One chick can't eat or drink

[Canary751]

I have five jumbo quail hatch all are doing well however one keeps peeping loudly sometimes, it seems like even though it tries to eat and drink every time it tried is shakes it's head, I'm watching it try and eat right now and it always ends up shaking its head.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have five jumbo quail hatch all are doing well however one keeps peeping loudly sometimes, it seems like even though it tries to eat and drink every time it tried is shakes it's head, I'm watching it try and eat right now and it always ends up shaking its head.

How old is it? A day or so?
I think I would try giving it a couple of drops of Poultry Nutri-Drench twice a day.
Look inside it's beak just to make sure there's no obstruction.

Is the water cold? You can also try room temp water and offer wet feed to see if that helps.

Possibly something else is going on with the chick, sometimes all you can do is keep trying and see how it goes.

 

[Canary751]

It's only a day old so I'm hoping it will solve itself within two days I'm just worried about what to do if it doesn't. I'm starting to wonder if it might have eaten a small piece of hair and it just has an itchy throat from that. It's calmed down at the moment but still will suddenly start peeping loudly. Other than that it looks and acts completely fine as do the others.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's only a day old so I'm hoping it will solve itself within two days I'm just worried about what to do if it doesn't. I'm starting to wonder if it might have eaten a small piece of hair and it just has an itchy throat from that. It's calmed down at the moment but still will suddenly start peeping loudly. Other than that it looks and acts completely fine as do the others.

Is it staying warm enough?
They only way to see if there's a hair would be to look.
Hopefully it will resolve on it's own. Sometimes it takes a bit for them to understand food/water.

 

[Canary751]

Definitely warm enough, it sleeps fine. It does try and eat with the others it's just that issue of it not liking the feeling judging by the constant head shake.

 

[luvmigirls]

I have five jumbo quail hatch all are doing well however one keeps peeping loudly sometimes, it seems like even though it tries to eat and drink every time it tried is shakes it's head, I'm watching it try and eat right now and it always ends up shaking its head.

I agree that it may be cold. Sometimes some just need more warmth. Try lowering the heat source and blocking drafts!!!! Also, check for 'pasty butt'. If his vent is plugged up, gently rinse with warm water and pick the pieces off. And be sure to return him to warmth to dry.

Good luck!

 

[luvmigirls]

Definitely warm enough, it sleeps fine. It does try and eat with the others it's just that issue of it not liking the feeling judging by the constant head shake.

Okay so he's warm enough... head shaking in some chickens are a sign of mites. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sick-chicken-shaking-head-and-withdrawn.1272995/#:~:text=Enabler&text=Head shaking can be a,adjustment, or neurological in nature.

I've had chickens swallow a string and get caught qnd wrapped on their tongue. Definitely check with flashlight

 

[Canary751]

I left the chick alone for a while but it's still an issue, so I've held it and inspected it and it seems fine however it is constantly wiping its beak against my hand as if something is irritating it, I couldn't see any hair or anything poking out and I don't know how I can inspect inside the beak. What would be best? It does still eat and drink but struggles too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get someone to help hold her and open the beak looking inside with a flashlight?

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Do you have a syringe or eye dropper? Early on I almost lost a chick to dehydration, then found I could offer a very controlled amt of chick electrolyte water, literally drop by drop, using a dropper, and it brought him around. I think this was less traumatic than holding his head to dip his beak, and didn’t require much effort on his part. Plus, if there’s some kind of obstruction, a drop or two at a time would hopefully be easier to deal with, and easier to judge a response to, and may help tide it over until you can determine the problem.

Good luck!