I need help my quail is walking backwards

[Kelsey859]

A bang on the head that causes that much damage can cause balance problems - though walking backwards is new to me. I have a King Quail hen that panicked and went straight up in a wooden carry cage - only 30cm sq - but the bang was loud. She has been called wobbly ever since - staggers if stressed - but less and less as time goes on.
She lives in an avairy - kept her with the same mate that knows her well and is a Gent - she breeds regularly.

I really hope she will be ok because I don’t know what to do for her

 

[Kelsey859]

It's likely that stress has caused her to stop laying, but just in case, can you feel an egg around her vent? The lack of poop may mean that she's egg bound.

If she is egg bound, you want to get some calcium citrate into her as soon as you can and give her a warm (quail body temp or a couple degrees warmer) epsom salt bath. If she is egg bound, it will kill her quickly, so it's important that she pass the egg as soon as possible.

Is she fluffed up at all? Is her activity level normal other than walking backwards?

Is there a chance that the other quail is a male? This sort of injury is usually male on male or over breeding, but that doesn't mean that hens won't peck and cause injury, it's just less likely.

Have you been providing calcium on the side?

This isn't related to her symptoms, but at 4 months, she should be transitioning over to an adult feed in the 20-24% protein range.

Her activity level is not like it normally is she is not eating or drinking I’ve been giving her electrolytes by syringe by putting a little drop at the end of her beak but I’ve noticed that she has a rattle when shes making her little cooing sound that she usually makes its like it’s raspy it’s hard to explain she is also very lethargic

 

[Kelsey859]

This I the color of her poop

I think it could coccidiosis because I seen someone else post about it

 

[catesquire]

The poop looks fine to me, but I'm not as experienced there. Looks like some mine have had and none of them are ill (it's normal for them to look a little strange when the birds are stressed). She's definitely not egg bound if she's pooping, though, so that's one worry off your list!

Be careful with the syringe--it's REALLY easy for them to aspirate, and they can't cough like humans can to get it back out. It also stresses them the heck out. I would recommend stopping that and seeing if the reduced stress from less handling gets her acting more normally. The poop looks plenty wet, so she's not going to die immediately of dehydration if you give her a little space.

Have you had any success tempting her with boiled egg yolk or wet food? Those also have the benefit of being really easy to see if she's been eating, and how much. And if she likes the wet food, you didn't need to worry about her water intake, either.

 

[Kelsey859]

The poop looks fine to me, but I'm not as experienced there. Looks like some mine have had and none of them are ill (it's normal for them to look a little strange when the birds are stressed). She's definitely not egg bound if she's pooping, though, so that's one worry off your list!

Be careful with the syringe--it's REALLY easy for them to aspirate, and they can't cough like humans can to get it back out. It also stresses them the heck out. I would recommend stopping that and seeing if the reduced stress from less handling gets her acting more normally. The poop looks plenty wet, so she's not going to die immediately of dehydration if you give her a little space.

Have you had any success tempting her with boiled egg yolk or wet food? Those also have the benefit of being really easy to see if she's been eating, and how much. And if she likes the wet food, you didn't need to worry about her water intake, either.

It tried the wet food and that poop is not normal for her I don’t know what to do for her she’s gotten up every hour doing the running backwards I’m now wondering if she couldn’t be just trying to itch her head

 

[Nabiki]

The poop looks normal for a bird that is not eating or is not eating much. The fact that she is pooping means that she's not egg bound, which is good.

If you're not sure what you're doing, offering food or liquids from a syringe can be dangerous. The bird can aspirate it, which can be fatal. If you're just offering it on the tip of her beak and she's drinking it on her own, that should be okay. The rattle when she coos or breathes worries me, however.

Do you have any Nutri-Drench? That will give her some calories to give her an energy boost.

Unless a vet is an option, there's not much else you can do for her but keep her warm, limit her light so she relaxes, and try to tempt her with food. Boiled, crushed egg yolk is high in nutrition and they usually like it enough to eat it even if they aren't eating much else.