Please help baby sick baby quails

[JosiahP]

Hi everyone I’ve been reading this website for a few days and have found some really good information. This is the first time I’ve ever posted something in a forum:

The background:
My wife and I took in four abandoned quail babies from a neighbor on July 28th; I think they were about 1-2 days old and the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen in my life. We just could not let them die. They were stressed out. But, my wife is really good with animals and had them eating and drinking quickly. We gave them chick starter with 20% protein, but switched to 28% protein when we learned they need higher protein. We are in Arizona so it’s hot, we’ve kept them outside in a medium size tote with paper towels and fabric towel for bedding and a small cardboard box for cover. I have a temperature sensor in there and they are generally around 95 degrees. We move them to the garage when it gets too hot outside. They have been exposed to 104-105 degrees and the coldest was around 85 degrees. We were giving them electrolytes in their water.

The problem:
They all seemed totally fine last Sunday evening (July 5th), but we did notice their poop was runny and watery. They’ve also been very tired, they will just fall asleep anywhere especially in my wife’s hand. We just thought it was cute and didn’t think about that it might be a bad sign. Monday morning one of them was dead (photo). We did notice some blood on the paper towels either from poop or from urine.

We assumed they had Coccidiosis and quickly gave them some Corid (1.5 tsp per gallon). Despite that another one died by noon. It was so sudden, they seemed to be okay. The two left are still alive and seem to be okay. We are continuing fresh Corid as their only source of water and chick starter feed. My wife also gave them a small amount of boiled egg which they seem to go crazy for.

My question:
Today they seem very tired, more than usual. We have not been able to get a hold of a vet. Is there anything else we can do for them? Should we give them an antibiotic in case it’s a different illness?

Never thought I would care so much about some little baby birds.

Some photos:
The day we got them


Poor little guy died Sunday night/Monday morning


The on the bottom of the photo died about two hours after this photo:


Does this mean they were getting too hot? (they were all still alive and well in this photo)

 

[Kale the Quail]

Welcome to BYC, have you checked their bellies for anything abnormal? it might be something wrong with their yolk sack. How hot is it in there? do you have a thermometer in their brooder at chick level? have you seen them eat and drink? I'll tag some people who i think can help. @Fenrisulfr , @Nabiki

 

[Nabiki]

You mentioned blood in their poop, which to me implies some type of disease. Unfortunately, I don't know much about diseases. It does match the symptoms of Ulcerative Enteritis, though.

From the way they're stretched out, it looks like they may also have died from being too hot. You mentioned temperatures over 100 degrees, which would be too hot for them. Were they in those kind of temps over night?

 

[JosiahP]

Welcome to BYC, have you checked their bellies for anything abnormal? it might be something wrong with their yolk sack. How hot is it in there? do you have a thermometer in their brooder at chick level? have you seen them eat and drink? I'll tag some people who i think can help. @Fenrisulfr , @Nabiki

KaLe thank you! Yes, three of them seemed normal and healthy, but one had what we believe is a yolk sac. That's the only one we were worried about, but oddly the two that died had normal bellies. You can kind of tell in this photo:

The neighbor, unfortunately, put oatmeal in their box and we think some of it stuck to her. We've just been cleaning very gently with warm water and qtips. I can pick her up and take a photo of her belly right now if it would help. Here's a screenshot of the temperature and humidity range inside their brooder, the sensor is right at chick level:

We've always tried to keep them warm and dry. In some of the photos I posted we let them in our courtyard, they seemed to love it and their topnotch all popped up. The travertine was very warm (not hot) so we figured it was ok for a few minutes. Yes, they are eating and drinking. The two left are pecking around right now. They are also drinking the water with Corid. The two that died were eating and drinking too, so we thought they were fine. Was heartbreaking to see them go.

 

[JosiahP]

You mentioned blood in their poop, which to me implies some type of disease. Unfortunately, I don't know much about diseases. It does match the symptoms of Ulcerative Enteritis, though.

From the way they're stretched out, it looks like they may also have died from being too hot. You mentioned temperatures over 100 degrees, which would be too hot for them. Were they in those kind of temps over night?

Nabiki, thank you. Yes, Monday morning there was diluted blood from one of them in their droppings. It only happened once. Yes, we considered Ulcerative Enteritis from reading other posts on this forum, but just aren't sure. We decided to treat them with Corid since Cocci seemed to fit the symptoms. Yes, unfortunately in AZ it's hard to escape the heat. They were in 100+ degree temps for short amounts of time, maybe an hour before we moved them to a cooler place. We are just monitoring the thermo and move the brooder around to try to keep it around 95. Perhaps we should just move them inside and get a heat lamp?

 

[Nabiki]

Chicks are more sensitive to temperature changes than adults, to if you can get them into a controlled environment, it can't hurt.

At this point, you might see if your local wildlife shelter might have some treatment options for you? I wish I could help more, but I just don't have a lot of experience with disease.

It is possible that the Corid treatment might work but was just too late for the ones that didn't make it. Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[JosiahP]

Chicks are more sensitive to temperature changes than adults, to if you can get them into a controlled environment, it can't hurt.

At this point, you might see if your local wildlife shelter might have some treatment options for you? I wish I could help more, but I just don't have a lot of experience with disease.

It is possible that the Corid treatment might work but was just too late for the ones that didn't make it. Good luck, and keep us posted!

That's what I'm hoping. The other two are perking up right now, so maybe the medicine is working.

 

[Nabiki]

That's good news!

 

[JosiahP]

Unfortunately, another one passed away last night despite the medicine and care. More blood in her droppings. I suppose the outlook for the single chick left isn't so good.

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

I am sorry for your loss - its always hard when they pass, let alone as chicks and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Sounds like you did your best with what you knew and had to hand at the time.

I noticed you mentioned they were stressed out when they came to you - they may well have been ill at that point and at that age, even with everyone fighting hard, recovery can be a challenge.

When we've had solo chicks, we've put an alarm clock in a sock in with them to give them some sense of not being alone. We've often found them sitting on it.

I've got it all crossed for you and the remaining chick.