scissors (think the dismantling-a-cooked-chicken kind, not craft or sewing scissors) because it's harder... -
Prolapse- how to treat or humanely cull
That's the worst I've ever seen—poor hen! I'd cull for sure. There are surefire methods you can do with just your hands (cervical dislocation) but a sharp pair of kitchen shears are a good bet. You can do it one-handed, but it helps a ton to have someone else to hold their body. Do you need...