I just picked up my first lil flock yesterday and I noticed two girls cannot bear weight on one of their feet. Very warm to the touch but no scab or puncture to drain from. The first girl got her “good” foot cleaned and dressed as those scabs were obvious.
Both female between 8-10wks old
Very possible they’re inbred as another has a misaligned beak. Pls help me help them
If it's too far to reverse, do you think antibiotics would help? I'm in a pretty rural area so getting to a vet is tough. I'll most likely just try to keep them comfortable for as long as possible.
I agree, it does look more like infection due to being on wet litter/poor living conditions than from disease that affects the joints like Mycoplasma S.
I also agree, this isn't a very good way to start out with a first flock, but I also see that you have a soft heart and don't want to send them back to suffer in the conditions from which they came.
Prepare that you may lose them, or they may not get better, but if you are determined to try to help them heal, then I'll tell you what I would do.
If you are
not planning on eating them, then I would use
Baytril to treat the infection. It may not help, the infection may be too advanced in the joint, but you just don't know. If you are going to eat them, speak up, we'll figure out another medication to use.
The lesion on the non-swollen leg looks like contact dermatitis, I would swab it with Chlorhexidine. Apply a light coating of triple antibiotic ointment to a small piece of non stick gauze pad, put that on the lesion, then lightly wrap with sports wrap/vet wrap. I buy sports wrap in bulk off
amazon, it can be cut into thin strips as you wish.
For the severely swollen joint, do the same, but wrap very lightly.
It's extremely important that wrapping is not tight, especially due to swelling. Change out the wrappings daily!! If the lesions or swollen tissue become mushy, then omit the ointment - the goal here is to heal up, but also for the lesion to dry up - being wet/damp has contributed to the lesion (see her feet too), so you're drying this up.
The joint - could be from this, but no way to know.
Anyway. I get long winded at times. I'd keep them off wire. If possible, place them on puppy pads and change those daily. Pine shavings will work too if that's what you have. Stir them up or freshen them. Quail poop a LOT.
Do you have photos of them - what they look like, you mention one as a cross beak? I'd also give them some vitamins. You can use something like Poultry Cell if you can find it. It's gotten pricey, so if you can't get that, then I'd at least get them on B vitamins. Pick up a bottle of B-Complex at the Dollar Store,
Walmart, etc. and give each girl 1/4 tablet Daily for a couple of weeks.
What are you planning on feeding them?
