Impacted crop....Probably

[TehLizardKing]

Yesterday, I bought a companion for Jacob the house quail, (she has been lonely since the rest of her flock were killed by a mink

, so we moved her inside.) I got back quite late and wasn't able to check him over properly until the morning. Anyway, this morning I noticed he was kind of retracting his neck and gulping every so often, and his crop sticks out like half a golf ball....

This is bound/impacted crop right?

Anyway, before I begin treatment that I found online, I wanted to ask 'real people' so to speak. All I could find was to feed him yogurt and cooking oil, and then massage his crop...is that correct?

Any help would be appreciated, as I don't really know much about it. I've only experienced it once before, and that was in an African Harlequin Quail, who was too fast to catch and treat anyway. Luckily she got better of her own accord.

Ty.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I don't know about quail, but I'm assuming it's pretty similar to chickens. Is his crop hard like a rock? Usually, if it's not too bad and he's willing to eat, the easiest thing to do would be to give him some bread that's been soaked in olive oil. Just get some sliced bread (or any bread that's soft) and break it into little pieces that he will be able to eat easily. Put it in a little bowl and drench it in olive oil. Make sure the bread is thoroughly soaked through. Get your quail to eat a few pieces of the bread, then begin to gently massage his crop in a circling, downward motion. You're trying to break up whatever is stuck in there. If you're successful, you'll feel clumps (probably of grass) moving out of the crop. Do this a couple times a day for a few days, or until the impaction is gone.

Again, this so what works for chickens, but I think it would work for quail too......

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

You could try the age old soaking epsom salt in a half cup water and squirting some solution down the bird's throat. This is a recommended flush for digestive disorders in quail, never tried it for crop impaction though so not sure if it will work or not.

 

[nwredrooster]

Might be to late. But I have heard others say to forgo the olive oil in treatment of the crop because in the event that the crop does not clear the oil can contribute to the crop contents going rancid. I get the principle behind using olive oil, but just wanted to share reasons others give to avoid it.
I understand yogurt and scrambled eggs are good foods to give while you try to massage the block loose.
Good luck.

 

[red golden]

I too had this problem about a week ago ( thread "valley quail needed " ) . Not sure what it ate but it died a day after i seen her crop was sticking out.

 

[TehLizardKing]

Thanks guys. Turns out that the reason he had an impacted crop was that my sister had fed him a 'nice big lump of stale bread' that couldn't pass through. I tried all of the methods, and luckily, the combination of all of them (I think) and the fact that I found some nice juicy maggots in the compost heap (apparently they 'eat' through the blockage) has contributed to his full recovery. I thought he was a dead bird for sure, but thanks to you guys, he can live happily with his wife for the rest of his days