Poopy toes (and picking them up)

[IldflueStjerne]

Hello!
I'm looking for assistance. I noticed some rather large poop balls on my 2 week old coturnix quail chicks' toes.

The solution should be a simple matter of letting the feet soak to soften the clusters up, but I can't pick any of them up. I put in a very shallow tray of water hoping that would help since they will walk through it and moisten the clods, but that's not the quickest solution (and I'm unsure if it will work at all).

Any advice on how to pick them up and tame them would be greatly appreciated. I've been trying to hold food in my hand to get them used to hands, and while they will eat, they also run away as soon as I move, even to just get more food. They move so quickly!

 

[Whiskybear]

Whatever you’re using to soak their feet is goona need ample walls to hold them in. Think stock pot, old 10 gal aquarium, bucket, etc…

As to making them tamer… Good luck!

 

[sleepycat]

older birds who werent handled frequently from day one will be EXTREMELY hard to tame. and i dont mean "kinda hard but good luck".. i mean HARD. like it may take months if not years. generally though, quail do not like to be picked up, especially grabbed. since this isnt a "wait a while and see what happens" kinda situation, i'd recommend just grabbing them and putting them in a closed container with air holes and about an inch of warm water.

 

[Nabiki]

You could use a butterfly net. I haven't had to do that for a very long time, but it is a way to catch one that doesn't want to be caught.

 

[IldflueStjerne]

older birds who werent handled frequently from day one will be EXTREMELY hard to tame. and i dont mean "kinda hard but good luck".. i mean HARD. like it may take months if not years. generally though, quail do not like to be picked up, especially grabbed. since this isnt a "wait a while and see what happens" kinda situation, i'd recommend just grabbing them and putting them in a closed container with air holes and about an inch of warm water.

I'll take that as a lesson next time. Spend many hours with them when babies. They don't seem to mind me too too much, most of the time.

I think I found a tentative solution. Wait for them to start sand bathing, then swoop in from the side as much as I can to corner them. I find when I set them in the plastic shoebox that has maybe a half inch of warm water they kind of just give up. They stand there huddled with their eyes closed, and they don't struggle as much when I pick them back up.

So glad to free their poor entombed little toes. I wish I had noticed it sooner. Next time, I think I will.

 

[Nabiki]

If you're just around them a lot they will be much calmer. I don't handle mine much, but for the first couple of weeks their brooder is in my office, so they see me a lot. Once they're outside they do not have a healthy fear of feet so I have to be very careful when I walk into their pen.

I had a great escape a couple weeks ago where one of my pens was open. Luckily, they were all still in the greenhouse. One hen actually walked up to me and stood by my feet waiting for me to pick her up and take her home.

 

[Jannbo]

Unfortunately even at 2 weeks they can be really really hard to get comfortable being held. I got mine at 5 days old and even with me being near them and in their sight most of the day, all but one still runs when I approach the brooder unless I have their waterbowl or food dish in hand. They all HATE being picked up, and I don't just mean they don't like it, they struggle desperately and cry the entire time. You really need to be giving them constant affection from the moment they're out of the incubator to have a high likelihood of them liking being held. Your best bet would be just spending lots of time near them, talking to them, making sure they see you giving food and water, and start finding out what treats they like. A small bit of watermelon can go a long way with my birds it seems