Weird little runt

[Hungarianquail]

So I just hatched 38 coturnix quail. There is this one little guy, that's half the size of the others. They are 5 days old. The rest have grown and even starting to see feathers. This little guy hasn't grown at all. I've never seen it eat or drink and the others keep stepping on it. So I separated it and I am trying to feed it some yogurt mixture (plain Greek yogurt, vitamins and powdered feed), and offer it vitamin water in a dropper. It hates it, but I think I am able to get a little in. Not sure if it's enough. Then there is this... it sleeps standing up. Like legs straight, butt in the air, with head on the ground... or it runs around trying to get out (walks all over the food, but doesn't eat it). It seems happy and relaxed, when I cup him in my hand, but still doesn't care to eat. I'm not holding much hope out for this little one. Does anyone has any recommendations?

 

[Hungarianquail]

Sleeping standing up

 

[mew317]

When did you put the egg in? It may be a tad bit early if it’s HALF THE SIZE. It will learn and if serious, I’d say to just keep it as a housepet or cull it. If it dies, I’m sorry.

 

[Hungarianquail]

When did you put the egg in? It may be a tad bit early if it’s HALF THE SIZE. It will learn and if serious, I’d say to just keep it as a housepet or cull it. If it dies, I’m sorry.

All the eggs went in at the same time and hatched within 24 hours from each other. The ones that hatched last a little bit smaller, than the rest, but not like this little guy. This one hasn't grown at all in 5 days.

 

[Chicken Whisperers]

I agree with @mew317 : I would keep it as a house pet and continue to feed it as you are. If it doesn't grow within another week, I'm not sure. I would NEVER cull any of my hens unless I had to, so if I were in your situation I would just keep doing whatever's right and see if he grows.

 

[Sara Ranch]

I have had chickens that had similar symptoms - failure to thrive. Belly infection. Birth infection. There is a medical term for it, but I don't remember it.

My vet wouldn't treat it the infection. Said it's always fatal. The longest I have been able to keep a chick alive, that had a birth infection, was a month.

The signs that I noticed were

- failure to grow at close to the same rate as the others. It wasn't long before the chick was half the size of the others.

- lack of interest in food/water when the others rushed the feed. (I give fermented feed from day 1 to all poultry, as well as vitamins or apple cider vinegar in the water from day 1.)

- more sleepy during the daytime/more zoned out/less focused on the current activity/sleeping while standing up. They get like that once in awhile, but with birth infection, it happens more and more frequently. Then they get a jolt and take off like nothing was wrong.

- tend to be much slower reaction time to anything.

- bottom and belly turned blue/purple color and seemed to be swollen. It's easier to see with lighter colored bellies than it is with darker colored bellies.

- their umbilical cord (not sure of the correct word) was visible 3 past birth. Looks like a tiny sliver mixed in with the fuzz.

I've had chicks born super super small compared to siblings. They came from smaller eggs. Sometimes they do stay smaller than the rest of the chicks through to puberty. From there, they blossom into their adult size.

Keep doing what you are doing. The love, the food, the safe place. *hugs*

 

[Hungarianquail]

I have had chickens that had similar symptoms - failure to thrive. Belly infection. Birth infection. There is a medical term for it, but I don't remember it.

My vet wouldn't treat it the infection. Said it's always fatal. The longest I have been able to keep a chick alive, that had a birth infection, was a month.

The signs that I noticed were

- failure to grow at close to the same rate as the others. It wasn't long before the chick was half the size of the others.

- lack of interest in food/water when the others rushed the feed. (I give fermented feed from day 1 to all poultry, as well as vitamins or apple cider vinegar in the water from day 1.)

- more sleepy during the daytime/more zoned out/less focused on the current activity/sleeping while standing up. They get like that once in awhile, but with birth infection, it happens more and more frequently. Then they get a jolt and take off like nothing was wrong.

- tend to be much slower reaction time to anything.

- bottom and belly turned blue/purple color and seemed to be swollen. It's easier to see with lighter colored bellies than it is with darker colored bellies.

- their umbilical cord (not sure of the correct word) was visible 3 past birth. Looks like a tiny sliver mixed in with the fuzz.

I've had chicks born super super small compared to siblings. They came from smaller eggs. Sometimes they do stay smaller than the rest of the chicks through to puberty. From there, they blossom into their adult size.

Keep doing what you are doing. The love, the food, the safe place. *hugs*

That does sound like mine.

 

[Sara Ranch]

If you are open to trying alternatives.... birth infection is bacterial. Bacterial infections can be treated with sulfur drugs. The natural alternative is to use foods that have sulfur content. Such as onion greens. I usually grow shallots and red onions. I cut off the tops - the green part of the plant - dice it small and mix it in with feed or on top of the feed. The chickens that need the medical help inhale it. I've used it to treat other chickens that my previous vet said would not live more than 24 hours. Those chicks all lived. I have not tried it with a belly infection.

Knowing about belly/birth infections, I do keep a super close eye on the activity of all new animals born/hatched. If I come across it again, I will add it to the water.

Please know in your heart, if it is the belly/birth infection, there is NOTHING you could have done to prevent it. Always keep the spaces clean, wash your hands, etc. It's just one of those things that happen. It's very sad when it does.

 

[Erkenstein]

Everybody has their own ethics, but I tend to cull rather than let an animal suffer until it dies. A lot of things can go wrong during development and in a batch of 38 chicks you're bound to have one or two fail to thrive. I'm willing to work with splayed legs and curled toes, but that's about the limit for me.

 

[Hungarianquail]

Yeah, I give it a little time (a day or two more in this case), but definitely not going to let it suffer long if I see no improvement. I didn't even think it would make it this long.