URGENT: one quail dead, the other is paralyzed!

[acidghost]

Well, i've been infatuated with chickens/quails for quite some time after visiting a family friend's house who owns chickens and quails. Anyways this person was giving his quails away, because he's been busy with his other pets, so we decided to take them in. There's five jumbo cortnix quails—one male, four female— they came with a cage specially made for quail. The male kept injuring the females as soon as they were brought to my house. blood was splattering everywhere. We decided to remove him for a while. This morning we put him back in the cage, and set him and the others outside on our deck for sun. I took a 30 min shower, and next thing you know my younger sister is crying because one of the birds mysteriously was dead. We brought the flock inside and removed the dead bird. One of the other female quails was barely alive. She couldn't move her legs or wings but was breathing hard and blinking. Currently she's in a box with a warm light over her. I'm giving her water through a syringe every hour since she can't move— there's also a bowl of water closer to her. She is eating feed normally, and we gave her some boiled egg/egg shells for calcium. She's pooping on herself and i have to clean her up a bit every few hours and she doesn't put up a fight when held. It appears that her wing is broken. Idk what to do or whether or not to put her down and end the misery. Someone help. We don't have any clue as to what happened. perhaps the heat or head boink.

edit: i mixed 81 mg of crushed aspirin with water and gave it to her. also i made her a cast so she doesn't injure her wing even more.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I would not give her any more aspirin as that is a blood thinner. I hope you did not give her the entire tablet, either.

Any update? Did you remove the male again after this incident?

 

[acidghost]

i gave her a tiny bit of aspirin yesterday night but not today. she responded well, but she can't use her leg or wings, only her neck. whenever i go near her to feed her water every hour, she bangs her head against her food. the other quails are doing just fine but this sick one seems miserable. should i put her to sleep ? (also in the picture that's her with a cast so she doesn't end up laying on her broken wing. she's on a therapy swing tô possibly help her get strength in her legs. it's better than having her sit on them.)

 

[Eggcessive]

Is their cage in the shade with cool water? How hot is it there? Is there plenty of air circulation? Can they get outside to walk around where they may have eaten something poisonous? If you have some electrolytes, put them in the water. If not put some Pedialyte or Gatorade in a small bowl, and try to get them drinking. Look at your feed for any signs of mold--green color or a chemical odor. What are they eating? The quail might have been injured by the male, but I would separate the male again and observe them.

 

[acidghost]

Is their cage in the shade with cool water? How hot is it there? Is there plenty of air circulation? Can they get outside to walk around where they may have eaten something poisonous? If you have some electrolytes, put them in the water. If not put some Pedialyte or Gatorade in a small bowl, and try to get them drinking. Look at your feed for any signs of mold--green color or a chemical odor. What are they eating? The quail might have been injured by the male, but I would separate the male again and observe them.

yes, right now the three quails are in the shade with ventilation. they've stopped fighting and seem calmer probably because they've started adjusting to my home (ive had them for three days now.) The sick quail is in a box with a heat lamp over her (at night i put a thin blanket over it to dim the light so she can rest). I'm planning on getting her some electrolyte drink to hydrate up. She smells absolutely awful. Do i bathe her ? She wouldn't be able to move if i put her in a dust bath. I'm cleaning her poop from underneath her all the time.

edit: the sick quail is in a ventilated room that's about 85 degrees F. i read that sick quails need warmth.

 

[acidghost]

also, is it possible that the malé killed the female and hurt the other? i've been feeding them what the previous owner said to give them (starter feed which has 20% protein. it says that quails can have it). the cage was cleaned using a power wash by my father after we got them. egg production seems to be once a day in the evenings mostly.

 

[peterlund]

Any noticeable wounds or blood? I would suspect the boy. A broken wing and maybe a leg is not spontaneous. Good luck. I hope the boy is kept away for a while. They can be very VERY rough on the gals....

 

[acidghost]

Any noticeable wounds or blood? I would suspect the boy. A broken wing and maybe a leg is not spontaneous. Good luck. I hope the boy is kept away for a while. They can be very VERY rough on the gals....

thank you. how much pedialyte should i give to the quail through the syringe?

 

[peterlund]

thank you. how much pedialyte should i give to the quail through the syringe?

Not sure of the amount... quail are tiny things... my only suggestion is be careful. It is easy to squirt liquids into the lungs and cause more problems for your bird. A little bit and see if she accepts and swallows. You may need to nudge her chin up a bit to coax her to drink. She might have lost so much energy it is hard for her to eat and drink, but you can kick start that. Keep up the good work. Excellent attendant.