Help! My quail swallowed a zip tie... i think.

[CliftonQuail]

But now that I think about it, I can't see how the zip tie end could make it into an egg. Little stones or sand or other non digestible don't end up in eggs.

You're probably right. Now that you mention it, I suppose the reproductive tract is separate from the digestive tract. I hadn't considered that, but I'm probably not as familiar with quail anatomy as I could be.

 

[MrJudeRaw]

Quail will pretend to be fine up until they just cant anymore and then they die. rember that bird is like 100X smaller than you so the proportional size of that hole is significantly more relevant. Have you ever had a hole in you that was 1% of your whole body that wasnt suppose to be there? thats like the size of a golf ball.
its your bird but the assertion that a quail with a zip tie inside it is robust is not fair to the birds struggle.

Edit to add. it may be fine now. it may be fine next week. but its certainly not going to be thriving and probably wont live its entire productive life in any quality. you dont seem to be taking it very serious which is why I am adding this. hopefully its just a perspective thing

 

[NancyWis]

Quail will pretend to be fine up until they just cant anymore and then they die. rember that bird is like 100X smaller than you so the proportional size of that hole is significantly more relevant. Have you ever had a hole in you that was 1% of your whole body that wasnt suppose to be there? thats like the size of a golf ball.
its your bird but the assertion that a quail with a zip tie inside it is robust is not fair to the birds struggle.

Edit to add. it may be fine now. it may be fine next week. but its certainly not going to be thriving and probably wont live its entire productive life in any quality. you dont seem to be taking it very serious which is why I am adding this. hopefully its just a perspective thing

Boy, aren't you a piece of sunshine!

A few people suggested I kill the bird if I wasn't going to take it to a vet for surgery. The cost of a vet visit and surgery wasn't an option. Taking the largest and yes, robust, of my quail and snipping it's head off because it MIGHT have a problem down the road was not an option for me either. Are you suggesting I'm not taking it seriously because I chose not to kill it??

So what was left in the crop after trimming the protruding end of what was a very small zip tie was about an eight inch diameter end. I KNOW quail will eat larger things than that - heck, this bird managed to swallow the entire zip tie.

You absolutely don't say my quail "won't live it's entire productive life in any quality."

Quail will pretend to be fine up until they just cant anymore and then they die. rember that bird is like 100X smaller than you so the proportional size of that hole is significantly more relevant. Have you ever had a hole in you that was 1% of your whole body that wasnt suppose to be there? thats like the size of a golf ball.
its your bird but the assertion that a quail with a zip tie inside it is robust is not fair to the birds struggle.

Edit to add. it may be fine now. it may be fine next week. but its certainly not going to be thriving and probably wont live its entire productive life in any quality. you dont seem to be taking it very serious which is why I am adding this. hopefully its just a perspective thing

 

[NancyWis]

Boy, aren't you a piece of sunshine!

A few people suggested I kill the bird if I wasn't going to take it to a vet for surgery. The cost of a vet visit and surgery wasn't an option. Taking the largest and yes, robust, of my quail and snipping it's head off because it MIGHT have a problem down the road was not an option for me either. Are you suggesting I'm not taking it seriously because I chose not to kill it??

So what was left in the crop after trimming the protruding end of what was a very small zip tie was about an eight inch diameter end. I KNOW quail will eat larger things than that - heck, this bird managed to swallow the entire zip tie.

You absolutely don't say my quail "won't live it's entire productive life in any quality."

(Accidentally hit post)
I was trying to say that I doubt you are sufficiently omniscient to judge the quality of my quails' lives.

Of course, if she begins to show signs of decline, I will put her out of her misery. In the meantime, she is eating, drinking, cuddling up with her flight pen mates, and laying eggs - all things she would NOT be doing had I just culled her.

And for what it is worth, the size of the puncture made by the very small zip tie end was FAR LESS than 1% of her body surface area. It never even bled.

I posted wondering if anyone had an experience with something similar - maybe a quail swallowing a stick or something. I appreciate peoples' opinions and feedback as to what they would do. I don't however, think it is fair for you to judge whether or not I am taking this seriously or to assume my quail will never have a productive life of any quality.
Jeesh.

 

[NancyWis]

Quail will pretend to be fine up until they just cant anymore and then they die. rember that bird is like 100X smaller than you so the proportional size of that hole is significantly more relevant. Have you ever had a hole in you that was 1% of your whole body that wasnt suppose to be there? thats like the size of a golf ball.
its your bird but the assertion that a quail with a zip tie inside it is robust is not fair to the birds struggle.

Edit to add. it may be fine now. it may be fine next week. but its certainly not going to be thriving and probably wont live its entire productive life in any quality. you dont seem to be taking it very serious which is why I am adding this. hopefully its just a perspective thing

Boy, aren't you a piece of sunshine!

