Constantly sleeping quail chick

[Bak-Bak]

On 9th August, a quail egg we were incubating hatched. his/her brothers/sisters did not make it, though. He's been doing perfectly fine until yesterday. He got some water on him and has been constantly sleeping, more than he did before. He's fully dry now but still almost always asleep. We keep his brooders temperature in between 35 degrees Celcius and 34.8 degrees Celcius. He also doesn't eat properly.

Is he alright? If he isn't, what can we do to make him feel better? We don't have any vets on my island.

 

[Kessdayton]

I had the same thing happen on the 31st of July! 2 hatched of my 8. One didn’t make it, one had the same problem ur having. He hatched at about 8pm so I was able to let him sleep throughout the night but he was a little weird the next day. He dried off and started doing a lot better when I got him in the brooder with some food and water. Hope all goes well!!!

 

[Ebony Rose]

Check for pasty butt (poop stuck to vent), confirm that your heating lamp & fixture are not teflon coated (even red light bulbs can be coated with teflon, doublecheck it), Is there sufficient space for the quail to move away from the heat source to a cool side of the brooder? Make sure that they are drinking either plain water or vitamin water (no apple cider vinegar as it will discourage drinking) & that there are stones or marbles in their waterer to reduce the possibility of drowning (quail figure out all kinds of unique ways to die). Is the baby eating? Sometimes you need to sprinkle food at their feet and tap your finger at the food to teach them about food, sometimes you need to do this frequently until they understand. It often helps to grind their food a bit more than you get it from the store, they've got a tiny mouth. If you have some chick booster, a tiny drop at the tip of their beak might give them a bit of energy.

 

[Bak-Bak]

Thank you all for replying...

We did make sure that he used to eat and drink but, sadly when I checked up on him this morning he had already passed. I'm not sure exactly what we did wrong...

This was the first time we ever kept a bird from the moment that they hatched. He only began being so sleepy yesterday, I didn't expect death to take him so quickly... Well, I hope he didn't suffer when he was alive...

 

[Ebony Rose]

Sadly, some simply fail to thrive. Sometimes it has nothing to do with what you did or didn't do... the parent stock could be at fault, since you lost the entire hatch. I hope you try again.

 

[Bak-Bak]

Sadly, some simply fail to thrive. Sometimes it has nothing to do with what you did or didn't do... the parent stock could be at fault, since you lost the entire hatch. I hope you try again.

We currently have 2 eggs in the incubator. They were meant to be companions for the chick that passed.

This time we're going to try harder to make sure both the eggs make it to adulthood.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Okay, now once they hatch and are dry, get them into your waiting (and warm) brooder. Quail chicks don't like being in the incubator too long. Double check that the heat source for the brooder isn't coated, and if you use a light bulb, like I do, make sure that the device you're using to hold the bulb (I use a utility / garage utility light fixture) is also not teflon coated. Teflon + heat = toxicity to birds... for this reason alone, it's worth not using teflon coated cookware for us humans! Plain water or vitamin water in a shallow heavy glass dish with marbles or small rocks in it (pyrex) so that it doesn't tip over when they stand in and on it, and to reduce the chance of drowning. Grind the feed you got at the store a little more, either with a mortar & pestle or in a strong food processor like a 'ninja'. This will make it easier for the chicks to get appropriately sized pieces of food into their mouths and reduce waste due to the little ones rejecting pieces that are too large. Ensure that there is plenty of space under the heat source, and plenty of space away from it... put water and food just outside of the main heated area to reduce chicks 'camping' in an area that might actually be too warm for them, simply because they don't want to move away from their groceries. Have something like chick booster (a liquid multi-vitamin supplement sold in a small 'squeeze' bottle to make it easy to get a single drop dose onto their beak)... notice ONTO their beak, not INTO their beak. Or you can buy a powdered variety that's added into their water, but this type must be changed out a couple of times daily, and you cannot premix over 1 day's worth of water solution as it 'goes bad'. It's real easy to drown them at this age, so put the liquid on their beak and they'll get enough. The chick booster goes a long way towards ensuring that your chicks don't suffer from undernourishment directly out of the egg... If the parent stock is undernourished, their eggs will be too... and that can spell heartache and disappointment for you.
I'm so excited for your upcoming arrivals and will pray for you & your feathered family.

