Japanese quail with everything possible wrong, need urgent advice

[DasChookunMan]

I'll keep this brief because I'm typing with one hand (the other is nursing my quail),
A few weeks ago I came home to find one of my male quails was attacking a female, she was badly hurt, both eyes scabbed over but otherwise seeming unfazed.
I spent ages sterilizing and cleaning up her wounds, doing everything I could to make her better, and she seemed to be improving.

Two days ago she opened one of her eyes, I was so relieved, I put some lettuce in with her now that she could see what to peck at (I had tried earlier, but she couldn't see it, so I just very finely diced up some fruits and sprinkled them in with her seeds)


Last night everything changed.
She started thrashing her head around to one side, like she was trying to protect herself from something.
At first I though she was having nightmares, remembering the attack. This was the first time I'd turned off the light with her eyes open, kinda, so maybe the dark was scaring her I thought?

My nurse roommate suggests it looked like she was having a fit.

I cuddled her tightly and that seems to suppress whatever's happening.
Eventually I got her calm and she fell asleep in her hospital cage.
As of this morning, she's still doing the same.

Other than the original thoughts, it could also be an infection to her brain as her head was heavily damaged by the pecking.
If we where lucky it'd be that some lettuce got stuck in her crop and she's trying to push it down, but I doubt it.
Other than that perhaps her inner ear's messed up and she can't keep her balance?
It really does look like Newcastle Disease, and as far as I can tell there's no cures or any chance of survival, so I'm thinking putting her to sleep with some inert gas would be the best choice.
I'd do anything to make her better, and she intermittently purrs whenever I hold her, so I doubt she's in pain, but I don't want her to suffer. This isn't the first time she's been in strife and I've nursed her back to health so culling is really the last thing I want to do but if Newcastle is as bad as I've read it is I don't think there's a choice.

Here's a vid of her, if anyone could tell me what they think it is I'd love to hear:

(I do have chickens and I never let them anywhere near my quails, and I always thoroughly wash my hands and face before and after touching either but something may have stayed on my clothing, another thing I'll make sure to change from now on)

 

[Vermont Poultry]

I have 0 experience with quail, and I'm no neurological scientist. But from watching the video my best bet is that she has brain damage, and or inner ear damage. Sorry about your situation, doesn't seem fun.

 

[minihorse927]

She appears to have wry neck. Brought on by stress, deficiency, or injury. I would say your male did some nerve damage resulting in this. You can try to do some poly vi sol without iron to correct this issue but I don't know how effective it will be since it is from injury. Best chances for her are going to be kept as stress free as possible. Keep it dark and keep her secluded. Do not to handle her if not dire necessary. She is not going to be able to eat or drink on her own. If you want to keep her going you will have to hand feed and water her.

I do not believe you have picked up any kind of disease. Best wishes to you both let us know how she does.

 

[DK newbie]

Two days ago she opened one of her eyes, I was so relieved, I put some lettuce in with her now that she could see what to peck at (I had tried earlier, but she couldn't see it, so I just very finely diced up some fruits and sprinkled them in with her seeds)

That's the part I really notice - that, and the video. You say 'seeds'. The video shows what looks like a millet mix in her cage. At no point do you mention feeding her something that'll actually supply her with the vitamins, protein and calcium she needs. I'm not saying this is the cause for sure - but that's the first thing I'd change. A game bird feed with 24+ % protein is suitable for quail, but until you get that, you can hard boil a chicken egg and feed her as much as she'll eat - the shell too, if she'll eat it - and completely get rid of the seed mix. I'm not an expert on diseases, but from what you've told, she's not getting the nutrients she needs, so I find it likely whatever she has is caused by a deficiency.

 

[DasChookunMan]

I usually feed them tonnes of fruits, berries, vegetables, and supplements, but the only thing she's been eating since the attack is the seeds since it's the only thing she could eat.

Anyway, I'll try hand feeding her some egg, get some polyvisol (no iron), and find whatever the hell has the best nutrients I can get into her.
Thank you all so much for your help, you can't imagine how much I appreciate it.

 

[DK newbie]

Fruits, berries and veggies will give her some of the vitamins she needs, but not the calcium or the protein she needs. And unless the 'supplements' are pretty near pure protein and she eats quite a lot of it, she will still lack protein. You can make up for the lack of calcium with supplements though, but probably only if they don't contain phosphorus, as a diet with much fruit is likely too high in phosphorus already, and that can prevent her from utilizing calcium.
Quail tend to prefer seeds over anything but live bugs pretty much, but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to eat significant amounts of them - they shouldn't. Speaking of which - you could try to catch a few bugs and see if she'll eat them. Just make sure they are not poisonous. They'll supply her with some of the protein she needs.