Hello Everyone, I hope you're all doing well!
I'm new to quail and birds in general, so I'm hoping to get a little bit of insight from others who may have faced a similar problem before.
I have a 4 month old California Quail who was hatched in an incubator after the nest was abandoned (the local cats got to both of the parents unfortunately). Out of all the eggs, only one hatched, so there were no other chicks around while she was in the brooder. That being said, she is almost never alone because there is almost always at least one family member, if not more, stimulating her in some way or another (she is a very beloved pet). She also loves being chased around the house as if playing hide and go seek. She's a real bundle of energy!
Strangely enough, she's been acting a little different lately, so I thought she may have been starting to get depressed since she is the only bird in the house. She's developed a habit of sitting and taking naps in the window where she can see other birds outside. Today there was some blood in her stool, so now I'm wondering if she has some kind of internal injury going on causing her pain or if there might be something else going on that I should worry about. She has been sneezing a bit lately as well (no discharge on her nose as far as I can tell, but I can see snot fly out when she sneezes) and recently she has been giving off a different (kind of sadder) sounding chirp from the usual noises she makes.
She eats a 30% protein game bird crumble starter feed, a variety of different fruits (such as red apples and seedless grapes) and vegetables (such as spinach, and cabbage) as well as sesame seeds, chia seeds, and the occasional spider that she may spot on the ground.
Today she only ate chia seeds and two ants in the morning and her feed after having the bloody stool later in the evening, no fruit or veggies and no spiders. We also played hide and go seek in the morning and she took a nap in the afternoon on a loft that we've built for her into an tree that we have indoors near the windows. Aside from her naps, she usually goes to sleep pretty consistently between 10 and 11 o'clock.
Could it be something in her diet that is causing the issue? Or is it stress from being the only bird? Some type of bird puberty?
After the bloody stool, her poop also appeared to have returned to the usual color and texture shortly after, so I'm not sure if this was some type of one off thing or a preview of what's to come.
I've heard that Coccidiosis can have bloody stools as a symptom along with not eating or drinking and other lethargic type behaviors, however, she still seems to behave as usual aside from the previously mentioned changes, so I'm not entirely sure if that's it. Should I give her some Corid anyways and see what happens, or should I try to have a more clear idea on what's going on with her first?
I've never had any type of bird before so, I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out if I should contact the vet immediately or try a home remedy of some sort. I'd really appreciate any advice on what I should do moving forward! Thank you!
I'm new to quail and birds in general, so I'm hoping to get a little bit of insight from others who may have faced a similar problem before.
I have a 4 month old California Quail who was hatched in an incubator after the nest was abandoned (the local cats got to both of the parents unfortunately). Out of all the eggs, only one hatched, so there were no other chicks around while she was in the brooder. That being said, she is almost never alone because there is almost always at least one family member, if not more, stimulating her in some way or another (she is a very beloved pet). She also loves being chased around the house as if playing hide and go seek. She's a real bundle of energy!
Strangely enough, she's been acting a little different lately, so I thought she may have been starting to get depressed since she is the only bird in the house. She's developed a habit of sitting and taking naps in the window where she can see other birds outside. Today there was some blood in her stool, so now I'm wondering if she has some kind of internal injury going on causing her pain or if there might be something else going on that I should worry about. She has been sneezing a bit lately as well (no discharge on her nose as far as I can tell, but I can see snot fly out when she sneezes) and recently she has been giving off a different (kind of sadder) sounding chirp from the usual noises she makes.
She eats a 30% protein game bird crumble starter feed, a variety of different fruits (such as red apples and seedless grapes) and vegetables (such as spinach, and cabbage) as well as sesame seeds, chia seeds, and the occasional spider that she may spot on the ground.
Today she only ate chia seeds and two ants in the morning and her feed after having the bloody stool later in the evening, no fruit or veggies and no spiders. We also played hide and go seek in the morning and she took a nap in the afternoon on a loft that we've built for her into an tree that we have indoors near the windows. Aside from her naps, she usually goes to sleep pretty consistently between 10 and 11 o'clock.
Could it be something in her diet that is causing the issue? Or is it stress from being the only bird? Some type of bird puberty?
After the bloody stool, her poop also appeared to have returned to the usual color and texture shortly after, so I'm not sure if this was some type of one off thing or a preview of what's to come.
I've heard that Coccidiosis can have bloody stools as a symptom along with not eating or drinking and other lethargic type behaviors, however, she still seems to behave as usual aside from the previously mentioned changes, so I'm not entirely sure if that's it. Should I give her some Corid anyways and see what happens, or should I try to have a more clear idea on what's going on with her first?
I've never had any type of bird before so, I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out if I should contact the vet immediately or try a home remedy of some sort. I'd really appreciate any advice on what I should do moving forward! Thank you!
