Orphaned quail baby

[Bumbles]

Okay so this evening I'm sitting out on my porch and I see this little baby. Teeny tiny little thing. He's just running around me. I looked around for any sight of parents or siblings and couldn't find any. It's now completely dark. I don't know what the odds are of reuniting it with its family. I was trying to read about what to do but I'm not really finding anything. Can anyone help me make sure the little guy doesn't die? I don't know what kind it is. I live in Arizona if that helps.

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to BYC!

I'm glad your helping the little guy! Could you post a picture of him? I bet he's really cute.

Bring the little guy inside. I doubt you'll find his parents if you haven't already. Get him warm (90 F under the heat light with cooler areas to escape to). Water should be offered in a measuring spoon or other small container (like a bottle cap) so that he won't drown.
If you can't get game bird food right away, try giving him some scrambled eggs (tiny, cool pieces), tiny pieces of wheat bread, or tiny bits of oatmeal.
Keep him in a box with paper towels or an old sheet or pillow case so he can easily find his footing.

Make sure he isn't injured. He may have been taken by a predator, and that is why he is lost.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Bumbles]

I don't have any heat lights or anything. It's about 85 in the house and 97 outside. Will he be better off in a box outside?

 

[kingmt]

Outside protected is probably better if you don't have a 40W incandescent light bulb to keep him warm. So I should be a few inches off the floor so he can actually reach it.

 

[Bumbles]

He hasn't ate or drank anything. We have chick feed from when we had baby chicks. Wouldn't touch it. I read something about egg soup (watered down egg) tried to get him to eat that. He won't drink. He just runs around and peeps until he sees me. Then he runs to whatever side I'm on and peeps at me till I put my hand in the container. Nuzzles into my hand and gets quiet. I feel bad. I don't know how to get him to eat or drink. Also, he's falling over a lot. I don't know if that's normal? At one point he even got stuck on his back and couldn't get back over.

Also, thank you both for replying. I was in such a rush last night, I didn't do the new member thing or read all the FAQs like I was suppose to. My head was all over the place last night. Thank you for your help.

 

[GitaBooks]

I had a chicken who peeped a lot and just wanted to rest. He was just a day old and he would fall on his back and was unable to right himself. It was a neurological condition and we had to euthanize him.

I'm not saying that is what this is, as I've never had a quail chick before, but I would watch for other symptoms like twisting the neck in odd positions. It may have been that he suffered this condition at haching and that was why he couldn't keep up with his mother.

I hope it all works out!

 

[duckets]

Good Friday Morning calideboo, a plastic storage container (Sterlite) or similar, with a non auto off heating pad set on low half under the container, so the Lil' One has a cool side to migrate, this is an excellent set up for all baby animals. And as previously mentioned, use paper towels, linen, or an old t shirt as lining in the container because some newspaper has ink that 'can' be toxic to small animals.

Both Dollar General and Family Dollar carry non shut off heating pads for 11.00, and different size plastic containers. (Plastic is best because cardboard will dehydrate, and or dry out the Lil' One's skin) You can also try offering peeled and diced pieces of blueberry, or you could cut an earth worm into small segments and offer that to him, a small amount of apple juice or honey in the water may help him drink, he definitely needs hydration to survive.

Ask as many questions as you need, and please update when you can.

 

[Bumbles]

If you look really close, I'm sure you can find the little guy. I had to take a nap. I was up all night with it because I didn't want to leave it outside by itself and I felt it was too cold to bring it in. I ended up holding him all night (don't know if that was wise or not but I couldn't get answers fast enough to know which way to go). In the time that I was sleeping, boyfriend did some research and built him this little habitat. Light included. boyfriend has been getting him to eat and drink every 2 hours. He is using a syringe to feed him at the moment because we can't get him to peck. Boyfriend says that by his size and down, he was less than 24 hours old. The baby is going to the bathroom now. Which he didn't at all yesterday. Still don't know if he is going to survive but we are doing our best.

Edit: boyfriend read that they cant have the light on at night. It stresses them out?

 

[GitaBooks]

I love the enclosure!

Holding a chick all night should be fine. I like to keep chicks warm by hold them tucked under my shirt, since its like a mother covering them with her feathers.

 

[Bumbles]

What do I do about the heat light at night? Boyfriend read that they can't have the light at night because it stresses them out.