A few people suggested I kill the bird if I wasn't going to take it to a vet for surgery. The cost of a vet visit and surgery wasn't an option. Taking the largest and yes, robust, of my quail and snipping it's head off because it MIGHT have a problem down the road was not an option for me either. Are you suggesting I'm not taking it seriously because I chose not to kill it??

So what was left in the crop after trimming the protruding end of what was a very small zip tie was about an eight inch diameter end. I KNOW quail will eat larger things than that - heck, this bird managed to swallow the entire zip tie.

You absolutely don't say my quail "won't live it's entire productive life in any quality."

 

[Omarthequailloverr]

While showing a friend my quail, we noticed a zip tie protruding from one of their chests. I have NO idea here it came from, but as best I can guess, it swallowed it and the pointy end ( which didnt seem that sharp) managed to pierce and protrude the quail's chest. I can't pull it out because the knobby end is IN THE QUAIL. I trimmed the end so it is only sticking out about an inch and a half. Should I cut it as short as I can and hope she passes the end? Should I make a tiny incision and pull it out the front?

She doesn't seem too bothered by it and is still laying eggs.

I recommend going to the nearest vet because this can form a problem inside them.

 

[taterandflock]

Boy, aren't you a piece of sunshine!

A few people suggested I kill the bird if I wasn't going to take it to a vet for surgery. The cost of a vet visit and surgery wasn't an option. Taking the largest and yes, robust, of my quail and snipping it's head off because it MIGHT have a problem down the road was not an option for me either. Are you suggesting I'm not taking it seriously because I chose not to kill it??

So what was left in the crop after trimming the protruding end of what was a very small zip tie was about an eight inch diameter end. I KNOW quail will eat larger things than that - heck, this bird managed to swallow the entire zip tie.

You absolutely don't say my quail "won't live it's entire productive life in any quality."

Please at least keep the hole clean and covered to your best ability.

I completely understand not being able to bring yourself to kill your PET (yes, contrary to what people say on here, coturnix quail ARE actually kept as pets and not just treated like expendable livestock in every case).

I'm not sure I'd be able to either, even though I'm perfectly fine culling roos. I don't think you're "not taking it seriously enough" at all.

 

[jpalmatier83]

I may be late to this conversation.

May not help you but just my thoughts in case this happens to someone else.

I have had to purge sour chickens crops before. Although not ideal, I think I would have tried to push the latch side back out of the birds mouth and extract the whole zip tie, instead of clipping the end and hoping for the rest to pass through the digestive tract (with a potentially sharp clipped end).

Also, cleaning the hole is (obviously) a good idea. It wasn’t mentioned but I would try liquid bandaid or superglue to hold it closed and hope it healed. Surface lacerations to birds tend to heal more successfully and quickly than one would suspect.

hoping for the best for your bird.

 

[NancyWis]

Please at least keep the hole clean and covered to your best ability.

I completely understand not being able to bring yourself to kill your PET (yes, contrary to what people say on here, coturnix quail ARE actually kept as pets and not just treated like expendable livestock in every case).

I'm not sure I'd be able to either, even though I'm perfectly fine culling roos. I don't think you're "not taking it seriously enough" at all.

Thank you for your kindness. I have taken this seriously. I check in on her several times a day, always looking for some kind of swelling in her crop or any kind of lethargy. She truly is the most active of my little group. ( My daughter brought her quail to my home about a year ago - she recently relocated and when she settled, I drove a lot 50 quail 8 hours to their new home!) I only kept 6 who are living quite luxuriously in a 50 sq ft flight pen.
After trimming the tie, I spritzed her with an anti microbial the first couple days and kept her apart from the other birds. I honestly can't see the puncture. I know from dressing quail that the skin can be pretty stretchy. I have to wonder if the actual puncture was very small and the skin stretched around the tie. With the tie released, the skin may have shrunk back. As I mentioned, it never bled.

 

[NancyWis]

I may be late to this conversation.

May not help you but just my thoughts in case this happens to someone else.

I have had to purge sour chickens crops before. Although not ideal, I think I would have tried to push the latch side back out of the birds mouth and extract the whole zip tie, instead of clipping the end and hoping for the rest to pass through the digestive tract (with a potentially sharp clipped end).

Also, cleaning the hole is (obviously) a good idea. It wasn’t mentioned but I would try liquid bandaid or superglue to hold it closed and hope it healed. Surface lacerations to birds tend to heal more successfully and quickly than one would suspect.

hoping for the best for your bird.

Thanks for your suggestion. When I first discovered it, I did try to see if the tie could push inward, but it didn't budge. I wasn't sure of how long had been like that. I try not to bother them much other than checking food and water and throwing them a few dried worms. I didnt want to push too hard in the event that it had been like that for a few days and scar tissue was holding it in place.

I spritzed her with an antimicrobial a couple times, but after the first day, I could not feel the lump from the tie end nor could I locate the puncture.

Thanks for your good wishes. I remain hopeful.