What Chick Is This??

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

Okay so, to answer all of your questions,

The vitamins and electrolytes have helped a ton. She’s running around, vocalizing and she ate two mealworms yesterday. But she hasn't pooped which was worrying me. Turns out she has pasty butt!! I’m cleaning her up and already she’s gaining an appetite. Still wobbly, but she’s getting there.

We don’t have a vet available at the moment. But seems like she’s getting better on her own and it was the pasty butt that was throwing her off.

 

[Lizzy733]

Okay so, to answer all of your questions,

The vitamins and electrolytes have helped a ton. She’s running around, vocalizing and she ate two mealworms yesterday. But she hasn't pooped which was worrying me. Turns out she has pasty butt!! I’m cleaning her up and already she’s gaining an appetite. Still wobbly, but she’s getting there.

We don’t have a vet available at the moment. But seems like she’s getting better on her own and it was the pasty butt that was throwing her off.

Excellent news!

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

So she keeps pecking at her toes and falling backwards...and I just realized, one of them is crooked! Does this look broken/fractured?

 

[Egg Snatcher]

That’s great thank you! Any suggestions on how to get her to eat her chick starter?

Mix the chick starter with water, suck it into a siring and drop it in her beak. Also puting 1-2 chicks with her will help. They’ll show her how to eat and drink.

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

Will do. She started eating a bit of gamebird starter today and she ate about 5 mealworms. She just hates the chick starter, wont touch it.We introduced her and our lone baby button quail together today and at first she pecked at Suki (the button quail) but then they snuggled. They WILL NOT be sharing a brooder but we will let them spend time together everyday since they will probably end up living next to each other when they are older. (They’ll also have to free range under supervision together to serve as pest control in our garden)

 

[Lizzy733]

Will do. She started eating a bit of gamebird starter today and she ate about 5 mealworms. She just hates the chick starter, wont touch it.We introduced her and our lone baby button quail together today and at first she pecked at Suki (the button quail) but then they snuggled. They WILL NOT be sharing a brooder but we will let them spend time together everyday since they will probably end up living next to each other when they are older. (They’ll also have to free range under supervision together to serve as pest control in our garden)

Better than them being separate, honestly. It shouldn't hurt to brood them together for the time being.

You can also add mirrors and plush animals to help. We don't typically take chickens at BirdCare, but pheasants and quail always get caged together and on the rare occasion a chick does make it to us, the same applies.

 

[Zen Wildlife Rescuer]

We put them outside together and tiny Suki (Button quail) followed Tuco but got a little scared. Tuco foraged for a bit and had some fun.

A few more questions:

Can I raise Tuco on Suki’s gamebird feed? He eats it well but still wont touch the chick starter.

Is there any sort of raw diet I can feed Tuco? Such as insects, veggies, oats, grains etc?

 

[Aunt Angus]

We put them outside together and tiny Suki (Button quail) followed Tuco but got a little scared. Tuco foraged for a bit and had some fun.

A few more questions:

Can I raise Tuco on Suki’s gamebird feed? He eats it well but still wont touch the chick starter.

Is there any sort of raw diet I can feed Tuco? Such as insects, veggies, oats, grains etc?

You can, but game bird feed is very high in protein for chickens. Some folks have had chickens develop gout. Other folks have had no problems. Honestly, the best thing you can feed is regular ol' chick starter. You might try another brand, mixing the starter with the game bird feed, or making a mash.

And Tuco's a little young for anything else yet. I'd wait a little bit longer before giving it treats. It will need chick grit when you start feeding things other than starter.

 

[Lizzy733]

Best thing for Tuco is crumble. Heavier breeds can benefit from extra protein, but ideally a starter. Follow what Aunt Angus has said and cut the game crumble with chick starter or try another brand. - no treats at this age and treats should never constitute more than 10% of the diet. There's a lot of science behind poultry diet and modern birds are a far cry from their homestead ancestors so stick to commercial feeds.