Coturnix Adult Bloody Stool and Eggs without Shells- Help!

[Shmegel]

I’m not sure what could be causing this but my female coturnix hen has been laying eggs without shells for about 3-4 days now. She has just started to additionally poop out blood. Under her cage (she’s in solitary within the flock- comparison pic of her waste with the flock’s in images) she has lots of urate without poop, and when she does poop it’s bright red blood. She’s inactive, lying in one spot all morning. What could this be? What should I do? I’m really scared for her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your quail. I don't know much about them at all, hopefully others will chime in too.
You may also want to post on the Quail forums to get better suggestions.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/quail.48/

In the meantime, more info?
The soft shell eggs are they "whole" or are they "broken" and she's having to expel the contents?
The blood is concerning as well.
Have you checked to make sure she is not prolapsed - I know odd, question, but take a look - is frank blood coming from her vent (leaking) or is it only coming when she poops?

How long have you had her? Bloody poop makes me think Coccidiosis, Enteritis, prolapse or possibly worms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-issues-and-keeping-your-quail-healthy.67379/


Let's tag a few people - @TwoCrows @007Sean maybe they have some ideas.

 

[Shmegel]

I'm sorry about your quail. I don't know much about them at all, hopefully others will chime in too.
You may also want to post on the Quail forums to get better suggestions.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/quail.48/

In the meantime, more info?
The soft shell eggs are they "whole" or are they "broken" and she's having to expel the contents?
The blood is concerning as well.
Have you checked to make sure she is not prolapsed - I know odd, question, but take a look - is frank blood coming from her vent (leaking) or is it only coming when she poops?

How long have you had her? Bloody poop makes me think Coccidiosis, Enteritis, prolapse or possibly worms. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-issues-and-keeping-your-quail-healthy.67379/


Let's tag a few people - @TwoCrows @007Sean maybe they have some ideas.

When I lifted her out of the cage to separate her, she threw up on me. I’m wondering if all that urate on the ground is actually puke because the color seemed the same. I checked her vent and it looks totally fine- no red, swelling, or anything noticeable. Didn’t even see blood on it, but I watched her poop out bright red liquid blood so I know that’s what’s happening. The skin looks fine around it too. The eggs were whole- no breaks, no leaks, just no shell. Squishy and papery.

 

[TwoCrows]

Sorry you are having troubles here.

It appears she is passing a lot of urates. That is what all that white stuff on the floor is. This tells me she isn't eating much. If she vomited on you, this tells me food is not moving through her and hence the crop is slow. Not getting enough to eat/calcium will cause shell less eggs. The blood is disturbing as somethings must be ulcerating her intestines.

All this said, putting all these symptoms together, its possible she has Coccidiosis. Coccidia will impact the intestines slowing the crop down, they burrow into the intestinal tract and its common with internal parasites for birds to have egg laying troubles.

So if she were mine, I would run some Corid through her and fast. Do this ASAP because Coccidiosis kills fast. The bird stops eating, which she appears to already have, they bleed out through the intestines, its all bad.

Corid: Powder, 1/3 teaspoon Corid per 1 quart of water.

Corid: Liquid, 1/2 teaspoon Corid per 1 quart of water.

5-7 days, make a new batch daily. You can dose the entire flock, this stuff is very safe to use even if they aren't sick. Corid is a Thiamine blocker which prevents the Coccidia from reproducing.

Do you have a male in with these girls? If so, do not let him mate with her. Keep her warm too.

This is where I would start, if after 5 to 7 days there is no improvement, she may have an oviduct infection. In which case I would administer Amoxicillin.

Keep us posted!

 

[007Sean]

I agree with @TwoCrows , she's showing all the signs of Coccidiosis.
I'd seperate her from the rest of the flock, and treat her with Corid. I would also as a preventive measure, administer Corid to the rest of your flock as well, especially if they have been in the same cage/pen.

Hope she can recover, if she doesn't, don't get too down on yourself, this isn't a disease that's seen in quail very often, and especially this age of quail.
I can't really tell by the pics but are they Button or Coturnix quail?

 

[Shmegel]

I’ve bought the Corid and put it in her water according to your directions. How can I make sure she drinks it? I’ve seen her drink at least once since I put it in, but she’s so tired that I’m concerned she’ll lie there and not drink anything. I’ve also given her a warm Epsom bath in case of egg binding or anything similar, and she’s now under a heat lamp in isolation. Her regular food is in there but I don’t think she’s touched it. I gave Corid to the others in the flock in case of exposure as well (all Coturnix adults like her). Since she’s a pet, it would hurt terribly if she didn’t make it, so I’m doing everything I can to help her. Is there anything else I can do that might improve her health?

 

[Shmegel]

I took a few more pictures before I threw out her waste. Definitely bloody- it was brighter red when it came out. Idk if it’s all urate or any puke, but as you can see, the only poop where she’s been is bloodied. She pooped in the Epsom bath, so I took a picture of that too: a red corkscrew-shaped bit with the normal urate.

 

[007Sean]

You can use a syringe to give her the solution of Corid. Just hold it to the side of her beak and she'll open her beak and ingest it that way...it will require you do that several times a day.
I'm going to tag the expert @casportpony of administering medications to sick birds.

 

[Shmegel]

Update! I’ve been using the Corid for a week and she’s been doing much better. Once I got her to drink it, she perked up. She’s stopped pooping blood and she’s eating a little and drinking again. She eats mealworms when nothing else. She’s still not laying eggs, though. She has a little energy and walks around the cage, though spends lots of time in front of the heat lamp. The other birds are showing no symptoms, but they’ve been drinking the Corid all week too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update! I’ve been using the Corid for a week and she’s been doing much better. Once I got her to drink it, she perked up. She’s stopped pooping blood and she’s eating a little and drinking again. She eats mealworms when nothing else. She’s still not laying eggs, though. She has a little energy and walks around the cage, though spends lots of time in front of the heat lamp. The other birds are showing no symptoms, but they’ve been drinking the Corid all week too.

I'm glad to hear she doing better.
Have you tried offering her a little wet feed or some scrambled egg to entice her to eat a little more?
I hope she continues to improve, thank you for the update