HELP. MY BUTTON QUAIL IS SICK

[Griffin Nest]

I really want help because he's my favorite and it would be horrible for something to happen to him!

I checked on his this morning and found him panting. He usually only does this when it's really hot or he's thirsty, but he had water and it wasn't hot. (It's around 80 degrees right now) I tried giving him water but he didn't want it. He's standing up, but he's leaning on the wall and won't move. His eyes are also watery. Do quails sometimes get sick and then feel better? I don't know what this is. My other quails are doing fine. Also he's 4 years old.

Please help!

 

[TwoCrows]

You might want to separate this one out from the others just in case he is contagious. Not to ask a dumb question...he is definitely a "he" right? If it were a "she", she might be egg bound.

Is he showing any other signs of anything other than watery eyes? Any discharge from the nostrils? Rattling when he breathes? How is his poop?

What temp are they normally used to? 80 may not seem too hot for the rest of them, but if he is ill, 80 degrees may be too much for him right now. You might try putting him in a cooler part of the house to see if that does not stop the panting.

If he is showing other symptoms of a respiratory ailment, you might try some antibiotics on him.

Edit to add: 4 years old is no spring chick either. Hopefully this is not an age issue.

 

[Griffin Nest]

I am sure it's a boy because the other one is a female and I get fertile eggs from them.

The only thing he's doing is holding his head up high and breathing hard. They are used to temperatures between 60 and 100 degrees out here too, but i'll put him in a cooler.
What kind of anti-biotics and were am i supposed to get them? Thanks.

 

[GrandmaBird]

Sounds like he is dying. not to be harsh but this is the cycle of life. I had one do this about 2 weeks ago and she just laid down and that was it. gone...
You could try adding some electrolytes or antibiotics to the water but if he is not drinking on his own that wont help any. sorry...

 

[SavageChick]

A couple of ideas...

Impacted crop: Have you fed him more grass clippings than normal recently, or has he gorged on more worms than what he normally eats? I had one of my buttons do this a couple of months ago after feeding him too many grass clippings - they got wound up and stuck in his crop. The only way I guessed what was going on was that he was lifting his neck high and kind of gagging while stretching his neck in jerking motions while opening his beak. After reading up on what it could be and how to resolve it, I ended up holding him upside down and massaging his neck in a downward motion until he regurgitated a mess of grass clippings from his crop. It's a pretty stressful thing to put your bird through, so you want to be fairly certain that his symptoms are related to something he ate.

Shock: Another possibility is that he flew up and slammed his head against something. It could be that he is in shock if this occurred. I'm really not experienced in dealing with shock, but I've seen it recommended in past postings to place the bird under a red heat lamp in a quiet place until they recover. Hopefully, someone can chime in and offer more advice on how to manage shock if this is indeed what is going on with him.

Viral/Bacterial: If he has some crusting around the nostrils or other sinus discharge, runny stools, or feels warm when you hold him, you may be dealing with either a viral or bacterial cause.

Really hope he makes it through this.

 

[SavageChick]

Since you haven't had a lot of replies to your posting, you might want to try contacting Stellar directly. She has a great deal of knowledge and experience with a variety of quail - including button quail. I'm hoping she may be able to provide you with more answers and suggestions on how to save your little guy.

 

[eqfchickens]

You might want to feed him some grit this will help him going up anything that might be stuck in his crop

 

[Nichrome]

I think that if it was a crop problem you could notice a large lump between his neck and his breast.

If he is not drinking I suggest you give him some water with vitamins with a syringe. Do not force the water in his throat! Push a small drop of water on the nozzle of the syringe and touch the drop to his beak. The water will automatically seep in his beak and he will have to swallow it. Do it several times and maybe add some sugar to the water too to give him some energy to overcome the ailment.

 

[Griffin Nest]

Thanks guys! I didn't actually have to follow these because an hour after I posted this he as back to normal and he's been normal since! I don't know what happened but oh well.

 

[veggiecanner]

Good to hear, I get scared too something is going to happen. And I am not supposed to get attached.