Why do my Quail babies keep dying? UPDATED WITH PICS!

[Plain_View_Farm]

Sounds like your on the right road now...
Great news...

David

 

[JJMR794]

heres a few things i have noticed... unabsorbed (unfinished--- meaning the umbilicus is open) yolk sacks point toward humidity problems at hatch and almost always leads to infection at the umbilical site--- usually resulting in death from sepsis.

The mixed lot of eggs sounds exactlt like that--- i read descriptions of coturnix eggs, button eggs, and all white sound like bob white eggs.

brooder temp is fine

green poo or brown runny poo can be a problem--- what are you feeding them?(exact brand --- not just chick starter please

) feed can influence poo, or this may be a sign of enteritis which quail are quite susceptible too... If enteritis is suspect i would recommend antibiotic therapy

harrriet? I beleive? you mention a crooked neck and lethargy--- was the head curled up or pulled up over the back?

Also I lost track of our time table here--- help me out a bit, from hatch to present time--- Now, Friday evening, how much time are we talking about here?

 

[BjsBestGirl]

Ok, so we are using Dumor Chick Starter and grower 20% for ducks and game birds. We were using Purina Plumage and Growth, (Which was not what we asked for at the feed store) but i dont know how to read the bag it's very confusing. I was told all purina are plumage and growth but it doesnt say anything else on the label. on the back it has all kinds of stuff but dfor different products. It doesnt even say the protein content or anything, which is stupid.

Harriet had her head crooked back to her back like she was trying to touch her head to her feet (arched back). We had another one die latnight that looked the same way.

We have a new hurt looking chick. But i know what happened to it. Their food dish is plastic. When they ate all the food off of it it got slick and is now straddle legged; only one leg though. How do I reverse that; if its even possible? Im going to swicher the food tray so that doesnt happen again.

They hatched last Monday.

 

[JJMR794]

The purina formula is listed on a white tag that is sewn onto the bag usually on the bottom where the bag is sewn shut.

The head arched over the back is "posturing" it is a sign of nuerologic illness or trauma. Posturing most often occurs in baby quail with an infectious disease known as encephalitis--- this is highly contageous to quail and can be passed en vitro from hen to egg or from direct contact (chick a has it and shares the wealth with chicks b, c, &d... and so on) another sign is ataxia (difficulty walking) as well as lethargy, poor feeding and decreased thirst, heres some info...http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/205300.htm&word=quail,encephalitis

Unfortunately most causative agents are viral and do not respond to antibiotic therapy. It certainly wont hurt to start them on antibiotics just to cover your bases. I suggest careful observation for repeat signs such as others exhibiting the "posturing" signs of the illness. And strict biological isolation from any/ all other poultry you may have. Bleach everything that you may have even thought of using with this brooder batch, and strict handwashing before and after handling anything associated with them.

I may take some heat for this, so i will simply state that this is my opinion---- THROW THAT DUMOR FEED OUT! I wont even feed that junk to my neighbors chickens and i hate those birds....

Dumor is regular chick starter, NOT GAMEBIRD STARTER, and yes i know it states ducks, turkeys, and gamebirds on the bag--- 20% protien is woefully inadequate for any of the speces listed on their bag except chickens ( guineas maybe? i dunno from nothing about guineas... somebody help me out on this 1? ) My point is it is chicken food--- these arent chickens these are quail and have much different nutritional needs than chickens (more than just the protien % too..) Think of it this way, we have cars on the road that use gasoline, and cars that use diesel fuel--- put 1 type of fuel in the other type of car and see how that works out for ya? Also there could be a remote chance that is nutrition deficit is whats causing your losses (remote) you can try some of the baby vitamin drops in the water font and see if any ill chick's condition improves (must have full spectrum b complex vitamons in it to work if this is the cause...)

check your purina bag for the tag--- it will say "startrena" somewhere on it and list the dietary requirements it covers--- protien will be 30%

 

[BjsBestGirl]

