Quail walking on hocks?

[Britt712]

One of my female coturnix seems to be walking only on her hocks for some reason. She eats, drinks, lays eggs and everything just fine.

She has always walked in a crouch position (not all the way down to the floor just walked in a lower stance than the other) around the cage but I didn't think anything of it since she has always acted perfectly fine. Now she strictly walks on her hocks and doesn't seem to be using her legs hardly. I feed them 30% protein feed and give them oyster shell.

Is there anything I can do to fix this issue? She is still active and acts like nothing is wrong but I'm worried that I won't be able to fix it and it'll get worse.

Her cage stays clean and she stays with one other female who walks just fine. They have been together all their lives with no issues at all. Anything I can do to fix this? Thanks in advance.

This is the best picture I can get of her hocks. They seem to be swollen and red.

 

[Kiki]

How old is she?

You mention that she is laying...why are you still feeding high protein feed? Switch her to layer crumbles.

Do you feed treats?

 

[Kiki]

What is the flooring in her cage?

 

[007Sean]

There are two things that jump out at me in reading your post, 1. the high protein feed has caused gout and 2. It possibly has synovitis or swollen joint disease, caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma synoviae, which is characterized by supporative and caseous arthritis in foot and hock joints. Inflamed, redden joints and hot to the touch.
Although not as common in quail and pheasants, it does occur if cross contamination has been introduce to a flock, either by wild fowl or from human carriers performing normal daily feeding/watering activities.

If it is gout, the protien intake should be reduced, although the damage may have gone too far and may not reverse the symptoms.

Mycoplasma treatment:
Treatment is to administer Tylan, either injected or given orally.
If caught in the early stages, it can be reversed and the bird will recover.

 

[Britt712]

How old is she?

You mention that she is laying...why are you still feeding high protein feed? Switch her to layer crumbles.

Do you feed treats?

I just recently started feeding higher protein because they were showing signs of deficiency. I usually feed around 19%. I think I mentioned she was around 8 or 9 months old. As for treats they get the occasional mealworms I raise for my other animals. They dont touch vegetables or fruit I offer, only things that seem to catch their attention.

 

[Britt712]

What is the flooring in her cage?

Usually hay or shredded newspaper.

 

[Britt712]

There are two things that jump out at me in reading your post, 1. the high protein feed has caused gout and 2. It possibly has synovitis or swollen joint disease, caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma synoviae, which is characterized by supporative and caseous arthritis in foot and hock joints. Inflamed, redden joints and hot to the touch.
Although not as common in quail and pheasants, it does occur if cross contamination has been introduce to a flock, either by wild fowl or from human carriers performing normal daily feeding/watering activities.

If it is gout, the protien intake should be reduced, although the damage may have gone too far and may not reverse the symptoms.

Mycoplasma treatment:
Treatment is to administer Tylan, either injected or given orally.
If caught in the early stages, it can be reversed and the bird will recover.

So I guess I need to take her to a vet to get diagnosed first? I dont want to treat her for something I'm not entirely sure is wrong with her unless it wouldn't hurt to do so. Her feed was only recently changed but she doesnt need such high protein anymore so I plan to go back to their old feed.

 

[Omarthequailloverr]

So I guess I need to take her to a vet to get diagnosed first? I dont want to treat her for something I'm not entirely sure is wrong with her unless it wouldn't hurt to do so. Her feed was only recently changed but she doesnt need such high protein anymore so I plan to go back to their old feed.

This is a very late reply but did you check if he can straighten his leg