Quail with head injury panting heavily

[TwoCrows]

Well, somehow he broke off the tip of his lower beak. When I found the blood all over, I thought he was bleeding from his mouth or nostrils, but once I cleaned him up a bit I was a bit relieved to see it's from an external injury. But this poor little bird!! I dabbed some cornstarch to stop the bleeding, tried to gently dab a tissue soaked in Theracyn while afraid of accidentally unclotting the bleeding, and gave him more of the penicillin water drops hoping it might also help sterilize the beak. I assume I'll be feeding him liquids for a while again. View attachment 2076254

Poor baby. You are doing a fabulous job loving him!

 

[maadroj]

Motrin is a pretty potent drug for birds. You might use baby aspirin if you think he has pain? About 40gr or half of a baby aspirin. And maybe every other day. Asprin lingers in the body about 3 or 4 days.

The vet I spoke with had recommended two drops of children's Motrin (per 100g body weight) twice a day for his head injury. I think she typically works with parrots, though. Do you think that's too strong for him?

 

[maadroj]

For a little bit of good news, though, he did eat some solid food when I offered it to him.

 

[TwoCrows]

The vet I spoke with had recommended two drops of children's Motrin (per 100g body weight) twice a day for his head injury. I think she typically works with parrots, though. Do you think that's too strong for him?

The vet seems to know what he's talking about, go ahead and continue with it until he's over the worst of it.

For a little bit of good news, though, he did eat some solid food when I offered it to him.

This is great news!! Keep up all you are doing and keep us posted! Praying for a full recovery!

 

[maadroj]

Brave Bumblebee is hanging in there. I've been keeping his cage covered to protect him from light and noise due to the (presumed) head injury. But I am a little concerned that the stuffy air isn't good for his lungs, given his (presumed) respiratory infection. I've started fanning the air out when I take him out to give him medicated water roughly every 2 hours. Generally how long would one continue to keep the cage covered after a head boink? Or what behavior would let me know that he doesn't need it anymore?

 

[TwoCrows]

Brave Bumblebee is hanging in there. I've been keeping his cage covered to protect him from light and noise due to the (presumed) head injury. But I am a little concerned that the stuffy air isn't good for his lungs, given his (presumed) respiratory infection. I've started fanning the air out when I take him out to give him medicated water roughly every 2 hours. Generally how long would one continue to keep the cage covered after a head boink? Or what behavior would let me know that he doesn't need it anymore?

At first he needed some darker quieter times but I would keep his cage light and airy now that the worst is over. Continue with the antibiotics until at least 3 days have passed with no symptoms. Glad he is still with you and feeling better!

 

[TwoCrows]

@maadroj how is he doing now?

 

[maadroj]

It's hard to tell. He's still panting and sneezing, but he now sometimes drinks from the syringe voluntarily (pecking at the water drops). I tried putting a small water dish back in for him, but he fell in it, so I decided to remove it until his mobility improves. He has shown some small signs that his mobility may be improving, pressing a bit with his legs when I support him (he can't stand on his own yet but sometimes crawls) and starting to flap one of his wings, which he hasn't done in weeks. He is back to eating his regular food and a number of mealworms, but when I weighed him today he was at 120g, down from 126g last week unless one of the measurements was inaccurate.

 

[TwoCrows]

It's hard to tell. He's still panting and sneezing, but he now sometimes drinks from the syringe voluntarily (pecking at the water drops). I tried putting a small water dish back in for him, but he fell in it, so I decided to remove it until his mobility improves. He has shown some small signs that his mobility may be improving, pressing a bit with his legs when I support him (he can't stand on his own yet but sometimes crawls) and starting to flap one of his wings, which he hasn't done in weeks. He is back to eating his regular food and a number of mealworms, but when I weighed him today he was at 120g, down from 126g last week unless one of the measurements was inaccurate.

How old is he? He could have had a stroke? I had a chicken hen with a stroke, she lost all use of her legs, she continued to eat like a horse but lost an incredible amount of weight fast. I had to prop her up in a low tub with towels to keep her upright. A few weeks later she had a more massive stroke that stopped her heart.

 

[maadroj]

How old is he? He could have had a stroke? I had a chicken hen with a stroke, she lost all use of her legs, she continued to eat like a horse but lost an incredible amount of weight fast. I had to prop her up in a low tub with towels to keep her upright. A few weeks later she had a more massive stroke that stopped her heart.

He's just about a year old. He was starting to regain mobility right before he came down with the respiratory infection. I think he just hasn't had any energy since then. I imagine he's working really hard just to breathe most of the time. Although the initial symptoms did remind me of a stroke patient (eg, the left side of his body was more affected), which is why I thought it was a brain injury/head boink.