4 Tips for Caring for Injured Quail

Inside: Quail are going to get injured no matter what you do. But it is easy to treat them and get them healed up quickly and back out in their cage.

Injured quail happen, and can happen easily, usually from one another. Too many males or too few females and you are going to see head and neck injuries in your quail. It can happen quickly no matter how hard you try to be a good quail owner. But it is easy to treat them and get them healed up quickly and back out in their cage.

quail in cage with with basil plant and text overlay

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Table of Contents

Caring for Injured Quail

The first time you get an injured bird it is easy to panic. Do not panic, the first thing you are going to do is separate it from the rest of the birds. Injuries happen. It could be from having:

too many quails in a cage
too many male quail in a cage
not enough females for a male that is breeding them – some males need more females
putting a new quail into a coop with other quail
predator attack
some bids are just mean

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All but the first of those above have happened to me, and the first is prevented by having a lot of cages available to prevent that.

The first step is to separate the injured quail. I have a medical kit for chickens that I keep stored in a plastic tote, this doubles as a place to keep a bird that I need to separate, especially a small quail.

After you separate the injured bird, you have to look it over for an open wound, or broken bones. Open wounds are very common in Coturnix quail. These birds can be horrible to each other for no reason that we can determine sometimes.

The next thing you need to do is decide if you are going to treat the injury or cull the bird. No judgment from me if you choose to cull, I have many times.

What You Need

Grab your first aid kit for your birds and get things together:

triple antibiotic cream (without pain killer)
cayenne pepper
Enfamil Poly-Vi-Sol – a vitamin boost for chicks (or adults) that need a boost
eye drops – a chick hatched with a slightly puffy, runny eye

Are you looking at the cayenne pepper like I lost my mind? It is seriously like the most magical seasoning in the kitchen.

Cayenne contains a variety of antioxidants and vitamins. It is a pain reliever as well as an anti-inflammatory.

When a quail has been scalped (or any skin is missing) I mix up some cayenne pepper and water to make a paste. I use a small clean paintbrush that I keep just for this use and apply the paste to the areas.

This acts as a painkiller. I have seen quail go from looking unalive to bouncing around, eating, and drinking very quickly. It is like a magical seasoning.

I usually only apply the cayenne pepper paste once unless I think the quail is still in pain. Then I switch over to applying triple antibiotic cream.

Returning Your Quail to the Cage

Do not return your quail to a cage with other birds until it is healed. Other birds will see blood and peck at it until they kill the bird. This isn't just the case for quail, chickens are the same way. This is why we don't use chicken aprons with red.

You need to provide the quail with a safe place to completely heal. It might take weeks of isolation to be healed. If you add it back in too soon you'll end up back at the beginning or worse.

Fix the Problem First

How did your quail get injured? Did you fix the problem? That's the next thing, whether it is a crowded cage, a predator attack, or an overactive male. Sometimes it can be as “stupid” as moving a quail into an established cage without doing it correctly.

I say “stupid” because even after years of owning them I have done this because I wasn't thinking, and then I had a very injured quail. I felt horrible! The same thing can happen when adding quail chicks to an existing flock.

Adding a Quail to an Established Cage

You really shouldn't add a quail into an established cage, even if that quail had been in with them before. I remove all the birds from the cage. Then I add the new bird in along with the established birds to confuse them.

I don't know why this works so well, but I have never had a problem doing it this way.

If you raise birds long enough you are going to get injuries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to do for a bleeding quail? Apply a paste of cayenne and water to the area.

Why is my quail not moving? Quail that are weak or ill will conserve their energy and huddle into the corner of the pen. This is known as lethargy and is a common symptom for a variety of health issues.

Why is my quail laying on its side? Quail look like they have passed away when they sleep. It starts from the moment they hatch and they continue it throughout their life.