Quail death, anything I could have done?

[Melody102]

Hi everyone,
I’m so sad to report that my pretty lady Rosie has passed away. I think she died from being egg bound (sorry can’t do autopsy, she was my sweetheart and I can’t bring myself to open her up)
She had a very large egg inside her near her vent( I can feel it) but shows no other signs of injury, pests or disease.

She was a bird I helped out if her egg and had to help her learn to walk, she was pretty weak when born (8months ago) but grew into my biggest and most friendly quail. Yesterday when I checked on her she seemed normal, a little grouchy compared to her usual but my assumption was the weather. I had not noticed anything else unusual. Is there anything I should be looking for to avoid this in future? I didn’t even think to check her for an egg since my 4 ladies just got out of molting and had stopped laying during that time.

So yeah, I’m just wondering if there is anything else I should be looking for, or if there is anything else I could have done to prevent this? I double checked the other 3 and they all seem fine, no one else has an egg inside.

 

[Nabiki]

I'm sorry for your loss. You're doing the right thing to check for what to look for, but don't blame yourself. She may have been egg bound, she may not.

For egg bound, look for straining. It's hard to tell if one bird isn't pooping if you have several, but that is another thing to look for. She may sit around with fluffed feathers. If you think a hen is egg bound, you can let her soak in warm (quail body temp or a couple of degrees warmer) water to help her relax. A bit of plain petroleum or lubricant around and just inside the vent applied with a q-tip may also help.

I hope this helps.

 

[RUNuts]

I've also read that calcium plays an important role and egg binding can be a symptom of low calcium. Calcium in the feed may be adequate, but you can also provide free choice oyster shell. Mine will take the oyster shell in addition to chicken layer feed with added calcium.

Sorry for the loss of a treasured quail.