wisconsion bobwhite quail apears to have itch it cant scratch. help!!!

[akmustangman]

i have 8 -3 week old quail all seemed fine until this morning one keeps trying to scratch its belly its trying so hard it rolls over walks backwards i thought maby it got a splinter from the cage i feel so bad i looked closely at the chick i cant see anything its been trying for about 6 hours or so it really looks like it has a itch it cant reach any ideas.

 

[TwoCrows]

Watch the bird closely....does one of the legs appear to "catch" as it tries to move it forward? This can look like it is trying to itch it's belly. This catching will cause them to fall and roll. This can be caused from either some sort of nerve damage to the hip or possibly he boinked his head on the ceiling and has bit of brain or spinal cord swelling.

Keep him warm and quiet for a few days until he heals.

 

[akmustangman]

...

Watch the bird closely....does one of the legs appear to "catch" as it tries to move it forward? This can look like it is trying to itch it's belly. This catching will cause them to fall and roll. This can be caused from either some sort of nerve damage to the hip or possibly he boinked his head on the ceiling and has bit of brain or spinal cord swelling.

Keep him warm and quiet for a few days until he heals. 
Thank you for the reply i think your right as i watch him it does seem like head injury the qauil never lifts its head up

 

[TwoCrows]

Get him under some heat. About 80 degrees. Sick or injured birds will shut down if they get cold. Feed him what ever he will eat as well. They can refuse quail food. So hardboiled eggs is a good emergency food loaded with all the building blocks of life. Dip his beak in the water all day too so he can get a drink of water. If he boinked his head he won't be able to get a drink or eat unless you help him. And keep him warm too.

 

[akmustangman]

he is looking much better this morning,his head is a little lower then the rest but is not rolling so far and stopped scratching i hope he is alright i am new to birds i really get upset if one is sick.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, it can be stressful to watch them sick. But these things do happen in our flocks. All we can do is keep them as best as possible, giving them the best life possible so that when the inevitable happens, we know they had a good life.

How do you keep your bobwhites? If these are in a cage or pen, you might put in some fake foliage or even a cut branch from a tree out back in the pen with the birds. Bobs flush up easily but if they have some hidey places, they would prefer to run for cover instead of flush. Make a corner a real jungle in there so they can sneak around and hide. Quail are ground dwellers and would be hanging out under brush piles in the wild. So give them some places of security in your quail area and head boinking is far less likely. And make sure they are not being harassed at night either by critters of the night. Use some solar lighting or such things to keep your birds safe and secure.

I hope the bird makes a full recovery!

 

[akmustangman]

NSWERED

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds good! Sometimes we just don't know what is good for them. I have never had a problem with tall hutches if they have tree branches and such in them. It is the tall cages that are bare that cause the trouble. So you can probably leave your pen just as is but put some branches or fake foliage in there so they want to hide in there instead of trying to fly when scared. They will naturally run under the cover when scared. And let it hang down low or even to the bottom of the cage so that they can hide right under it. Like a canopy in areas too. Just play with it. Your birds will be so much more calm. Bobs especially need cover. They are very stressed to begin with.

 

[akmustangman]

THANK YOU,i put branches in there cage , the injured one still holds his head down but is eating and drinking.

i guess just wait and hope he pulls through.