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.