How am I going to keep this baby alive??

[lswatson111304]

So I hatched 1 quail baby. I had a wild hair and decided to put a few eggs in the bator. Well 1 hatched, 3 are a couple days behind. This poor baby is all alone..and it can't walk right. It keeps falling over to the left, then getting its feet and running 3 feet away (on my carpet) and then falling over for a few minutes. He is 2 days old how. Then today we left him and came home to him soaking wet and cold in his water dish. It was a tiny dish and literally only had enough water to wet him in there. I kept forgetting to go buy marbles. I blow dried him and I found some small beads to put in it for now. Walked away and found him wet again. I mean there was no way for him to drown either time, but enough way for him to soak himself. I just don't know HOW he is going to survive if he doesn't have access to food and water. Which I couldn't even find where it says how long baby quail can go without eating? Anyway, so I'm at a loss. He is without water, and trying to find his feet again. Not even sure he will survive. Is the walking problem normal? I'm not thinking so, but I don't see any obvious problems other than when he walks and falls..but when he gets it right, he looks fine. HELP! My baby chicks are nowhere near as scary to raise as this little thing!

 

[Stellar]

Do you have a jar lid? That will help with the wetting itself issue. I wouldn't hold the baby too much. The more warmth, food, and water the better at this age. They need food and water as soon as fluffy from the hatcher. Make sure he isn't getting wet and that he is warm.

For food, he needs a good gamebird starter. I blend it to cornmeal consistency but many just sprinkle the food right in the brooder.

ETA: The walking issue is not normal. I wouldn't put it on carpet or let it out from heat so much. You don't want it to cool. What bedding are you using?

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
for a waterer for one that age use the small top to a plastic drink ( Coke or whatever) bottle. they are just a little bigger than a dime. dip his bill in to learn him, put the fine gamebird starter on a paper towel. after you have dipped the bill in water,dip the tip in the food, do not try to put the food in a container until he learns to peck at it on the cage floor without obstacles. if he is only two days old keep him in a small cage or box with a 75-100 watt light bulb, put a thermometer in the box and keep heat at about 90-92 degrees and don't hold him, he is too young and will lose body heat rapidly. if you can get a quail water that is red this helps, keep water and food under the light or in the area the quail is staying in. hope this helps.

 

[lswatson111304]

We had him on the carpet just to see if he could walk right not on the pine shavings. They were too hard for him to stay upright. So we put him on a flat surface. I took the shavings out and now he is on a piece of cotton quilt batting because it can lay completely flat. I will try the jar lid, I do have one. I also bought some vitamin and electrolytes, should I try that in his water?

I can't find game bird starter. We have regular game bird feed, and medicated chick starter.

 

[lswatson111304]

OK, put a water bottle cap in there with water in it. He still can't walk right.

 

[Stellar]

It's tough to say. I would just leave him be. Quail are hardy but if they cannot walk that's a tough call. Remember he is a baby and will eat, drink, poop, run, and sleep. Hopefully he will pull through.

 

[7L Farm]

I've had problems with wry neck & can't think of the name for leg problems but I was culling & finally started adding ACV & vitamins to their water & it helped save alot of my birds.

 

[silkielover5]

put rocks in his water thats wat i use instead of marbles

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
you can take a 3 cc syringe with a leur loc tip and remove the needle, draw up 1 cc of water and push the syringe plunger just far enough to produce a drop on the tip, the drop if handled carefully will not fall off unless you push on the plunger, put the drop of water really close to his beak and see if he will peck at it, most will, and you can give him water this way, he will only take a few drops at a time, not the whole cc. if he gets hydrated he may be able to walk or he may just have a birth defect and never walk.

 

[lswatson111304]

Thanks everyone. He has taken in a tiny bit of fluids and has tried to eat a few times and I think he has maybe gained a little strenght. He is still wobbly but he can stand in one place for a minute before falling over. I put in a rubber ducky with him and he snuggled up to it. I feel bad he is lonely. I tried to put a 3 day old chicken with him but it pecked at him so I took the chick out.

I'm hoping the vitamins and electrolytes will help him some.