Coturnix chick born without eyes

[Lilyofsalen]

This really sucks, but one of my quail chicks was born without eyes. Empty, sunken eye sockets, no lids. First the wryneck and now this, I'm a little freaked out. What is causing these deformities?

 

[Sammi_0411]

Unfortunately this can happen could be interbreed or just not developed properly is is a broody or incubator do u have a pic? Xx

 

[Ebony Rose]

I'm guessing that you're hatching out chicks from your own flock.

A nutritionally complete feed for game birds / quail is sufficient to raise meat birds, or birds for eggs to consume. It is not necessarily complete to hatch out those eggs though. A hen cannot put into an egg the vitamins, minerals & amino-acids that she herself is lacking.

I suggest adding a complete supplement, such as "chick booster" to the water that your flock is consuming, both chicks and adults alike. https://m.agrovetmarket.com/product...-os-vitamina-minerales-aminoacido-nutricional

 

[Nabiki]

The defects are bad genes, parents not getting enough nutrition, or something went wrong in incubation. Make sure your food is nutritionally complete, and when incubating, have a couple calibrated thermometers and a calibrated hygrometer in there. Don't trust your incubator's readings. Temperatures that are too high or too low during incubation can cause malformations. Too high a humidity can cause wry neck or curled toes.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Could you post a picture of it? I'm curious to see what it looks like.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Could you post a picture of it? I'm curious to see what it looks like.

X2

 

[Lilyofsalen]

After putting a lot of thought into it and looking up old threads about blind chicks, I decided to cull it shortly after I made this thread. I genuinely hope I never have to do such a thing to another chick again. Out of all the things I knew I would be getting into when I started to raise quail, this was not one of them. Is it normal to have defects in every batch? Is it normal at all?
I will start putting vitamins in my flock's water next time but I think this might have been caused by a bad gene since I had a high hatch rate (7/8) but only one abnormal chick.

 

[Nabiki]

View attachment 2341187
After putting a lot of thought into it and looking up old threads about blind chicks, I decided to cull it shortly after I made this thread. I genuinely hope I never have to do such a thing to another chick again. Out of all the things I knew I would be getting into when I started to raise quail, this was not one of them. Is it normal to have defects in every batch? Is it normal at all?
I will start putting vitamins in my flock's water next time but I think this might have been caused by a bad gene since I had a high hatch rate (7/8) but only one abnormal chick.

It's not normal to get deformities in every hatch. They do happen, but it shouldn't be every hatch. If you're getting them that often, look to the parent birds or your incubating temperatures, humidity, and turning.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I'm so sorry that you had to cull the chick. In no way, shape or form was this YOUR fault, even if it was a nutritional deficiency of the parents, it is NOT your fault. They never tell you at the feed store that what they're selling you as nutritionally complete, is only enough for the bird to survive and possibly lay you some eggs for personal consumption. They never admit that those eggs will not produce the healthiest of offspring once incubated. I learned the hard way with several of my hatches in the beginning of my efforts producing birds of much less than optimal health, a slew of leg deformities, quitters (about 50%), and failure to thrive within their first week of life. Bitter times. Chick booster turned that around to almost 100% success rates and deformities are few and far between now.
Again, I am so very sorry about your blind chick.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

I'm so sorry that you had to cull the chick. In no way, shape or form was this YOUR fault, even if it was a nutritional deficiency of the parents, it is NOT your fault. They never tell you at the feed store that what they're selling you as nutritionally complete, is only enough for the bird to survive and possibly lay you some eggs for personal consumption. They never admit that those eggs will not produce the healthiest of offspring once incubated. I learned the hard way with several of my hatches in the beginning of my efforts producing birds of much less than optimal health, a slew of leg deformities, quitters (about 50%), and failure to thrive within their first week of life. Bitter times. Chick booster turned that around to almost 100% success rates and deformities are few and far between now.
Again, I am so very sorry about your blind chick.

Thank you for the advice, do you give your birds treats or table scraps to help boost nutrition as well?
Were the quitters embryos in the egg or hatched chicks? Also, will Nutri-drench work in place of chick booster?