Soft eggs in young quail - with pictures

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

Ok. Do you know if that's for quail or in general? Because for other birds is what everyone sells and recommends. Like for parrots and finches.

As far as I am aware for all birds. It's one of those myths people keep repeating without actually knowing the facts.
https://forums.avianavenue.com/inde...bioavailability-articles.222184/#post-2999436

 

[Linita]

For a quick option:
Go cook an egg for yourself to eat (from the store, or from any other source).
Break the shell into pieces a quail could swallow (Maybe squish it with a fork or with your fingers. It doesn't have to be perfect.)
Put the eggshell pieces in the quail cage.
Repeat any time they run out.

That will provide one source of calcium, while you figure out what will work best as a long-term solution for you.


With the cuttlebone, it is a big hard piece. They would have to scrape it off or break it off. With broken eggshells, or crushed oystershells, they can swallow one little piece at a time, so it is easy for them to get more of it.

Cuttlebone may work for some kinds of birds: there are different styles of beaks, different amounts of strength, and different calcium needs. A chicken or quail that lays an egg almost every day will have very different calcium needs than a penguin that lays a single egg once a year. Most other birds are somewhere between those extremes.

Thanks. Yes I thought about that but all my eggs have already been cooked, freezer and fridge full do I didn't have any shells. Beside the quail eggs which I thought to give them. I made pieces with the cuttlebone and threw it in their feed and already ordered some calcium supplement.

 

[Linita]

An update.

Yesteday I got no eggs. And today I got two. One layed by the white hen and the other I didn't see. So I guess the other quail started laying.The eggs seem all ok. But the poor white hen has been for a couple hours like the video non stop
Now it seems to have calmed down a bit.

I hope she's alright and it's just satressful time for her.

https://imgur.com/a/XftWOJ7

Thanks everyone for your responses!

 

[Nabiki]

Keep an eye on your white girl. It's not unusual to have an irregular laying schedule when they start, but if you see her fluffed up in a corner and acting sick, she may be egg bound. That can be a consequence of not enough calcium.

 

[Linita]

As far as I am aware for all birds. It's one of those myths people keep repeating without actually knowing the facts.
https://forums.avianavenue.com/inde...bioavailability-articles.222184/#post-2999436

I read a bit the articles there and also did a quick search. I'm not gonna go deep into it because it's not that important to me. But what I came out with was unclear. What I found is that calcium citrate is easier to absorb than calcium carbonate. That seems to be a common conclusion. But that's for the same dose of each. If you take more calcium carbonate it should work.

Here they say how well you absorb calcium carbonate will depend on the acidity of your stomach https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/choosing-a-calcium-supplement

All studies were made with people as far as I saw, so it's still unclear to me how will it be in birds. And I guess it may depend on the bird too.

The only thing that made me hesitate is the fact that in one study the calcium carbonate didn't do a lot different from te placebo. the citrate did better, but not a whole lot more.

In any case, what oyster shells have is calcium carbonate, so if that works then cuttlebone should work too. The only thing is that I don't know if maybe oyster has a higher level of calcium carbonate per gram than cuttlebone. Or per volume.

In any case I came out a bit wiser and I bit more confused haha

 

[Linita]

I have looked that up. I didn't know what it was but I vaguely had heard of it, thats what made me write this post I was afraid something may get stuck inside her or be wrong.
I'll keep an eye on her. Also will look for an aviary vet to have on hand just in case.
I'm gonna change them to normal laying feed and I ordered some calcium supplement.

I should worry if I see like no eating and going about normal, right? I've read this condition is serious so I don't know how much time should I give her if I see her acting weird. For me not eating or drinking or acting weak will be an instant worry. But if she just makes that noise often but otherwise act normal, i don't know if that's a concern. Now she has been making that noise for a while but now is quiet and otherwise she moves and eats and drinks. She seems to have energy she pecks a lot and also bathes in the shaving.

I see being fluffed is a symtom.

Thanks for the reply. I trust everything to go well.

 

[Nabiki]

I have looked that up. I didn't know what it was but I vaguely had heard of it, thats what made me write this post I was afraid something may get stuck inside her or be wrong.
I'll keep an eye on her. Also will look for an aviary vet to have on hand just in case.
I'm gonna change them to normal laying feed and I ordered some calcium supplement.

I should worry if I see like no eating and going about normal, right? I've read this condition is serious so I don't know how much time should I give her if I see her acting weird. For me not eating or drinking or acting weak will be an instant worry. But if she just makes that noise often but otherwise act normal, i don't know if that's a concern. Now she has been making that noise for a while but now is quiet and otherwise she moves and eats and drinks. She seems to have energy she pecks a lot and also bathes in the shaving.

What's the thing with being fluffed?

Thanks for the reply. I trust everything to go well.

When a quail doesn't feel well, they will often sit still with their feathers fluffed. Not eating and drinking is another alarm to watch for. You may even be able to feel the stuck egg.

Egg bound is serious, so if you think she ia, not only do you want to make sure she has enough calcium, you want to let her soak in a warm (a tiny bit above quail body temp) Epsom salt bath. Make sure she stays warm, and a bit of Vaseline to her vet may help her pass the egg.

Edit:. She is young and just starting to lay, so don't panic if she isn't laying regularly yet.

 

[Linita]

When a quail doesn't feel well, they will often sit still with their feathers fluffed. Not eating and drinking is another alarm to watch for. You may even be able to feel the stuck egg.

Egg bound is serious, so if you think she ia, not only do you want to make sure she has enough calcium, you want to let her soak in a warm (a tiny bit above quail body temp) Epsom salt bath. Make sure she stays warm, and a bit of Vaseline to her vet may help her pass the egg.

Edit:. She is young and just starting to lay, so don't panic if she isn't laying regularly yet.

Ok.

Yes I'm not concerned about being irregular. Just that everything goes well and she is healthy without problems or complications.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on her!

 

[Linita]

Little update.
Today the layed an egg and it was normal again.
She made the complaining noises for a while too, but less than yesterday.

I let them roam free in the living room and when I went to look for poop on the floor to clean what I found instead was a massive egg!

The has definitely started laying too! I weighted her and she lost 15g. The egg is so big in comparison with the white one's. It's 14g so big. The golden also weights more. 255-265g while the white is 220-235g. I wonder why she's bigger. Will it be because of the color? The golden seems to be just fine.

The egg looks so cool just like a planet.

Maybe this was an unnecessary update but I was so impressed with the egg I had to share

 

[Nabiki]

Little update.
Today the layed an egg and it was normal again.
She made the complaining noises for a while too, but less than yesterday.

I let them roam free in the living room and when I went to look for poop on the floor to clean what I found instead was a massive egg!

The has definitely started laying too! I weighted her and she lost 15g. The egg is so big in comparison with the white one's. It's 14g so big. The golden also weights more. 255-265g while the white is 220-235g. I wonder why she's bigger. Will it be because of the color? The golden seems to be just fine.

The egg looks so cool just like a planet.

Maybe this was an unnecessary update but I was so impressed with the egg I had to share

Congratulations on both of them laying. That big one from your white girl is probably a double yolk. Since she didn't lay yesterday, that's even more likely.