Runt button quail help!!!!

[aldren90]

Hey guys I think my baby button is a runt. The 2 pictured are the same exact age and he is the smallest out of all 8. Any help would be appreciated as to knowing what is wrong or how I can help him bulk up a bit.

 

[laseterlass]

I have a few Coturnix like this. Both in the same hatch. I am just goibg to let them continue. Its more than being a runt. They are not developing. Weird. Mine are as active and eat and drink like everyone else. Just going to observe.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Market them for 4x as much as normal cost and call them "Mini Buttons" and you will be rich in no time at all. (And it is okay to pass some $ on over for the idea too!) LOL!

 

[SavageChick]

I am curious, did this one hatch from an egg that was smaller than the others in your batch? There is a Dwarfism genetic mutation that can pop up in buttons. The breeder that I purchased my eggs from had these smaller buttons as well. This is not my photo, but was taken from another website to show the size of the smaller egg....



I'm wondering if maybe you just have a little dwarf button on your hands. These birds stay tiny, but you care for them just the same way you would a normal-sized button.

 

[aldren90]

I'm not sure if it was an abnormal egg size. I bought 30 eggs on eBay and this little white one hatched. They were all the same size until about 2 weeks old. I'll definitely keep him/her. Maybe we can breed true mini buttons!!!!

 

[laseterlass]

My little one was hatched with a crooked kneck but was fine and drinking eating. Today at 2the weeks old he has grown a lump on his head and is obviously not going to make it.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

Keep them together until the runt is small enough to be sat on by another quail. Seperate the runt and separate another quail (Smallest one remaining that isn't the runt). See how they react to each other in their very own enclosure. I recommend a barrier, so that the other quails won't attack them when you release the pair. Speaking about the runt and his friend, release them once the runt is large enough to not be sat on, which is probably past the fledgling stage for button quail. Also, the quail in the picture is probably a late hatcher not a runt, because the bigger quail's wings are larger and more feathered. I'd suggest putting glass or wire barrier until he grows up to match them. In the wild, runts don't usually get much food, so provide a separate feeder for your runt.

 

[Nabiki]

Keep them together until the runt is small enough to be sat on by another quail. Seperate the runt and separate another quail (Smallest one remaining that isn't the runt). See how they react to each other in their very own enclosure. I recommend a barrier, so that the other quails won't attack them when you release the pair. Speaking about the runt and his friend, release them once the runt is large enough to not be sat on, which is probably past the fledgling stage for button quail. Also, the quail in the picture is probably a late hatcher not a runt, because the bigger quail's wings are larger and more feathered. I'd suggest putting glass or wire barrier until he grows up to match them. In the wild, runts don't usually get much food, so provide a separate feeder for your runt.

FYI, this thread is 8 years old, so the runt is long gone...

 

[Gol_D_Roger]

I have about 50 quail and one of them is also a runt, my guess is that maybe they're not eating enough maybe you can move it with a few others to a separate cage and feed them a higher % protein feed. Could also be something in its genes or some form of illness that's stunting its growth, I would recommend moving it and giving it a little help, my prediction is that it'll do just fine bulking up provided the right circumstances.