Quail chick not eating well and possible walking/leg issue?

[Quail05]

Hi, I have 1 or 2 week-old quail chicks that have all been eating and drinking well and look healthy. However, over yesterday and today, I have noticed one of them (yellow chick) has been eating less than the others and is visibly smaller. It also seems to stumble around more than the others and seems to not use its left leg as much, although I couldn't see anything wrong with it. What is possibly wrong with it and how can I help it?



Thanks for any help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome to BYC.

Do you have any Poultry Nutri-Drench on hand? If you do, give this chick a couple of drops orally twice a day.

Do you notice if she struggles eating the feed? You can try grinding the feed up a little smaller to see if she eats a little better. For the first couple of weeks I grind up Gamebird Starter so they are able to handle the food more easily.

Sometimes chicks fail to thrive, this may be the case, but I'd first watch very closely to see if she's struggling to eat/drink first.

 

[Quail05]

Thanks, no we don't have any, not sure if it's available in Australia, but will try to see if crushing up the food smaller helps!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks, no we don't have any, not sure if it's available in Australia, but will try to see if crushing up the food smaller helps!

If you are in AU, check with your pet shop or feed store. Look for Nettex Nutri Drops. This is similar to Poultry Nutri-Drench here in the U.S.

Alternately, if you have B-Complex, dissolve a 1/4 tablet in a small amount of water and give the chick drops of that throughout the day.

I hope she pulls through.

 

[Quail05]

Seems to be looking better, although I will keep an eye on it over the next week. Thanks for the help