 

[Bak-Bak]

Okay, now once they hatch and are dry, get them into your waiting (and warm) brooder. Quail chicks don't like being in the incubator too long. Double check that the heat source for the brooder isn't coated, and if you use a light bulb, like I do, make sure that the device you're using to hold the bulb (I use a utility / garage utility light fixture) is also not teflon coated. Teflon + heat = toxicity to birds... for this reason alone, it's worth not using teflon coated cookware for us humans! Plain water or vitamin water in a shallow heavy glass dish with marbles or small rocks in it (pyrex) so that it doesn't tip over when they stand in and on it, and to reduce the chance of drowning. Grind the feed you got at the store a little more, either with a mortar & pestle or in a strong food processor like a 'ninja'. This will make it easier for the chicks to get appropriately sized pieces of food into their mouths and reduce waste due to the little ones rejecting pieces that are too large. Ensure that there is plenty of space under the heat source, and plenty of space away from it... put water and food just outside of the main heated area to reduce chicks 'camping' in an area that might actually be too warm for them, simply because they don't want to move away from their groceries. Have something like chick booster (a liquid multi-vitamin supplement sold in a small 'squeeze' bottle to make it easy to get a single drop dose onto their beak)... notice ONTO their beak, not INTO their beak. Or you can buy a powdered variety that's added into their water, but this type must be changed out a couple of times daily, and you cannot premix over 1 day's worth of water solution as it 'goes bad'. It's real easy to drown them at this age, so put the liquid on their beak and they'll get enough. The chick booster goes a long way towards ensuring that your chicks don't suffer from undernourishment directly out of the egg... If the parent stock is undernourished, their eggs will be too... and that can spell heartache and disappointment for you.
I'm so excited for your upcoming arrivals and will pray for you & your feathered family.

Thank you so much for the advice!

I really appreciate it

 

[als77]

Check for pasty butt (poop stuck to vent), confirm that your heating lamp & fixture are not teflon coated (even red light bulbs can be coated with teflon, doublecheck it), Is there sufficient space for the quail to move away from the heat source to a cool side of the brooder? Make sure that they are drinking either plain water or vitamin water (no apple cider vinegar as it will discourage drinking) & that there are stones or marbles in their waterer to reduce the possibility of drowning (quail figure out all kinds of unique ways to die). Is the baby eating? Sometimes you need to sprinkle food at their feet and tap your finger at the food to teach them about food, sometimes you need to do this frequently until they understand. It often helps to grind their food a bit more than you get it from the store, they've got a tiny mouth. If you have some chick booster, a tiny drop at the tip of their beak might give them a bit of energy.

Old post, but could I offer some of the water-bowls in the brooder with ACV and some without? I.e will they choose the one they want, or is there a chance that they will be repulsed and avoid also the plain water one?

Also; at what age would you give them (only) ACV in the water?

 

[Ebony Rose]

I never put Apple Cider Vinegar in the water. ACV reduces fungus and other organisms from taking up residence in the water(ers). Instead of putting this bitter, vile substance in their water, I dump their water daily and replace it with clean, fresh water (and often put a bit of 'Chick Booster' by Nurovet into the water as a nutritional supplement). It is very important to change the water daily and more important when adding supplements because fungus, bacteria and microorganisms alike all enjoy a bit of extra nutrition.
I've seen people suggesting that their birds won't drink water when they're sick, and later find out that they've added vinegar. Would YOU drink it?
I'm certain that my response is not the popular mantra, but it is exactly how I treat my flock and have done for well over a decade. I will note that in this decade of raising poultry, I have never, not even once had an issue with sour crop. Nor have I had issues with impacted crop and I do regularly 'treat' both my chicken and quail flocks to grass clippings when the gardener comes monthly to 'weed whack' the two foot tall grass down to a height more manageable (I leave the grass long, rake it up, and pile it into a mountain for them to pick through, eating bugs and choice bits of grass and weed along the way). I've had no digestive issues whatsoever with my various flocks, and I've never put vinegar in their water.