Quail with runny poo

[gabrielle1976]

I have a little white jumbo brown quail. She is the smallest and all the chicks both quail and chicken though mostly chicken pick on her.. Well today she got poo all over her and she smelled bad so I gave her a bath and washed her off with a little bit of diliuted baby shampoo. . She has runny poo now the last five or so poos have all been really watery with grainy kinda stuff in it . Im guessing as she ended up with lots of poo on her that the problem was there befor the bath but I was wondering if stressing them out by giveing them a bath causes runny poo or if she might be sick. Thank you

 

[TwoCrows]

How old is this chick?? Still in the brooder?? Sometimes really watery poop is caused from being to warm or over heated. If the poop is mostly water and white urates, then this is most likely the cause. Lower the temp in the brooder.

If the poop is really dark and appears to have red or blood in it, then it could be cocci. Is she still eating and drinking enough? Make sure she is drinking and you can add vitamins and electrolytes in the water for a day or two. Too much electrolytes will cause the runs as well. If you think she has cocci, then you can get them on medicated feed for a while or raise them on wire so they don't come in contact with the cocci poop.

 

[gabrielle1976]

I think the quail are about 4 weeks now and the chickens are about 3 weeks . They play in the play pen together all day on shaveings then they are in seprate brooders at night. I dont have them under heat any more as my house is usually aobut 80 and they dont act cold

 

[TwoCrows]

Ah....that could be the problem...keeping the chickens in with the quail. Chickens carry diseases that can kill quail. Even as chicks, the chicken chicks could have something that is affecting your quail. If you start losing quail, you might want to separate the two species. It is a long running debate here on keeping chickens with quail, but just in case, it is never advised.

 

[gabrielle1976]

Ok I will as soon as I can . They sleep in there own brooder but I let them out in a play pen. The chickens are starting to get mean to them anyways. Do quail need to have a play pen as much as chicken chicks do? I mean I could just keep them in there brooder if they dont need to get out and play like the other chicks do?

 

[TwoCrows]

Quail are not going to be as "playful" as chickens and are not as curious really. If you were going to be keeping the quail as pets in the house, the stimulation of a "play pen" might be helpful to keep them tame. If the quail are going to be going outside, you can keep them in their brooder till it is time to send them into their outdoor quarters.

 

[gabrielle1976]

She died today. I came home and there was a bunch of blood and it looked like stuff might have been comeing out of her vent I had my brother in law cull her , she lost a ton of blood and I coudnt get the bleeding all the way stopped and I have no idea what was wrong with her belly but it looked really bad and I didnt want her to suffer. I have no idea what happend and I am very sad. How can haveing a little runny poo one day end up this way a couple days later?

 

[quailchick]

Hi, I am so sorry that happened! I am no expert, I just started raising quail and I am raising four bobwhites, they are 3 months old. I have read everything I can get my hands on though, and have had lengthy conversations with a local quail farmer and it says everywhere not to let the chickens and the quail be together, in fact the quail farmer told me that you have to make sure to wash very well, change your clothing and shoes before entering the quail pen or touching the quail cage and their food. It is because chickens carry so many diseases that quail have no defense against. I would make sure you be very careful not to cross contaminate the quail chicks again. Good Luck, I hope it doesn't happen again!