I use the Dumor feed for my ducks. I didnt intend on using it for my quail but when they got sick, i thought to try everything. I just recently started feeding them hard boiled egg. I read that it is a good source of vitamin for them. I chop it up super small so they dont choke or anything. It really sucks to know that baby was contagious. It was exposed to ALL of my other quail at some point. I try to be very careful to wash and clean everything often. what should i do about the incubator where they hatched? I have duck eggs in there that are supposed to hatch sometome between tomorrow and a week from tomorrow (I dont know if theyre muskovy eggs or not-which take 35 days but others take about 28). I dont have anywhere else to put them if i take them out to clean it again. I just used antibacterial soap and water to clean it this time. What do i do with them? all of my incubators are full now. Maybe wrap them in a towel and work fast?

The feed sack does say startina 30% crude. Good news?

Why do the babies look dead when they sleep? Then strech their bodies all the way as tall as possible, lay on their bellies, and then sleep - very scary for me!

I wish things had'nt gone this way with them. I did all kinds of online research before even considering getting them and never once read about any of this. I have LOTS of Medications. We have the injectable spectrum, water additive vitamins, medicated chick starter, water worming stuff, and powders for mites. We were prepared for our chickens; which we have over 150 of. I love hatching and raising fowl. As a kid I wasnt allowed to have ANY pets so I guess now im making up for it. lol.

I would like to know as much info as possible about raising other fowl if you know any reliable trusty worthy sites. I feel so horrible that so many have died. Wa it my fault they got sick like that? is the inside out belly related to the encephalitis thing? I just dont understand how we could have had so many die and it not be my fault. could some of it been the pine wood chip bedding?


XOXOChristineXOXO

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
CHECK THE MERCK VET MANUAL SITE AND SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITES LIST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, IT COVERS A GREAT MANY AVIAN ILLNESSES AND COMES IN HANDY FROM TIME TO TIME. SEND A PM TO APROPHET (DAVID) HE HAS ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION AND LEARNING SITES MEMORIZED THAT YOU CAN REFER TO AND LEARN FROM. DONT BE AFFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS HERE, THERE'S ALOT OF GOOD INFO AVAILABLE FOR THE ASKING, OR BY DOING SEARCHES OF ARCHIVED POSTS. UNFORUNATELY WE CAN ASK AND RECEIVE INFO BUT MOST OF US LEARN BEST BY DOING OR EXPERIENCING, AND A LESSON LEARNED IN THIS MANNER STICKS WITH YOU. NEXT TIME YOU SEE A BIRD POSTURE WHAT WILL BE THE 1ST THING THAT ENTERS YOUR MIND? I'M WILLING TO BET ENCEPHALITIS

I HOPE THATS THE ONLY THING YOU LEARN THE UNPLEASANT WAY. STICK WITH IT, THE REWARD FROM MANY OF THESE SPECES IS WELL WORTH THE HARDSHIPS AS ALL ARE BEAUTIFUL AND UNIQUE. JUST REMEMBER THEY ARE QUAIL, AND QUAIL AINT CHICKENS!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

If you have Bobwhites you may need to get them out of there especially if you have a white light on your brooder. All the Bobs I have every had kill each other if they are under that white light all the time. Red light works best for them. They will peck each other at the knees and cripple one another. Once one is hurt, the rest of them will gang up on it until it's dead. Just a word of warning.

 

[BjsBestGirl]

I dont think ive had any problems like that. but thanks for the warning. ill keep my eyes open. they all seem very calm with oneanother. they cuddle alot. but thanks for your word!

XOXOChristineXOXO

 

[JJMR794]

YOU generally wont have those agressive problems with coturnix,,,, Bobs, now thats a different story.

 

[BjsBestGirl]

how do i know if theyre bob white? i have a bunch of different kinds. and theyre all mixed i think. also, now that im really looking hard and paying attention, i think i do have 3 button. theyre about 25% smaller than my smallest Coturnix. i also still have one red one. Cinnimon?