Japanese quail won't eat :(

[gipsi]

Hi I'm quite new to this and I have a problem with my Japanese quail roo he doesn't seem to be eating very much and drinks a lot of water he seems like he looks interested in food but only pecks it then walks around to get another drink then just stands in corners puffed up with his eyes closed I am not sure what to do to make him eat he doesn't eat his food pellets normal or wet I need some help please anyone I don't want him to not eat and die I'm not sure what to do any help would be greatly appreciated I'm not sure what could be wrong?

 

[bugflipper]

How old is he? Their lifespan isn't incredibly long. So that may be a problem if he's a couple of years or older.

When in doubt I mix water soluble Terramycin in their drinking water. Birds get sick just like we do. Sometimes it's tough to diagnose as their pain tolerance is much higher than a persons. So I just air on the side of caution. Often I will put a piece of plywood under their cage to see if their poop is runny. Of course if he's not eating he may not be pooping.
Hope he gets better.

 

[chev]

I don't know if quails are like chickens but has he been wormed?

 

[gipsi]

Thanks bug flipper he is not that old he is about 8 months old and he has had runny poop or mostly watery I am in the UK what is Terramycin and is it easy to get a hold of here and the dosages and chev he has not been wormed he is inside and I put him on his own because he is less active and females have started laying eggs would another roo make any problems for him if he is a very active too and he is only active if another roo tries to mate him he tries toget away from the active roo desperately how would I know if he had worms with watery poo or what kind or what to do

 

[dc3085]

What kind of food are giving him? they can't eat a whole pellet if its pellets you need to crush it for him. Give him a few meal worms and see what he does. Report back.

 

[gipsi]

It is quail layer pellets they are smaller than normal ones and yes he did like mealworms he seemed to stand up and open his eyes and got them and ate

 

[bugflipper]

I looked on ebay UK and there's not a whole lot of livestock medicine on there. Most livestock medicines can be used on multiple breeds such as swine, cows, dogs, fish and poultry. Actually people can use many of them as well. At any rate here's another I use that they sell over there. Couldn't find terramycin. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Duramycin...582?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c354d294e

Dosage would be 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 grams) per quart of water. That's not hard and fast as it would translate per liter or imperial as well. It would be 400 mg at that rate. You can go up to 800mg, why I say the water volume isn't critical as imperial, liters and quarts are pretty close to one another. Refrigerate the quart you mixed up and give fresh every day for 3 days.It's just a broad spectrum antibiotic.Since that will likely take a few days the meal worms or regular worms chopped up may be a good idea as the creepy crawlies may trigger the natural instinct to eat. Even though he's not hungry he may well eat anyway. Scrambled eggs in tiny pieces may be something else more palatable than feed. I'd put sugar in his water as well. Just to give extra energy since he's not eating. With healthy chicks I do a tablespoon per gallon. I don't think it would hurt the little guy to have a tablespoon per quart until he gets something in his stomach so his energy will come back up to fight the illness.

 

[dc3085]

When their sick feed them what you can get them to eat. Melon rinds crackers whatever . If he doesnt eat he cant get better. Meal worms are high in fat so i notmally suggest limiting intake but if hell eat them feed em.

 

[gipsi]

Thanks to both ill give that stuff a try and off topic question I have a different roo with some females how to know if eggs are fertile he's been mating a lot and I've heard of candling how to do it and what exactly am I looking for?

 

[dc3085]

Thanks to both ill give that stuff a try and off topic question I have a different roo with some females how to know if eggs are fertile he's been mating a lot and I've heard of candling how to do it and what exactly am I looking for?

To candle you have to run the eggs in the incubator for 7-8 days. You'll never see through a coturnix egg well enough to do it sooner. They are the hardest eggs I can think of when it comes to candling. By day 8 there will either be light shining through the egg or not. Not is fertile. Some eggs you can see veins growing if you have a good enough candling light.