Sick Button Quail?!

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

I purchased 2 pairs of buttons from a breeder in another state and received them about 2 weeks ago. They have adapted fine, however this morning I found the blue female deceased in the cage she was acting completely normal and this was unexpected.

Now my Darth Vader male, the blue female’s mate, is acting funny. Very slow and seems like he has difficulty with his legs. I catch him breathing with his mouth open every now and again. Is he going to be okay? Can anyone tell me what’s wrong?

link to a video of how he’s acting:

 

[Sammi_0411]

Im sorry for ur loss hopefully some one more experienced could help only thing i can really think of is mareks? Not sure how common that is in quail tho tbh xx

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

@TwoCrows any ideas?

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh I am so sorry!

Sounds like it could be a respiratory infection with the heavy breathing. Is there any rattle sounds with the breathing, runny nose or watery eyes? Do the feet feel hot or cold?

Do you have any antibiotics, even human meds?

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

@TwoCrows thank you so much! I don’t notice any sounds while breathing, runny nose or eyes. He feels normal in my hand. He’s with a silver female currently and 4 more (2 pairs) are in the cages above with no contact. Is the silver female with him in danger?

I have doxycycline on hand. They are capsules, not sure of how many mg they are since I am at work currently. Is that safe for birds? Should I get him antibiotics? Where do I get them from?

 

[TwoCrows]

@TwoCrows thank you so much! I don’t notice any sounds while breathing, runny nose or eyes. He feels normal in my hand. He’s with a silver female currently and 4 more (2 pairs) are in the cages above with no contact. Is the silver female with him in danger?

I have doxycycline on hand. They are capsules, not sure of how many mg they are since I am at work currently. Is that safe for birds? Should I get him antibiotics? Where do I get them from?

First, where they both eating and drinking up till recently? Any blood or mucus in the poop?

Is that sand for bedding?

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

First, where they both eating and drinking up till recently? Any blood or mucus in the poop?

Is that sand for bedding?

Yes they all eat and drink normally. No problems with their poo. It always looks relatively normal. Yes The bedding is play sand. and I feed them Manna Pro Game Bird Show Bird feed, with a bit of Manna Pro scratch grains (less than 10% of diet) and I pick them fresh grass. I try to feed them cucumbers, oranges, carrot, tomato, (small amounts) in their dish ever once in a while and they don’t seem too interested.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes they all eat and drink normally. No problems with their poo. It always looks relatively normal. Yes The bedding is play sand. and I feed them Manna Pro Game Bird Show Bird feed, with a bit of Manna Pro scratch grains (less than 10% of diet) and I pick them fresh grass. I try to feed them cucumbers, oranges, carrot, tomato, (small amounts) in their dish ever once in a while and they don’t seem too interested.

I worry they have been eating sand? Did you noticed a big stuffed crop on the hen at death?

 

[Murphy_the_Hooligan]

I worry they have been eating sand? Did you noticed a big stuffed crop on the hen at death?

No I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the deceased hen. I’ve had dozens of button quails for years without an issue with the adults. it’s just these new ones that I’m having difficulty with.

They peck at the sand sometimes but only when they take their dirt baths. Is there a better bedding you recommend? I used to use pine shavings and noticed I had problems with chicks dying because they would get lost in the pine shavings. I’ve also tried sod to no avail, I couldn’t keep it alive and the birds didn’t eat any like I thought they would. I have orchid bark and coconut substrate on hand as well that I use for my terrarium.

thank you so much

 

[TwoCrows]

No I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the deceased hen. I’ve had dozens of button quails for years without an issue with the adults. it’s just these new ones that I’m having difficulty with.

They peck at the sand sometimes but only when they take their dirt baths. Is there a better bedding you recommend? I used to use pine shavings and noticed I had problems with chicks dying because they would get lost in the pine shavings. I’ve also tried sod to no avail, I couldn’t keep it alive and the birds didn’t eat any like I thought they would. I have orchid bark and coconut substrate on hand as well that I use for my terrarium.

thank you so much

Ok, then its probably a bacterial infection. The doxy pills are actually perfect. Very broad spectrum. There should be some number or lettering on the capsule? What color is the pill, what was it prescribed for? We definitely need to figure out its potency before use.