Help- Adult Female Suddenly Can’t Walk

[Shmegel]

Two days ago, my adult female coturnix quail stopped being able to walk. She just keeps falling over onto her side and kicking her legs in circles on the ground. I’m not sure what’s going on- what can cause this? She hasn’t laid an egg in two or three days. I thought maybe she was egg bound (laid her last egg the day before she stopped walking) as she was pumping her vent a lot so I gave her a warm bath. She’s shaking/vibrating a lot- it may be relevant or a fear thing because I’m holding her so much, same with the vent pumping. Her poop isn’t fully liquid, with a solid part, a urate, and a yellow liquid around it. I was convinced that was egg yolk the other day but I’m not sure about anything. Her wings are working fine. She’s eating and I think she’s drinking. Her feathers are sparse but her mate just molted so maybe it’s her turn? Or maybe that’s part of it, I have no idea. I put her in an area with solid ground (no mesh/wire) and gave her mealworms for protein, mineral grit for calcium, regular food, and rooster booster in her water. What can cause this? Please help?

 

[Nabiki]

If she's pooping, she's not egg bound. Has she hit her head on anything? In the meantime, are you keeping her warm, and isolated? Is she eating and drinking?

@007Sean is a good resource for other possible causes.

 

[Shmegel]

If she's pooping, she's not egg bound. Has she hit her head on anything? In the meantime, are you keeping her warm, and isolated? Is she eating and drinking?

@007Sean is a good resource for other possible causes.

Yes- still pooping (though it’s a bit weird with yellow liquid around the solid bit), eating, and I think drinking (haven’t witnessed it so I can’t be sure). She’s indoors so I turned on the heater in the sunroom, and there’s only one other quail in there and he’s being very protective of her, but I’m separating them intermittently just in case.

 

[FloorCandy]

I have a hen who is albino. When she was hatched I put her and 2 other albinos, along with a non albino who was small and feathering slowly. All along she was fine, but feathering slowly. Finally she feathered in fully and I weaned her from nutridrench and I changed to a cheaper feed that is still very good. Within a few days she seemed a bit unsteady on her feet, fell over more easily if one of the others bumped her, this escalated to laying on her side kicking her feet within a few days. When she would walk, she had her butt in the air, and her chest on the ground, looking like a wheelbarrow.

Someone recommended vitamin e for torticolis (sp?) and neurological damage. I’ve been squeezing the goop from a vitamin e pill into her mouth in the morning and at night and she seems to be improving slowly, standing more, walking upright sometimes. I also bought more of the old feed. I’m hoping she will eventually be walking normally again. The vitamin e has seemed to help.

 

[007Sean]

If she's pooping, she's not egg bound. Has she hit her head on anything? In the meantime, are you keeping her warm, and isolated? Is she eating and drinking?

@007Sean is a good resource for other possible causes.

Yellow and runny poop sounds like Intestinal enteritis? Is her feathers fluffed up, head hung low, lethargic? Usually it is more wide spread in Bobwhites and not Coturnix but it can happen to all quails. Can you take and post pics of her droppings and of her?

 

[Shmegel]

When you gently feel around the vent, can you feel an egg? Is this coturnix or button? This is how my egg bound girl acted, I am not an expert though. I hope she feels better.

Coturnix. I felt all around her body and didn’t feel an egg, though I haven’t stuck my finger in her vent yet (I have long nails). The biggest thing is she can’t walk, just flops onto her side. The yellow liquid in the poop concerned me- like maybe an egg popped inside? Or it could be totally harmless and just a weird color. I don’t know.

 

[Shmegel]

Her enclosure smells really bad. I’m wondering if that’s diarrhea? I took a picture of where she sat all night on paper towels so that should be poop. Still eating a ton. Can’t cull, she’s a pet.

 

[azygous]

It sounds like multiple issues. Life can dump a full load sometimes, and you have no choice but to deal with it.

Lameness is one of the most perplexing issues, having multiple possible causes. Sometimes it's neurological so vitamin E might help. Sometimes it's a vitamin B deficiency so B-complex might help. Giving these vitamins can't hurt, and it's worth a shot.

The "really bad smell" from her bedding is concerning. That can be caused by a stuck egg or an egg broken inside. When I suspect this, I give calcium citrate and an antibiotic. The calcium will cause contractions and help to expel an egg or broken remains. The antibiotic is necessary to fight the almost certain reproductive tract infection that comes with yolk breaking inside. Giving calcium can't hurt, but it's a judgement call on your part to treat her with an antibiotic. Getting the antibiotic may prove challenging to impossible, but I recommend it if you can find one. I use Fish Mox (amoxicillin).

https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/

 

[azygous]

The same way you would take vitamins or an antibiotic pill. Stick it in her mouth and she will swallow. One at a time. Chickens have no problem lettin a pill slide down their throat.

Vitamin E 400iu one whole capsule a day
B-complex break a pill in half and give her the half once a day
Calcium citrate one whole pill a day
These are all the same vitamins you would take

The amoxicillin is 250 mg capsule per day for ten days

 

[Shmegel]

I think her right knee is swollen on further examination. First pic is her normal left knee for comparison. What would do this, and how can I help?