Possible solution for quail walking on it's "knees"

[rachel]

I know several people have been having this problem with the jumbo browns on occasion. I've only had it happen to one bird, but here's what I did and something in here seemed to work. Sorry for the multiple variables in my unscientific study.

Problem arose when I put a 2 week old jumbo on wire and seemed to be getting worse.

I put the quail back in the hard floor brooder with a runt for company. I put 100mg ground up niacin per 1 gallon of water (recommended for ducklings to help prevent leg/wing problems).

The quail began showing improvement after about 3-4 days and after a week I put her back on the wire flooring, she seems to be doing okay, still a little "squatty" sometimes but markedly improved. I don't know if it was too early for such a fast growing quail to be put onto wire, if it was just plain luck or if the niacin made a difference. Maybe some of you that have this problem could give it a shot and see if you get any results...

 

[monarc23]

interesting! I've never had it happen yet but it's interesting to know something thta may work. where can you get this niacin at? I dont know much about it.

 

[rachel]

It is conveniently sold for cheap at the grocery store in 100 mg pills.

It's just in with the vitamins, just be sure to get a bottle that's just niacin, sometimes it comes in a vitamin combo, which you don't want. I just crush one up with a mortar and pestle, it turns to fine powder in about 10 seconds. Just be sure not to overdose them, 100mg/gallon is probably plenty.

 

[NancyDz]

Interesting...... I took Niacin once on my mom's recommendation that it would help me stay warmer when I went skiing.... Well it sure did... me and my friend Dan took this and both of us suffered these flushes.... are faces and probably whole bodies turned bright red.... it was not a good feeling. It was kind of humorous too though, at first we didnt know it was the niacin but apparently that is a side effect. Thanks mom!

 

[monarc23]

oh good to know so walmart should have it then

thanks!

 

[rachel]

Yes, any grocery store will have it. I took one once and also got the "niacin flush" it made me so hot that I started squirming around on the linoleum floor!

I took it another time (I can't remember why after trying it the first time...) but interestingly, it didn't have that effect, at least not the full on hot lobster thing.

Hopefully, this is a solution to the problem and not just coincidence. Either way that quail went in my "not for breeding" pen.