Bobwhite Quail with black toes

[casio]

Went to pick up what was suppose to be my breeders for next year and it ending up being a rescue. I have 5-6 quail with black, swollen toes. Two were so bad I put them out of their misery. I also have a few that are standing on one leg like flamingos; is that normal? Or are they picking their feet up because they're sore? The birds are currently on 1/2" hardware cloth, but I'm considering putting pine shavings down to cushion their feet. I started electrolytes in their water as soon as I got home with them. They're all eating and drinking water. Is there an antibiotic I can give them? Is it a vitamin deficiency? I was told they're about 3 months old. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[chooks4life]

I would seriously question the breeder. Who sells animals with such a problem?! This may be a notifiable disease.

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here's some theories/suggestions:

Frostbite? (Long shot but I don't know so thought I'd ask).

Were they in a muddy pen, or one that stank of ammonia? (Could be ammonia burns or similar).

Feet caked in something? (Have you tried washing them? Even if they were caked in acidic poop, they could have developed sores, which could have become necrotic due to lack of sanitation... Scabs can be black).

Lack of bloodflow? (Some diets cause cardiovascular problems, particularly males being fed layer feed, and clots or loss of circulation are par for the course in that case. Gangrene follows loss of oxygen when it's prolonged).

Are the feet hot or cold? (This will tell you if they're getting black feet due to loss of circulation, or if there's an infection or fever, but not much else).

There is a chance this is a serious infectious disease, like a pox. I would try to ascertain for sure ASAP.

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Yes, it's a behavior that shows sore feet, although normal birds may adopt it occasionally. Not a whole flock though. If they look normal now but are standing on one foot I would inspect them carefully. This makes it sound even more like an infectious disease, to me.

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If they're not used to pine shavings they may eat them and die. If possible I'd use something else in that case.

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Can you elaborate on why you put them down? The symptoms may be relevant.

Best wishes.

 

[casio]

The two that we culled were birds with black, swollen nubs for a foot. The breeder said that he had put the "purple spray" on them to help them heal, but there was obviously something else going on than just pecking. The birds are 3 months old, so frostbite wouldn't be possible this time of year. The cages were under shade trees when we got them, so the possibility of mosquito bites is very possible. There are a couple with the nails missing, the majority of their feet are a pinkish gray. They weren't standing in manure, mud or water; they were on hardware cloth as well. But I don't know how long they'd been in that cage before we got them... Their eyes are clear, they're eating and drinking as well. I set them up with a dust bath and they loved it.
If I don't need to put pine shavings in the cage, what can I put? Hay? I know hay molds quickly, so I understand the need to change it often.
How can I tell if it's the pox you are referring to?

 

[chooks4life]

I don't know what the 'purple spray' is but perhaps that is the cause of the coloration of their feet? Since it might be a case of pecking leading to infection, it could be necrosis due to introduction of dangerous bacteria into wounds.

Regarding a surface to stand on, do you have any clean dirt about the place that you could put in their cage? I wouldn't use potting mix because it carries a few dangerous things but sand or any clean/cleanable dirt ought to help. When I say cleanable, I mean agricultural hydrated lime would be able to 'cleanse' it of diseases and worm/lice/mite eggs.

I just did a search on 'quail pox' and here's what I found:
Quote: The info in the link above seems to indicate to me that is may well be quail pox your birds have.

Here are some google images for it... But being google images, they're not all about quail, but some might help:
Quote: This is a site about quail, so will help any general questions you have, possibly:
Quote: All the best.