Chicks sick?

[RoseaBee]

I have Snowflake quail chicks that are just hatching. One has already died and we brushed it off as it getting too cold because the power went out and he got disoriented, kept flipping over and died while I was trying to figure out a brace kind of thing that helps reorentate wobbly chicks.

Now a second chick who's still in the incubator and therefor warm and not exposed to anything is doing the EXACT same things Champ was doing: head tucking, eyes closed, and back legs straight out behind him, and acting like he's trying to get as close as possible into my hand like he would a brooding hen for warmth. When he falls over he scoots in a circle, kicking his legs and isn't able to turn himself over. I know new chicks are wobbly but this just seems too dramatic to JUST be wobbly and uncoordinated hatchlings.

I'm so frustrated because I don't know what's happening and I can't save my baby chicks I've stressed over SO HARD to hatch.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Sounds like neurological issues, straight out of the shell is weird though, probably not infectious but possible genetic (are snowflake quail prone to any genetic issues?) or developmental issues (did you have any turner or temp trouble?, shipped eggs?). Toxin might also do it, any essential oils, cleaning supplies, Teflon, or pesticide exposure (air or contact?)? Nutrition in source flock might also be an issue but hard to know for sure. Muscle issues might also be what’s going on, weakness or stiffness can mimic neurological signs at times. You could try a little bit of vitamin E, not sure on dose but maybe just a tiny drop of the human oral supplement?

 

[Nabiki]

Is there any chance that their feed got wet? Look for clumps or off colour in the feed.

It could be neurological/genetic, but it could also be a bad bag of feed. If it got wet, it might have grown some ergot fungus which is toxic, especially to chicks.

 

[RoseaBee]

Thanks for the replies. It wasn't feed related because the next two chicks are doing great and the one that was giving me gray hairs recovered when I got him in a container to keep him upright so he couldn't tuck and he's doing well. In fact he's the noises little chick I singing the song of his people proudly lol.

I think what it was had in part been from his hatching as I had to assist both him and another at the exact same time as both had become shrunk wrapped due to the power being out and the backup battery decided to crap out on me at the mid-way mark— both of which are doing fantastic (knock on wood cause new hatchling chicks are basically made out of sugar glass and paper mache for how dern fragile they are lol) despite me having to go 5th century Maester delivering a breech baby and having to chip off shell and carefully cut the membrane so they could push themselves out.

I reckon for Champ (the one that passed first and made me uber anxious and paranoid with the one I initially made the post about) it could have maybe been oxygen-deprivation brain injury related due to maybe choking from getting some food then a big drink of water, or him just dunking his beak too far into the water tower trough and asperated. I've since gotten a waterer meant for parakeets out of paranoia and it seems to work better than the tower waterer and I dont have to worry about accidental drownings or little floof nuggets getting wet. One took to it and the other picked up afterwards, the trough being shallow and small where they can't drown or fall into it.