Baby Quail Got Stuck in Wet Food???

[Little Byrd]

What should I do? I've been at work all day and when i came home one of my week old chicks was stuck in their bowl of wet food. I pulled him out and stuck him under the heat lamp but now he has dried food crusted all over him. I tried wiping him with a warm wet towel but he cries and struggles to get away from me. I'm afraid to get him wet because I heard thats bad for quail, but how else can i clean him? He cant stand up or clean himself.

 

[pkhunter]

What should I do? I've been at work all day and when i came home one of my week old chicks was stuck in their bowl of wet food. I pulled him out and stuck him under the heat lamp but now he has dried food crusted all over him. I tried wiping him with a warm wet towel but he cries and struggles to get away from me. I'm afraid to get him wet because I heard thats bad for quail, but how else can i clean him? He cant stand up or clean himself.

I would go ahead and clean him up with warm water and put him back under the heat lamp. If he cant stand up he is probably not going to make it anyway. Why is their food wet???

 

[JoeFlyer7]

If there is food crusted on the feet and he/she can't stand, you don't really have much of a choice but to try and clean the feet.Try getting the feet in some warm water for a moment, and make sure it dries, wiping/dabbing away water with the tip of the paper towel if you can (avoid this if it is not necssary, though... their feet are delicate!). Of course, you also want to ensure the quail does not suffer from chilling (which can be fatal... essentially happens if they are wet for too long). After this I hope he/she can stand.

And I am also curious as to why you had wet food?

 

[triple g]

My quail chicks are 2 days old and had them out in the brooder in the back porch and all was well. A few months back my idiot roommate decided to climb on the back porch roof and said it “was soft”. As it filled up with water today I came home to find the water had poured out and into the tote with my birds. 6 were saturated and can barely stand without falling over. I put them in the incubator to warm up, but they are not drying up, not walking right and I think they won’t make the night. One already died. I’m so angry.

 

[KRFlashner]

Are you doing soaked/fermented feed? Maybe the dish is too deep for the little guys? I'm still new but if you want to give the little fluff a chance it seems like you'll have to wash him off and then stick him in the incubator with a forced air function so he can both stay warm and dry off. Good Luck and keep us posted

 

[Erkenstein]

IMO, dry food is best for hatchlings. Besides getting it on themselves, they are pooping in it and it is growing fungus/bacteria. If you are using commercial food, you can grind it up for the first few days.

In your position, I would get the food off the bird's feet and legs but not get their feathers wet, or maybe try a warm damp sponge. If the baby gets chilled, it will probably die. The dried food will crumble off, and the bird will molt soon. When you get it to the point where it can function normally, I'd leave it alone even if it looks messy.