Help! Quail with bent neck

[stephstuckman]

I am new to quail and to incubating eggs. I have 4 coturnix that are 15 days old. One has had a bent neck ( kinks to the left and tilts his head slightly with its right eye up) since day 2. I originally set 27 shipped eggs, had five hatch, the last late chick died 3 days later. The rest of the eggs has no development.... Scrambled in the mail...? So now another chick appears to be getting the bent neck the same as the first chick. The are on 30% purina game bird starter, I believe it's medicated but that's all I can get here ( and even that has to be special ordered). What am I doing wrong or is it just bad genetics? I have read it can be from lots of different things. I just set 59 more eggs today and I don't want to end up with bent neck chicks. They seem to be good weight and size. I am using a brinsea Eco with the auto turner. The humidity was around 45% then 60% at lockdown on day 14. I live in the southwest and we have really low humidity. To get to 60% both water trays had to be full and I had to have a wet towel too. Any suggestions? Or just not so great eggs?

 

[Whittni]

The condition is known as rye neck. Its caused from malnutrition but is perfectly treatable! Get liquid polysol vitamins made for infants WITHOUT IRON. It doesnt cost much and you just give the chick a couple drops a day for a few days.

 

[stephstuckman]

Thank you!

 

[stephstuckman]

So when my next batch hatches can I just put a little in their water?

 

[TwoCrows]

Wry Neck generally caused by genetics (the parent birds had this or are prone to it) or the breeder birds where not eating right to deliver enough nutrients to the egg. Vitamins B, E and Selenium are the best thing you can use for Wry Neck. Poly Vi Sol is good to use as well.

So in the future, make sure you are hatching eggs from quality stock and never hatch eggs from parent birds that have recovered from Wry Neck.

 

[stephstuckman]

I am hatching 59 more eggs, from a different seller this time. I may just try to build a separate pen for the four I have now and just use them for eggs only. It looks like I may have 1 roo and 3 hens. I may end up butchering them so they don't get mixed with the new, hopefully better stock. The roo keeps getting poo stuck on his bum, I think he can't preen as well with the bent neck. They don't really like to take the vitamin drops so I put some in their drinking water. Hope that's okay.

 

[stephstuckman]

My bent neck chicks, 17 days old

 

[stephstuckman]

Now that I looked at them again I may have 2 hens and 2 roos, I can't tell yet

 

[stephstuckman]

 

[stephstuckman]