Emergency! Regular Seizures, swollen leg joints, bad foot

[007Sean]

Thank you. That could be it. I've been feeding the same feed to both the male and female quails for quite some time so I doubt it was in the feed to begin with, but it's possible the feed got contaminated while she was outside or she ate something weird. I just got some new Wild Game Grower feed that I'll be giving her now, and I'll be washing the food bowls and throwing out the old stuff. I also gave her a bit of boiled egg.
She's mostly just sitting in one place (probably due to her foot), but other than that, she's fairly calm and alert. She seems to be a bit better than yesterday.
One avian hospital I've been looking at is booked until mid-December, and the other places won't be open until Monday, so it may be a while until I'm able to get an appointment.
Thankfully I live in CA so it's not as cold as other places, but I've added a small heater in the room where she is.

Ergot usually attacks the growing grain, pryor to harvesting. It is present when delivered to the feed manufacture. The manufactures don't check for the contamination before they use it in feeds.

 

[MilotheQuail]

That’s interesting. This is my first time hearing about ergot so it’s good to learn about it. Sad to hear manufacturers don’t check these things before using in feed, though; I wish they cared more about the quality of feed.

If it is ergot poisoning that she had, I suppose there are many ways she could’ve gotten it. Occasionally I give them a finch/parakeet/canary seed mix as treats, and a few months ago I had planted wheat grass and millet in her enclosure. I also have quinoa and flax, but they are intended for humans so they should be fine. I’m attaching pictures of their food in case it’s possible to see if it’s bad.

From what I observed today she hasn’t had anymore seizures. Her foot is still bad though. I had kept her in a box inside for the past two days, but I’m cleaning it now so I let her outside. She jumped around a few times and stretched her wings quite ungracefully.

 

[007Sean]

That’s interesting. This is my first time hearing about ergot so it’s good to learn about it. Sad to hear manufacturers don’t check these things before using in feed, though; I wish they cared more about the quality of feed.

If it is ergot poisoning that she had, I suppose there are many ways she could’ve gotten it. Occasionally I give them a finch/parakeet/canary seed mix as treats, and a few months ago I had planted wheat grass and millet in her enclosure. I also have quinoa and flax, but they are intended for humans so they should be fine. I’m attaching pictures of their food in case it’s possible to see if it’s bad.

From what I observed today she hasn’t had anymore seizures. Her foot is still bad though. I had kept her in a box inside for the past two days, but I’m cleaning it now so I let her outside. She jumped around a few times and stretched her wings quite ungracefully.

It would be almost impossible to detect in processed feed. If looking at the whole, intact head of the grain, you would see a discoloration of the grains, black to purplish in coloration.
It was thought, now, that Ergot poisoning was responsible for the Salem Witch Hunt/Trials.
Here's a link to research Ergot poisoning, if your interested in finding out more about it.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...hUKEwimuI6Z_ZbtAhUNLa0KHVVHDZUQ6RMwG3oECA4QAw

I did research on it when I discovered it was in my feed (had my feed analyzed). I didn't know it existed until then....all I knew was my birds were having unexplained seizures! The only thing I could figure out was it had to be the feed, so I had a lab analysis done on the feed.

 

[MilotheQuail]

Thank you. I believe all my treats are whole grains and I do not see any discoloration on them. However, the old feed I had been feeding both male and female quails has been their primary feed since I think April (all from one bag) when the COVID quarantine began, and the male has shown no signs of ill at all these months. Therefore, if it is ergot, I have no idea where she could’ve gotten it from (other than possibly something from the dirt but that seems unlikely). The only thing I fed the female recently that I have not fed the male is some proso millet I grew myself, but I did not see anything obviously bad about it.

Anyways, I guess I spoke too soon about her looking better yesterday. This morning between 1 to 4 am I noticed she had those seizures again. Thankfully not as often as Friday evening, but I believe she still had several (could not keep exact count though since I was trying to sleep myself).

Right now she seems fairly calm and alert again. Her appetite and drinking habits seem healthy still.

I’m incredibly lucky to have been able to set an appointment for later today. Hopefully all goes well. This will be her first time ever traveling out of the house, being on a car, and seeing the vet. Any suggestions on how to transport her and keep her calm?
I have a hard plastic cat carrier, but I’m afraid of her flying around and hitting her head.