Symptons of worms?

[SeptemberQuail]

I have some quail (four of them) who stand still and close their eyes for a few seconds. The females who close their eyes still eat a lot, and are chubby. The one male who has it doesn't eat as much (they never do), but I have one who seems more unwell than the rest. He would just go over to the darker area of the cage in the corner and close his eyes whilst standing up, which is exactly what my female Pepper did before she died.

His poop seems normal, except it's not a lot. It was a small amount, compared to the foam excreted on top of it. He seems as if he doesn't eat a lot as his crop felt completely empty, but I'm not sure if it's empty because he doesn't want to eat, or because the other males keep annoying him and preventing him from eating.I separated him and gave him some canary seed mix, he ate quite a bit and I could feel some of the seeds in his crop, but after eating a small amount, he lay down and closed his eyes right next to the food dish.

It feels as if he has lost weight, as he's 20 grams lighter than his brother.

So is it a sign of worms (and should I go buy a wormer) or is it just something else?

I just want to be sure because I don't want to lose anyone, and the symptons are among another three as well.
Thanks.

 

[MrNappy]

I didn't recognize it was you (you changed your picture).

Any who, this is just a hunch here, but could she be egg-bound. (If so feel under her belly, i dunno how to describe, (look for a bump))

Recently, i had to stop my quail from laying, but some of them are young and continued to lay. (I couldn't get the special feed), so i had to help some of em lay an egg or two. (NOT FUN!)

Could some one (maybe you) explain what worms are, symptoms, how to get rid. 'Cause of course you don't have earthworms within your quail.

Or, it could be they are cold? (Like cold got into their bones)

 

[TwoCrows]

Lots of things can cause a bird to sit in the corner, fluffed up and lethargic. Bacterial infections, viruses, nutritional deficiency, bugs, old age, injury, worms and even as Mr. Nappy said, being egg bound, etc... So all you can do is rule out some things. Start with a complete physical...feel on the outside from between the legs up to the vent to see if you feel an egg. Check the vent to see if you can see an egg. Check for mites around the vent, they love to lay their eggs around the vent. Look under the wings and behind the neck for bugs as well. Look at the face of the bird...look for signs of runny nose, watery or swollen eyes or face, gasping for air, listen to the breathing. Check the feet pads and leg scales looking for leg scale mites or swollen pads. Check crops for fullness. Give the bird a total exam to see if anything turns up a red flag. Look closely at the poop color and consistency...it should look like it normally does.

Once you have done all this and you are sure that the bird is not egg bound and there are no signs of bugs or anything else, then the next step might be to worm your birds. Worming your birds once if not twice a year is a preventative. It is never good to wait until you have an issue. Just do it regularly so that worms can always be ruled out as a cause for illness. So if you have not wormed your quail in the past year, do so.

If this does not clear up the issues, it is possible that the bird has a bacterial infection and you can try using antibiotics. However, generally if there is infection in the body, there will be some outward symptom to which will help you diagnose just what the bird might be ailing from.

 

[MrNappy]

Nope she's egg-bound all right, they are indoors, don't think i will get mites.

LOL, WHOOPS!

 

[SeptemberQuail]

The quail in the picture is male, so it can't be egg bound. His pads are okay, and his vent looks healthy. I'll go check on his wings and neck later.
His only eye injury is a small dent on the membrane. I can't hear any unusual sounds when he's breathing (I honestly can't even hear anything at all ) and his nose isn't showing any discharge.
I gave him some extras like alfalfa sprouts and eggshell to try and add food to his crop, and he also went for the bird mix. It didn't really fill him up, but I'm getting gamebird food today so hopefully he'll eat that. Though his poop was a little green... but there was barely anything except foam anyway.

Yesterday I got half a dozen eggs as usual, so I don't think it could be egg bound from any of my hens, but today I'll wait until they all lay eggs and see if one of the hen's hasn't laid one. Though one of my quail had runny poop today, I don't know who did it but it looked weird, and it spread out and looked this type of lightly diluted poop mixed with egg (she's an isolated quail living with her buddy who's a male and has had no contact with dirt or soil so far).

I'm a little worried for my older hen as well, she's 10 months old (one of the mothers of the chicks), and normally eats so much that you can see her crop sticking out. Today she seemed normal, but when I went to change their water earlier she was lying down and closing her eyes. I picked her up and felt her crop, it seemed pretty empty, but it felt like it was only water in there, barely any food.
I'll do a physical check of all my quail today and report back if anything is unusual.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[SeptemberQuail]

I did a physical check of all my quail, except for the ones who wouldn't let me handle them for too long. The only thing concerning is the swollen pads. I have a hen with both swollen pads, one male with a hardened pad, another female with kinda swollen pads and my isolated female with hardened red pads.
I made sure the male in the picture had something to eat, he ate quite a bit. Hopefully the gamebird starter will help him gain some weight... He's lost quite a bit.

But, what should I do with the swollen pads...?

 

[TwoCrows]

Do you keep your quail on wire? Bumblefoot (infections in the foot pads) can develop with birds kept on wire if the wire gets too dirty with dried poop. They can also develop swollen pads if they don't have a place to get off the wire occasionally.

You can try and dip their feet in blu-kote, which is a good antiseptic and anti bacterial. It may or may not penetrate the pads, but it can't hurt. You can also try an epsom salt soak as well. Get the quail on bedding of some sort that is soft...wood shavings, sand or grass hay will work. You might want to keep them warm with some additional heat for a while to help them burn less calories and stay warm. Make sure they are on a good diet and you might even put some vitamins in their water to beef up the immune system as well.