Quail leg injury (injured when chick)

[bountyofbantams]

So this is a quail I'm taking in from my friend who breeds quail and she has tried splinting this leg and doing different things to help it straighten out and she couldnt afford $500 vet bill where she is - so I'm taking this girl in. Shes absolutely gorgeous and VERY fast and doesnt seem to be in any pain but we're thinking her leg may be paralyzed. My only thought is to get it amputated as its just dragging behind her but I need more opinions.. as I know anesthesia can cause birds to kinda just clock out early... shes very young still only around 4 weeks (we dont know the gender yet)

Her quality of life seems to be promising as shes very strong and playful, and will be kept as a pet inside with my personal quail one more of which had been bullied so badly she almost went blind (shes fine)

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@oxalis

 

[bountyofbantams]

So this is a quail I'm taking in from my friend who breeds quail and she has tried splinting this leg and doing different things to help it straighten out and she couldnt afford $500 vet bill where she is - so I'm taking this girl in. Shes absolutely gorgeous and VERY fast and doesnt seem to be in any pain but we're thinking her leg may be paralyzed. My only thought is to get it amputated as its just dragging behind her but I need more opinions.. as I know anesthesia can cause birds to kinda just clock out early... shes very young still only around 4 weeks (we dont know the gender yet)

Her quality of life seems to be promising as shes very strong and playful, and will be kept as a pet inside with my personal quail one more of which had been bullied so badly she almost went blind (shes fine)

More photos of her and my partially blind quail (Angel) as shes (Oreo) in my care now.

 

[oxalis]

Aw poor chickie.. sadly that's way beyond my experience level of just treating splayed toes in chicks

I do have a more special needs quail that has an injury to her foot so I can say that its possible they *can* live a decent life as an indoor pet, depending on certain factors. I've known of another person who had a bobwhite quail that was missing it's leg from the hock joint down and it seemed like they were able to have a pretty normal life as an indoor pet.

I can't say much about amputation as I don't really have any training in vet med but only that I wouldn't try it at home as I'd be really worried that the risk of possible infection would be higher than any issues you might have currently leaving it as is. If you can't take her to a vet soon, I guess I'd just keep an eye on her for any signs of swelling or infection around the break area, especially if it looks red or any growths appear.

You could possibly take her in for a checkup and decline an xray or surgery if its out of budget but still get a prescription for something that might help her manage pain if that becomes an issue.

Some signs of chronic pain we noticed with our injured foot quail:
- Sitting around a lot, moving less than her buddies
- one or both wing are drooped down
- Favoring her foot, or pulling her foot up when at rest (they won't show this much unless the pain is bad, otherwise you might have to watch them from a distance and see if they do this when they think you're not watching them)
- weight loss from limited mobility affecting feeding (since we've had some health issues in our flock we've been weighing our quail once a week as it can be a helpful health indicator)

To help give an idea of costs, I'll share that when we took our bird in to the vet for her foot, the checkup cost $75 and she was prescribed Meloxicam to treat pain and inflammation, which was about $20-30 I think, but I do live in an expensive area so it may be less for you. I've also had Gabapentin prescribed for bird pain treatment and I think it was in the same price range. Outside of that I don't know much about OTC pain treatment for quail but if you want I can share the recommended dose we were given and our bird's weight if that would be helpful information for you.

 

[bountyofbantams]

Aw poor chickie.. sadly that's way beyond my experience level of just treating splayed toes in chicks

I do have a more special needs quail that has an injury to her foot so I can say that its possible they *can* live a decent life as an indoor pet, depending on certain factors. I've known of another person who had a bobwhite quail that was missing it's leg from the hock joint down and it seemed like they were able to have a pretty normal life as an indoor pet.

I can't say much about amputation as I don't really have any training in vet med but only that I wouldn't try it at home as I'd be really worried that the risk of possible infection would be higher than any issues you might have currently leaving it as is. If you can't take her to a vet soon, I guess I'd just keep an eye on her for any signs of swelling or infection around the break area, especially if it looks red or any growths appear.

You could possibly take her in for a checkup and decline an xray or surgery if its out of budget but still get a prescription for something that might help her manage pain if that becomes an issue.

Some signs of chronic pain we noticed with our injured foot quail:
- Sitting around a lot, moving less than her buddies
- one or both wing are drooped down
- Favoring her foot, or pulling her foot up when at rest (they won't show this much unless the pain is bad, otherwise you might have to watch them from a distance and see if they do this when they think you're not watching them)
- weight loss from limited mobility affecting feeding (since we've had some health issues in our flock we've been weighing our quail once a week as it can be a helpful health indicator)

To help give an idea of costs, I'll share that when we took our bird in to the vet for her foot, the checkup cost $75 and she was prescribed Meloxicam to treat pain and inflammation, which was about $20-30 I think, but I do live in an expensive area so it may be less for you. I've also had Gabapentin prescribed for bird pain treatment and I think it was in the same price range. Outside of that I don't know much about OTC pain treatment for quail but if you want I can share the recommended dose we were given and our bird's weight if that would be helpful information for you.

Thank you so much!

More details on the break:
Her knee snapped at 2.5 weeks old (4 weeks old right now) and it looks like her knee fused into that shape. Shes pretty active, and I cant put it into a splint or cast because I think itd snap her leg again.. she doesnt seem to be in any pain but I will definitely monitor. She isnt paralyzed either she wiggles that leg a bunch when I pick her up but its definitely a lame leg. It looks like her entire leg is out of socket as when i flip her onto her back its a LOT lower than the other leg. I'm seeing if I can get her into an appointment with a vet but I'm not sure if any vets around me see quail

The only reason she couldnt go to a vet before was because the vets in georgia (where my friend is located) quoted $500 and nobody can afford that

 

[oxalis]

Thank you so much!

More details on the break:
Her knee snapped at 2.5 weeks old (4 weeks old right now) and it looks like her knee fused into that shape. Shes pretty active, and I cant put it into a splint or cast because I think itd snap her leg again.. she doesnt seem to be in any pain but I will definitely monitor. She isnt paralyzed either she wiggles that leg a bunch when I pick her up but its definitely a lame leg. It looks like her entire leg is out of socket as when i flip her onto her back its a LOT lower than the other leg. I'm seeing if I can get her into an appointment with a vet but I'm not sure if any vets around me see quail

The only reason she couldnt go to a vet before was because the vets in georgia (where my friend is located) quoted $500 and nobody can afford that

aw that's so tough.. and yeah, vet prices are so painful they probably wont be able to do anything for her hock without an xray and those can be soooo much. But you never know, maybe they would be able to pop her leg back in without too much diagnostic costs as it does look like something's going on with her hips. I hope she continues to get along alright regardless of what happens, she seems very sweet. ♥

 

[bountyofbantams]

aw that's so tough.. and yeah, vet prices are so painful they probably wont be able to do anything for her hock without an xray and those can be soooo much. But you never know, maybe they would be able to pop her leg back in without too much diagnostic costs as it does look like something's going on with her hips. I hope she continues to get along alright regardless of what happens, she seems very sweet. ♥

I think amputation of the entire leg might be the only cure for her.. although she might give up on life afterwards so I might just leave her alone until she passes. Shes housed with my partial blind quail hen so she has company.. Angel is the sweetest quail ever so she will make sure Oreo is comfortable

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

AHHHH SHE'S SO CUTE

 

[bountyofbantams]

AHHHH SHE'S SO CUTE

She lets anyone pick her up with absolutely zero fight like my 2 week old quail Shes friendlier than some of my CHICKENS... and I have some friendly chickens (several different kinds of bantams)

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

Oh my gosh that's so cute!!