Gross Stuff (Button Female)

[MrNappy]

Yesterday my mom noticed one of my white button quail had blood on both wings.

Today i noticed it too, so i picked her up and turned her upside down.

Her vent was popped out and she had white puss there, she also was bleeding (semi-dry) and had some weird black things there. So i washed her and brought her upstairs to show parents.

Upon closer examination we realized she had an egg stuck, for 1-2 days. My mom put polysporin on it and then she took out on of those this you use to clean the wax out of your ears and put Vasilene on it. Then she gently put it around vent.

We put her on top of a heating went and let her sit for 1/2 an hour. Then i went to sleep, because i was up last night doing homework.

When i woke up my mom told me my dad had taken the ear wax stick and manually removed the egg. Then they had put it in the fridge.

Any leads about this?

Also, i picked up 6 button quail eggs in my hand and closed my hand gently around them. Then one of the broke, i realized it was fertile because of the white spot thing (right?). And fed it to the jumbo's just like that. They ate the shell but not the yolk/inside. My question is why was it so easy to break. (They are new layers but i feed them starter and eggs.)

 

[SeptemberQuail]

From what you've said, your hen sounds egg-bound, and with her vent popped out like that, it's probably from prolapse (IMHO, she probably pushed the egg too hard but it broke so easily). If the vent is still sticking it out, try pushing it back in gently. But once a prolapse has occurred, it is highly likely for it to occur again.

Not sure why there was white pus; Could it have been that the male has mated her? Was it foamy? If the pus was yellow, it's probably either an infection of the vent or the yolk from the egg.

With the eggs breaking so easily, it could be caused by thin shelled eggs. Try giving her some more calcium supplements like oyster shell grit or boiled egg shell from the eggs your giving her. Calcium is essential for egg laying as it contributes to the creation of the shell.

And yeah, sounds like it was fertile. If your looking to incubate, keep the eggs no longer than 10 days. Otherwise the egg dies; I learnt that the hard way: Spent 3 weeks turning 30 eggs but after cracking the ones that didn't hatch, found out that 19 of them never developed, and 3 died half way during development. But 11 hatched because they were the more newer eggs. (Two quail hens supplied two fertile eggs a day).

But on topic now, if anything really bad happens - take her to an avian vet. I have had no experience with this whatsoever, but I've researched on this before.

Also, blood on the wings? Where at?
How many quail are you keeping together? Because button quail are better off in pairs than trios or more.
It could have been from her wings being pecked at or she scraped them somewhere. Or maybe she's preening too hard? (That's just a silly suggestion...)

 

[MrNappy]

I have one male for three female's and that IMHO thing is back. Im going to put her into lockdown, is that perfered?

The blood is coming from her vent and its inside her wings.

Ya, i would like to know more detail from you how you incubate, i also get around 2-3 eggs from Jumbo's and 1-2 from Button.

Thanks, in advance

 

[SeptemberQuail]

I wouldn't keep the buttons in a small colony as that, as buttons are monogamous, meaning that a male only chooses one mate. After choosing a mate, the pair could go on a wild rampage abusing the others. Coturnix are fine with living in small to large colonies though.

From her vent? I think either the shell has chipped and scratched her vent or she's internally bleeding. Is there blood on the shell you pulled out? (If you pulled out any). And is her vent still prolapsed again? You need to push it in quickly (but very carefully!) before the membrane dries up and dies, as once that's happened, it's too late for her...
If the blood isn't from the shell then I'm not sure what it's from.

Yes, I would definitely separate her as the other quail may be curious about her current injuries.

She probably cut herself or another quail has pecked at her wings for the cause of the blood on the wings. I'd try and clean the wound (a paper towel or tissue wet with warm water will do) then put a bit of neosporin without the painkiller. It'll help the wound heal. My quail had a bloody wing, but I didn't know about neosporin, but it healed itself after I cleaned it with just plain warm water.

Incubation info for coturnix/japanese quail;
Note - Coturnix and Button have different incubation times meaning that this infofmation is from my experience of incubating japanese quail not button. You'll need to look up the incubation period and temps for button quail.

You should have an incubator with forced air (where there is a [computer] fan inside circulating the air). Incubation period is for 16 - 20 days, 21 being the latest. For the first 14 days of incubation the temperature should be at around 37.0C to 37.5C and humidity should be at 40% - 50%.
Everyday you MUST turn the eggs three times a day (quarter turns or half turns). Make sure the fat end of the egg is facing UPWARDS as that's where the air cell develops. This can be done either by getting an automatic egg turner, or turning the eggs yourself, and if your turning the eggs yourself, make sure you don't leave the incubator open too long as humidity escapes easily!

