Hatchling has "ROLLOVER SYNDROME"

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

OK...I've got them going with the bird vitamins!

The reptile rock was briefly used with a wild caught Blue Racer (before I learned that it was an endangered species--whoops!), but that was 6 or 7 years ago. I've sanitized it numerous times so I think it is free of any contagion.

The 'surrogate' Button quail hen is technically a juvenile in that she hasn't started laying, which probably accounts for her good nature with the babies. She got too cold outside the day the chicks hatched, so I put her on the heat rock in the brooder. The babies climbed up and started nuzzling under her wings and have been there ever since.

Everywhere she goes, she wades through her cluster of chicks and she doesn't seem to mind them sipping water out of her mouth as she's drinking.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

How are the dropsy babies doing. Got to thinking about them and was wondering.
I actually am not familiar with Bird Vitamins. I only use Poly Vi Sol w/o iron.

But I have dealt with Wry Neck in one hatch (chicken) when I was stupid and bred a Roo that should never have been bred. At one time in his life he had been medicated. 1 chick I saved, (I have never hatched any of her eggs.) and 1 I couldn't save. Yes, I know better but he was a fine specimen and he met the standard and I wanted to try.

That is one reason for it and it brings about problems. Does your bird vitamin have a good amount of Vitamin D in it? One reason for Wry Neck is a Vitamin D deficiency. They cannot metabolize it properly. You can give it (get it) to them but it won't do any good. Other times, they just need increased amounts. If these babys survive this, they will be the ones that will always need more natural light than others. That I am sure of because of watching the one chick that did make it, (I still have the hen). She is always in the sun, even on the hottest days.

But if you are still having babies getting these syptoms, then you are probably looking at disease. And your whole flock could be at risk.

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

Hello,

What I've been calling "bird vitamins" is Durvet brand "Vitamins & Electrolytes" water soluble powder formulated to be a nutrient supplement applicable for use in all poultry, swine, ruminants and horses. Among the list of other vitamins, it supplies 9,000 IU vitamin D per 5 gram measure (the amount diluted per gallon of water). It appears to contain no iron. They have a website at Durvet.com. I've been giving this to the birds when problems arise, assuming that it is the same product as the Poly Vi Sol that is often recommended. This was what the local pet shop suggested for poultry, and the owner seems to be pretty educated about animal husbandry (all of the animals she sells are from her own, on-site breeding facility).

I did end up culling the two chicks in the photos. I just felt too bad to go to bed that night and leave them rolling all over the brooder so violently. They weren't peeping, so I don't know for sure whether they were suffering or whether they might have recovered, but they appeared to be in a miserable state.

The good news is that the other 13 chicks are doing great. I tried returning the surrogate mother to her outdoor pen as the weather warmed up, but the chicks went nuts without her. She has adjusted nicely to playing mom too, and spends most of her time cuddling down in the bedding with chicks nestled under, around, and on top of her.

Jennifer

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

I am so glad to hear that your other babies are doing good. I have been wondering.

I agree, if those two were rolling around violently, I doubt they could have been saved. I don't think there would have been anything that could have helped at that stage. I also, don't think you have to worry about disease, with no more babies having a problem.

Durvet V&E sounds better than the Poly-Vi-Sol. I'll have to look for it.
See by talking about our birds, we keep learning.

Looks like you are going to have a broody hen on your hands once she has this batch raised up.

Hope your ready for more babies once you set an adult male with her.

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
do you think that by raising chicks with young females we can convince them to be broody when they're older? i'm thinking of coturnix in this case ...
by the way..congrats on the beautiful babies!

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

I wish I had a photo of the babies sleeping on her back, but this is the best I can do for now:

My husband is in the research phase of writing an article on socializing button quail ("so they aren't bastards", as he puts it), and this surrogate experiment is part of that project.

By the way, can anyone tell me what color that hen is? Most of my quail are that color, which--in females--is apricot with gray barring on the feathers. The chicks hatch a sandy fawn color (you can see a few examples in the photo there), go through a very ugly muddy-grey stage, then gradually turn into colorful adults. My best guess this week is silver/cinnamon, but I am really struggling with understanding how to identify and differentiate button quail mutations. Too bad Garrie Landry is getting out of the business--his website has been the most helpful.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Ya, thats what she has a Coturnix hen surrogate with the babies. Just happened that way. But I am guessing that that hen will want to be a broody hen.

Maybe I shouldn't have said hen, she is a youngster, a juvenile female. But she certainly has the characteristics of a good broody. If I wanted a broody Coturnix, I would sure try with her little girl. But it will take a nesting set up for her and a few more females with a male that she accepts once she starts laying. That may take a bigger set up than she has.

Just trying to plant some ideas there for you warmfuzzyfellings. A lot of people seem to want broody Coturnix and are trying to figure out how to accomplish it. There are a few out there this year. You may have another special little girl there.

Actually, I think you do have a very special little girl there.

 

[mhwc56]

they are ALL beautiful /precious.

 

[Stellar]

Quote:
You have a cinnamon hen. If she gets redder, it will be a cinnamon red breasted hen. I have the colors on my website if you have some interest.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Pretty surrogate and babies.