First Soft Shelled Egg

[Roomi the quail]

Background info: a female coturnix quail, 9 months old, been solitary since she was born(a house pet with no direct outdoor contact), been laying for 7 months just fine, provided with quail layer feed and crushed oyster shells for calcium ever since she started laying..

Hi! my quail had her first soft shelled egg today morning, it seems, and I am worried that she is acting a little 'too docile' rught now. She has been laying almost everyday since she came of age so I was concerned that she skipped it fir 2 days...until I found this egg today. The egg was soft, slightly crinkled, and had a hardened jelly-ish yolk when I opened it. The membrane was intact though, but my quail is acting all quiet and drowsy now that I am concerned with internal inflammation of some sort? Should I feed her antibiotics for some days to be sure? She doesn't seem to eat more of oyster shells, just sits still and closes her eyes...

 

[DK newbie]

Is she eating and drinking at all? If not, mix some kind of calcium supplement in powder form with water and give it to her one drop at a time. Then feel gently below her vent for an egg. If you feel anything, try to soak her belly in warm water for 10 minutes or so, then dry her off and leave her alone for some hours to see if anything changes, while you look up 'egg bound quail' on this forum.

 

[le_bwah]

A shell-less egg on its own is not a sign of illness or distress; sometimes it happens. What's more worrying is her not moving. Does she seek out food and water on her own? Is she walking strangely? Is she all fluffed up and sitting still all day?

 

[Crazydoglady99]

What season is it at your house? Could she be preparing to moult?

Can you syringe her some water with a little sugar or honey mixed in? Just to give her an energy boost.

Oyster shell pieces might be too big for her?
Save your eggs shells, wash them, dry them (in oven or microwave), crush them, then offer them in a seperate bowl for her at all times.

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Is it possible you could get her a (female) friend? She might be very lonely on her own.

 

[Roomi the quail]

Update: She had another soft-shelled egg this morning. At least she didn't skip laying today.

 

[Roomi the quail]

Is she eating and drinking at all? If not, mix some kind of calcium supplement in powder form with water and give it to her one drop at a time. Then feel gently below her vent for an egg. If you feel anything, try to soak her belly in warm water for 10 minutes or so, then dry her off and leave her alone for some hours to see if anything changes, while you look up 'egg bound quail' on this forum.

She eats and drinks just fine, and had another egg today(though soft-shelled). What's worrying me is that she's less vocal and kind of 'docile'.

 

[Crazydoglady99]

You need to get her calcium supplements asap.

 

[Roomi the quail]

A shell-less egg on its own is not a sign of illness or distress; sometimes it happens. What's more worrying is her not moving. Does she seek out food and water on her own? Is she walking strangely? Is she all fluffed up and sitting still all day?

She's acting pretty alright, strolling around, poking at things, nagging me to give her dried meal worms, etc...but she is so quiet and milder-tempered. She comes up and sit next to us and doze off, which she didn't do often.

 

[Roomi the quail]

You need to get her calcium supplements asap.

Normally she eats from her self-help crushed oyster shell powder. Is drenching dried meal worms in calcium powder going to help?