After day 14 it's lockdown. Lockdown is when you don't open the incubator -- EVER. Unless it's a major emergency! Humidity needs to be around 55% - 70% so the chicks can hatch.
Then once they've all hatched, move them to a brooder - don't move them in with the parents as they'll think of them as strangers and likely kill them. You must wait at least 12 hours for a chick to dry off before moving them. Make sure if you want to move the chicks, watch out for any other eggs pipping or hatching, because if you open the incubator, humidity escapes causing the eggs to shrink wrap.
It happened to me before. I was lucky to have one already zip whilst shrink wrapped, so I was able to save it, she had trouble standing but is healthy now.

Yeah, I don't want to bore you out with ranting, so you'll need to research anything else about incubating... ^.^"

 

[MrNappy]

Thanks.

You are not boring me, and your information is very helpful.

I thought lockdown was in the winter when they stopped laying eggs. (Less than 14 hours)

 

[MrNappy]

Also, when my sister

dropped one of the jumbos eggs

, than it didn't break. It got a crack like when you hit a boiled egg to break it. (It was just layed, like 1 min ago) I was watching the hen lay it.

1. Then i took it in my hand and crushed it by making a fist. It felt like a balloon go pop. It stayed all in one shape, like a deflated ball, with the shell all around it. (Not fertile)

2. Also after my males mount the females then, the females just poop out the semen.

Any information about the two stuff i mentioned?

 

[SeptemberQuail]

I didn't know that when quail stopped laying eggs, it was called lockdown. Heh.

There are two main layers to an egg, there's the membrane and the shell. You probably felt the membrane pop when you cracked it. As the egg has oxygen inside, as well as the egg yolk itself.
That's why during incubation, during lockdown, humidity must be at 55% or if not, higher so that the little chicks can break that membrane!

Also, with the semen being pooped out; My hen does that all the time. She normally poops it out after she lays her egg, or just before laying her egg. It's fine. If it's just before laying an egg, it really is no use, unless the egg is porous. I think for a higher chance of the egg being fertile would be that when the egg is still developing inside the body - that should be when the male mounts her. But this is just my opinion.

How's your button quail? Is she alright?

 

[MrNappy]

Ya about my button.

She layed 1 egg, and she's laying fine i guess.

The problem is her vent is semi-sticking out now. Also, i just finished cleaning it and there was a woodchip stuck on it. ( Wood shaving is what i use). Also there were gross white stuff on it (semen, shell or what?) and there was poop on her tail and around vent. I scraped it off with my nail from tail, (yuk), but not from vent as that would cause her pain. I also took little barber scissors (blunt) and opened her vent a little. I pushed it in a little too, i read that, that would help. I ran her in hot water for like 5-7 mins also.

This egg-bound thing is a real problem.


Also my hens walk funny i checked their legs and pressed my finger above their vent and nothing. Help, also they don't walk like penguins. (Signs of egg-bound)

I have 8 hens but get only 2-3 eggs help?

(I keep them in 14-18 hours)

Also my buttons are taking turns sitting on their 3 eggs but quickly get bored.

 

[SeptemberQuail]

Are they getting enough calcium and protein?
I've had no experience with egg-bound hens (and hope never too experience), but after doing a little research, I found this;


Quote: (Credit to backyard poultry for this information)

If the white stuff is foamy, then it's semen/foam excreted from the male's vent [not semen]. Otherwise it could be the egg whites, or even an infection... (Just a guess)
How old are your hens?

Also, quail rarely ever go broody so if you'd want to encourage them (this won't guarantee to work) to become broody, add plants, branches, etc. To make it look more natural.
The leg waddling sounds concerning, but I am no help to that as I have no idea.
Maybe you can contact your local vet for advise?
Or look it up.

Just continue to try and push it in, but it will occur very often at this rate. Like what it said above, maybe give her a heating pad or a microwaved towel (hehe).

 

[MrNappy]

Thanks, that article was a lot of help.

I don't feel comfortable touching her vent.

The food i feed them is starter (24%) and i feed calcium from either jumbo, button, or chicken eggs. ( Could cuttlebone work?)

I had them for 3 months and now they started laying. So she should be able to lay. The thing is she always looks weak, like she barely eats. She looks so frail, i think the owner forced her out...

And above her vent, there's no protruding, its just her vent sticking out, she smells and she's bloody.

I could take pictures if you'd like?