Quail hen puffed and lethargic

[holbytla]

This morning I went out to feed my quail and found one of my hens (about 7 months old) sitting in the middle of the enclosure, feathers puffed up very fat, awake but not moving around, even after being poked a bit. I picked her up and she didn't resist, but when I flipped her over she did respond, so she's not completely out of it. I set her next to the feeder where she resumed her puffed and lethargic state and she hasn't moved from where I put her for 2 hours. It's 38°F in their enclosure, but none of the 10 others are acting chilled. How do I identify if something is wrong? Should I bring her inside? Did I just interrupt her nap?

Food: My flock is being fed Kamblach 20% Flock Maker.
Water: They have a waterer that gets refilled daily and no standing water anywhere else in the enclosure.
Poop: I can't tell what her specific poop looks like but no one seems to have unusual poops in there.

Pic of the puffball attached.

 

[holbytla]

 

[Nabiki]

I would start by separating her from the rest of your birds. This will let you get a better idea of what's going on with her.

It sounds like she's not eating or drinking, which is not a good sign.

What does her poop look like?
Is she laying?
Do her feet and legs look okay?
Has she been getting enough calcium?

Do you have any Nutri-Drench or something to give he an energy boost?

If she's not pooping or laying, can you feel anything that might be a stuck egg at her vent? If so, give her a warm epsom salt bath. It should be about quail body temp (104-106) or a couple degrees warmer. If she's egg bound she needs to pass that egg quickly. Some calcium citrate would be good to get her calcium levels a quick boost as well.

If she's pooping, then she's not egg bound, so the treatment above will not necessarily help.

 

[holbytla]

I would start by separating her from the rest of your birds. This will let you get a better idea of what's going on with her.

It sounds like she's not eating or drinking, which is not a good sign.

What does her poop look like?
Is she laying?
Do her feet and legs look okay?
Has she been getting enough calcium?

Do you have any Nutri-Drench or something to give he an energy boost?

If she's not pooping or laying, can you feel anything that might be a stuck egg at her vent? If so, give her a warm epsom salt bath. It should be about quail body temp (104-106) or a couple degrees warmer. If she's egg bound she needs to pass that egg quickly. Some calcium citrate would be good to get her calcium levels a quick boost as well.

If she's pooping, then she's not egg bound, so the treatment above will not necessarily help.

Okay, I set her up in the isolation cage. She seemed unable to stand up when I put her in (it's a bin with shavings and not wire). She also had some fresh poop stuck to her underside that wasn't a weird color. I provided her with some warm electrolyte supplement water. I will look into a calcium supplement. Thank you!!

 

[Nabiki]

Keep us posted on how she's doing.
How old is she?

 

[holbytla]

Keep us posted on how she's doing.
How old is she?

I will! She's about 7 months old.

 

[007Sean]

Now that she's been isolated, can you post pics of her poop?

 

[holbytla]

Unfortunately she passed away this afternoon. Wouldn't drink even when I put her beak up to the water. I hope at least she was comfortable. I'm posting a pic of the poop in case it's helpful to identify what went wrong and what I need to watch for in the rest of the flock.

 

[Maka]

Unfortunately she passed away this afternoon. Wouldn't drink even when I put her beak up to the water. I hope at least she was comfortable. I'm posting a pic of the poop in case it's helpful to identify what went wrong and what I need to watch for in the rest of the flock.

View attachment 3682186

Hello did you ever get any answers on this. My quail is doing the same thing and I’m very worried

 

[Nabiki]

Hello did you ever get any answers on this. My quail is doing the same thing and I’m very worried

Can you answer the same questions we asked of the OP?

What are you feeding them?
Are they eating/drinking?
What does their poop look like?
How many do you have?
What is their home like?
Pics?