Coturnix Quail feet - injury or pox?

[DeeAnn5]

My male Coturnix is a pet that lives outdoors in Missouri with his hens. The pen is like a 5-star hotel - protected from wind, cardboard floor with pine needles, little nest boxes. This male is about 2 years old, had some problems in the past with his eyes, and was treated by a Veterinarian. He favors his poultry heating pad (like a Thermo-peep heating pad), which he stands and lays on in the Winter for warmth. I trust my heat source and do not think that it burned his feet...I believe he would just move off if it got too warm. Which, again I don't think it does - I routinely check. I just don't understand how the pen could have damaged his feet, since 98% of the floor is covered with cardboard and pine needles. Thoughts on what is happening with the bottom of his feet? I can check the females but as far as I know, their feet are okay.

 

[wildone]

that looks like a burn, but it might be something else. do your hens also use the heating pad? does the heating pad have a cloth covering or something on it? if it does, could the cover have slipped and left the plastic hotter? maybe it was hotter in one place then in the other parts of it? or is it something else entirely?

man I feel like an interrogator.

 

[DeeAnn5]

Yes, after I posted I started thinking maybe it is a burn - Ouch! He's getting kind of old so maybe he was just sleeping and didn't understand he could move away from the source of pain? I used to cover the element with a pillow case but it was supposed to be safe for them, and it was so cold I stopped using it...

 

[lomine]

I agree that they look like burns. I would try rubbing his feet in coconut oil. It will help his feet heal and won't harm him or the others if any is digested.

Why do you have a heat pad? My quail have done fine in temperatures below 0 degrees F without any heat source. Having the heating pad is making your quail dependent on it to stay warm so he could be staying on it even if his feet are burning. If you can, I would start reducing the heat level on the pad so the quail can acclimate. If you can't adjust the temperature, I would advise you leave it for this winter but not use the pad next winter. Though I would cover it with straw, pine shavings, or a towel so there is no direct contact between pad and feet.

 

[DeeAnn5]

I agree that they look like burns. I would try rubbing his feet in coconut oil. It will help his feet heal and won't harm him or the others if any is digested.

Why do you have a heat pad? My quail have done fine in temperatures below 0 degrees F without any heat source. Having the heating pad is making your quail dependent on it to stay warm so he could be staying on it even if his feet are burning. If you can, I would start reducing the heat level on the pad so the quail can acclimate. If you can't adjust the temperature, I would advise you leave it for this winter but not use the pad next winter. Though I would cover it with straw, pine shavings, or a towel so there is no direct contact between pad and feet.

OK I will do it right now.

 

[wildone]

i have to admit that I also have a heating pad, but I have only been using it outside for the past 2 weeks, since this is my first batch, and i only put it out 2 weeks ago. part of me feels bad for putting my quail out in their coop, when they where only 2 1/2 weeks old, but the other part of me knows that it is warm enough, seeing that we live in southern CA. and hey, they seem to be loving it.

 

[DeeAnn5]

I agree that they look like burns. I would try rubbing his feet in coconut oil. It will help his feet heal and won't harm him or the others if any is digested.

Why do you have a heat pad? My quail have done fine in temperatures below 0 degrees F without any heat source. Having the heating pad is making your quail dependent on it to stay warm so he could be staying on it even if his feet are burning. If you can, I would start reducing the heat level on the pad so the quail can acclimate. If you can't adjust the temperature, I would advise you leave it for this winter but not use the pad next winter. Though I would cover it with straw, pine shavings, or a towel so there is no direct contact between pad and feet.

Done

 

[DeeAnn5]

i have to admit that I also have a heating pad, but I have only been using it outside for the past 2 weeks, since this is my first batch, and i only put it out 2 weeks ago. part of me feels bad for putting my quail out in their coop, when they where only 2 1/2 weeks old, but the other part of me knows that it is warm enough, seeing that we live in southern CA. and hey, they seem to be loving it.

Yes all birds less than just a certain number of weeks old require temperature regulation until they can thermoregulate on their own...Better to err on the side of caution since fledgling-age birds chill easily and chill means death...

 

[DeeAnn5]

OK did a flock check yesterday and trimmed primaries. Just one hen has a burn on her toe. It looked bad. I put the coconut oil on it and brought her inside, but she started pecking the male and earned a one-way ticket back out to the pen. The females were pretty hard to catch and one got away. Fortunately my husband helped me to recapture her. These girls are beefy and super healthy. Hope they will start laying again this Spring! Also, Great News! Quatro, the male - is actually healing very quickly and the feet look SO MUCH BETTER today!!!

 

[lomine]

That's good news! I'm also eagerly awaiting some quail eggs too. I can't wait to get some in the incubator.