Baby quail are similar to baby chickens in some ways and very different from baby chickens in other ways. They are both cute, but unfortunately, they also are fragile and can get sick easily.
One worrying thing that your baby quail may do is laying on its back, this article looks into why this happens.
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Baby quail laying on back:
If you know about baby quail you’ll know that they are fast, very fast, these birds will hatch out of their eggs and run around, even with pieces of egg attached to them.
So this bird laying on its back would be suspicious to anyone who is looking after them. This is why your baby quail is laying on its back:
The bird is sleeping:
As much as baby quail like to run around they also like to sleep and they can look very odd when they do decide to sleep.
These birds may sleep on their sides, on their stomachs, or, they may sleep on their back. How the birds sleep is up to the individual bird and may change as the bird sees fit.
What to do:
You don’t have to do anything in this case, this is normal behavior and you can let the bird sleep.
Because these birds can look dead when they are asleep you can check that they are alive by opening the top of their brooder and poking them to confirm that they are still alive.
The birds will quickly wake up and run away when you do this, this is how you know that the birds are okay and healthy
Their legs are weak:
Another reason why your baby quail may be laying on its back may be because the bird’s legs are weak. In this case, the bird will be awake but will be on its back and its legs may be kicking.
The bird may do this because when it tried to walk it fell over and couldn’t get up.
If the bird’s legs are weak, and the bird is found sitting down with its legs to its side then the bird likely has spraddle leg. The reason for this happening in your baby quail is weak legs.
This can happen if the bird has a vitamin deficiency if the floor of the brooder is slippery, if the bird was poorly positioned in the egg, or if there were issues with temperature settings when the birds were being incubated.
High incubation temperatures can cause the birds to hatch with low muscular strength in their legs.
What to do:
If this happened because the floor that the birds are walking on is slippery then you can solve the issue by adding flooring with a better grip in the brooder, paper towels work well.
Avoid newspaper and cardboard as these are too slippery.
Also, brace the bird’s legs using medical tape, bandaids, rubber bands, or string so the bird’s legs get stronger.
Stand the bird’s legs in the correct position and then use the bracing of your choice. The bird’s legs should harden in the correct position after being braced for some time.
You can keep this from happening by making sure that any future eggs that you incubate are incubated at the correct temperature throughout their incubation.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Quail Acting Drunk, Quail Acting Strange, Do Quail Spit?, Why Is My Quail Shaking, Turkey Chick Vs Chicken Chick, Baby Quail Can’t Walk, Baby Chick Won’t Put Weight On Leg, Quail Vs Chicken Raising, Newly Hatched Chick Not Moving