Seahag of The Corn
Hatching
- May 8, 2025
- 2
- 6
- 9
We purchased 150 Bobwhite Quail hatchlings on April 21st. All were hatched the morning before we picked up. They came from a state DNR licensed breeder. We raise one batch per year for release into the wild to help reinstate our local population.
The chicks are nearly 3 weeks old now. We started the brooding in the house because overnight temps were still too low. We moved them to a large enclosure inside our carport about 5 days ago. We held back any that seemed smaller or had been getting picked on.
One of the smaller chicks had a strangely long neck, walked with its head on the ground, would shuffle fast backwards then flip over. It would somersault forwards. It chirped and sang fine. I put it into my nursery for injured and sick birds to look over and try to help. Its eyes were crusted shut and its nostrils were closed up with debris. I used saline on a q-tip to clean its eyes and nostrils which seemed to be a relief for it. I then fed water with a dropper and it seemed very dehydrated. I kept it in the nursery for about 3 days until it seemed to be back to normal. I put it back with the other birds and within a few hours it died. I noticed right before this that it had returned to walking in circles and tumbling everywhere.
Last night, my bf brought in two birds from the large enclosure who are now exhibiting the same behaviors. One of them died this morning. The other has just been sleeping and trilling a bit when it is awake. When I hold it, it wants to stay on its back with its head tucked down to its chest.
I don’t know what is going on with these birds. This is our third year raising them. The first year we raised 50, last year 75, this year 150. We’ve never had issues with any birds acting like this or being sick. I’m at my wits end. Any info or advice would be a great relief.
The chicks are nearly 3 weeks old now. We started the brooding in the house because overnight temps were still too low. We moved them to a large enclosure inside our carport about 5 days ago. We held back any that seemed smaller or had been getting picked on.
One of the smaller chicks had a strangely long neck, walked with its head on the ground, would shuffle fast backwards then flip over. It would somersault forwards. It chirped and sang fine. I put it into my nursery for injured and sick birds to look over and try to help. Its eyes were crusted shut and its nostrils were closed up with debris. I used saline on a q-tip to clean its eyes and nostrils which seemed to be a relief for it. I then fed water with a dropper and it seemed very dehydrated. I kept it in the nursery for about 3 days until it seemed to be back to normal. I put it back with the other birds and within a few hours it died. I noticed right before this that it had returned to walking in circles and tumbling everywhere.
Last night, my bf brought in two birds from the large enclosure who are now exhibiting the same behaviors. One of them died this morning. The other has just been sleeping and trilling a bit when it is awake. When I hold it, it wants to stay on its back with its head tucked down to its chest.
I don’t know what is going on with these birds. This is our third year raising them. The first year we raised 50, last year 75, this year 150. We’ve never had issues with any birds acting like this or being sick. I’m at my wits end. Any info or advice would be a great relief.
