sick quail- what's wrong?

[yallapilko]

Can anyone help me? I've got a 21 day old quail who is very weak, tired, not standing upright, unable to walk properly, one eye dull, who looks as though he may die at any moment. He's not eating or drinking now for about 18 hours.
I've separated him from the others, and given him a period of time with a heat lamp.
But I've no idea what is wrong with him or how to treat him.
Any tips?
I've dipped his beak in water but he wont drink.
All the other birds are healthy .... so far.....
If you've any idea, please help !
Thank you.

 

[TwoCrows]

What is the consistency of the poop? Firm, runny, green, reddish or black in color?

Many issues can pop up with a chick this old, however the most common ailment of a 3 week old chick is cocci. They do go off their feed and can become what they call "starve outs".

Do you use medicated feed? The Amprol in the feed generally helps control cocci, but it won't cure a chick of it if you are not already feeding medicated feed.

If you are using regular feed right now, I would start this chick on Corid, (Amprolium) for about a week and see if that doesn't clear it up.

Also....you will need to get this chick to eat what ever it will eat, if that means feeding it hard boiled eggs, warm corn grits or oatmeal, bites of sliced fruits...what ever it will eat. Chicks do not survive long with out food and when they are sick, they are not going to eat their chick feed with cocci, so I have found.

You might also turn up the heat about 2 degrees for added warmth.

 

[yallapilko]

Hi TwoCrowsRanch - good to hear from you and thanks for your answer. Its poos are slightly runny and whiteish in colour. Also, its breathing badly now. I don't think it's going to last long. I'm wondering if because of its breathing it may be a respiratory infection.
They are not on medicated food tho..... but the rest of the birds are all OK, so far..... I'll need to look up Amrpolium, to see if we can buy it in the UK. Sometimes we have pretty strict regs about medications.
From the look of it, this chick is not long for this world, sad to say.

 

[TwoCrows]

So sorry about your chick. Whitish runny diarrhea means they are not eating or drinking. Generally with cocci, you will see reddish blackish colored poop. So I am thinking your chick does not have cocci, but rather a bacterial infection. Also common for babies of that age. If you start to lose others as well, then I would say it is a positive bacterial or viral infection. If this is the only one to go, then it possibly is suffering from something genetic, internal or it just wasn't meant to make it. So sorry.

 

[yallapilko]

Hi Twocrowsranch - great info thanks. All the other chicks so far seem hale and hearty, so I'll just have to wait and see. Its breathing is quite bad now. But thanks for the info. As informative as usual! Thanks.