6 day old quail chick weak and not eating/drinking

[queerquailparent]

Hi bird experts! I hatched a mix of quails 6 days ago and most have done pretty well. One however isn't growing and is weak and wobbly and won't eat or drink. It seems like she's getting bullied by the others too. I set up the incubator as a little sick bay set at 95 degrees and have put her there with food and water but she still won't eat. I also mashed up her game bird starter feed with water to make an easy to eat mash. I've tried syringe feeding a little bit but I'm worried about her aspirating. Does anyone have any advice for syringe feeding a baby quail? Or any other advice on nursing her back to health?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of her?

At 6 days old, an incubator at a constant temp of 95 is too hot for her. Can you set up a brooder with a warm and cool side? A heating pad cave works well if you don't have another heat plate.

If she's not drinking or eating, you can try giving her drops of fluid to see if she gets hydrated enough to perk up to drink on her own. I'd give a little sugar water or electrolytes. If you are going with a syringe, give a drop of fluid at a time, letting her swallow in between.
Once drinking, offer wet mushy feed.

Unfortunately, if she's not growing, unable to eat/drink on her own and you can't get her to perk up within the next day or so, she may not make it. Quail grow pretty quickly and I've found that those that are weak like this fail to thrive. I'm sorry.

 

[queerquailparent]

Thank you. I read on another post to try egg yolk and I got her to take some drops of that. She seems perkier and is pecking at the food but doesn’t seem to be getting much. Hopefully she gets stronger in the next couple days. I will set up a little brooder box for her. The farmer I bought the eggs from suggested 95 degrees for the first few weeks. I will make sure she has warm and cool areas though. I’ll post some photos of her and try to get better ones tomorrow. One photo is a comparison of her next to the chick who was equal in size to her 2 days ago.