Help!! Sick quail!

[Soph_quail]

We had a bunch of chicks hatch yesterday and they all seemed to be doing fine however this morning we found one who was very lethargic. We tried helping it drink and eat and she took a bit from a syringe but suddenly deteriorated. Then I suddenly noticed this growth on her neck. I don’t know if this has just suddenly appeared or if I didn’t see it through her fur but I have no idea what it is and google is useless. I found another post on here from someone who had a similar thing but nobody knew what it was. It’s very soft and feels like it’s filled with air or fluid and covers the whole left side of the neck. I don’t think she will make it regardless as she’s in a pretty bad way but thought I should try and get some answers. Somebody please help!!

 

[Fenrisulfr]

It looks like a crop blockage. What is your bedding and what are you feeding?

 

[Soph_quail]

It looks like a crop blockage. What is your bedding and what are you feeding?

We have sawdust as the bedding and are feeding turkey crumb. Is there anything I can do to help?

 

[Fenrisulfr]

Yes ... please remove the sawdust bedding.
... to save the other chicks. Use papertowels the first 3 days.

You can try to massage the blockage gently, but there is not much hope at this age. Nevertheless I managed to save one chick some time ago. Others died.

 

[Fenrisulfr]

Young chicks are eating too small particles of the bedding and will starve with full stomach, as the bedding has no nutritions, beside it can cause a crop blockage, like in this case.

It (edit: the blockage) doesn't need to be the bedding, it can also be caused by accident with normal feed. But sawdust is a high risk for this.

 

[Soph_quail]

Young chicks are eating too small particles of the bedding and will starve with full stomach, as the bedding has no nutritions, beside it can cause a crop blockage, like in this case.

It (edit: the blockage) doesn't need to be the bedding, it can also be caused by accident with normal feed. But sawdust is a high risk for this.

Okay thank you I will do now! Unfortunately soon after I wrote this post they died. I had a suspicion it might be a ruptured air sack and after it died the lump disappeared. Could these things correlate?

 

[Soph_quail]

Okay thank you I will do now! Unfortunately soon after I wrote this post they died. I had a suspicion it might be a ruptured air sack and after it died the lump disappeared. Could these things correlate?

I have found a plastic tub and put paper towels in it and put it inside the brooder as shown in the pic. Do you think this will be ok for the first 3 days? Or should I just go ahead and take all the sawdust out of the brooder?

 

[Quailobsessed]

Okay thank you I will do now! Unfortunately soon after I wrote this post they died. I had a suspicion it might be a ruptured air sack and after it died the lump disappeared. Could these things correlate?

If it was full of air it was probably a ruptured air sac. I had this with a young pigeon I was raising, and it died because it couldn't breathe properly.
If it is a ruptured air sac, after it passed away, it would no longer be taking in air so the lump would go down.

 

[Fenrisulfr]

Only to autopsy the chick would give more information.

I would guess, with the muscles relaxing after death, the blockage may went away or went more inside the body. But just a guess, as I am no vet.

 

[Soph_quail]

If it was full of air it was probably a ruptured air sac. I had this with a young pigeon I was raising, and it died because it couldn't breathe properly.
If it is a ruptured air sac, after it passed away, it would no longer be taking in air so the lump would go down.

Okay great thank you thats what I thought had happened.