Please help me! jumbo female sick!!!

[mrssmith84]

I'm begging for help. My quail lady started felling ill 2 days ago! Fluffed up feathers, eyes closed, won't eat or drink unless I syringe and force feed. Her droppings are white with yellow. She's laid an egg twice since. I'm so frustrated because I'm worried my 19 chickens, 9 ducks and 30+ other quail are at risk. I don't even know where to start to treat her or jump the gun and cull to save my flock.

 

[mrssmith84]

The picture is of her droppings. White with yellow maybe a little clear mucus.

 

[dc3085]

First as it relates to disease, either you quail has contracted an environmental disease or she got from your chickens. Chickens are the birds you worry about it when it comes to carrying disease. Ducks almost never carry or transmit diseases and when they do it is usually only to other ducks. Quail unless purchased live from a poor source will not have any disease issues.

Chickens can carry diseases their entire life and never show symptoms because they have built such a resistance to them. Quail have no of those resistances. Biosecurity between chickens and quail should always be practiced.

Now having said that lets not jump to assuming your chickens got her sick, lets go through the steps.

What type of floor does she have in her cage?

Does she have any wounds around her head or neck?

Does she stagger and fall over when she tries to walk?

Pick up her up and set her back down. Does she lose her balance when you set her down?

Smell around her mouth and nostrils. Does it smell foul? (like really gross not just a dirty bird)

Try to answer those and it might give us some clues.

 

[mrssmith84]

Okay. She's in a ground coop with 3 other females. No wounds. No foul smells, but I'll check again. At first no staggering but now on day 4 she loses her balance but never falls off her feet and her head moves at an angle as if she's trying to shake her head. Her eyes look very depressed. I thought she would've passed by now. But I'm still forcing her to drink. I did end up getting a medication to treat for corrid. I started her this morning.

 

[mrssmith84]

She has not laid in the last 2 days

 

[TwoCrows]

Have you checked her for egg binding? Use a latex glove and your pinky finger lubed up with vaseline or ky-jelly and gently insert your pinky into her vent. Go back about one inch. If she is egg bound, you will feel the egg in this distance. With any hen, it is good to rule out egg binding and this is always a concern and kills hens.

This could be the reminents of a broken egg as well that she has passed. Doesn't look like coccidiosis to me. If she is not egg bound, you might get her on antibiotics.

 

[mrssmith84]

Unfortunately I didn't want her to suffer any longer.

 

[TwoCrows]

Unfortunately I didn't want her to suffer any longer.

I am so sorry.

Sometimes it is best to put them down.

I hope your heavy heart heals soon.