quail

I’m feeling a bit sad because it looks like one of my quail, Sailor Moon, isn’t going to make it much longer.

A while back, before we got the kitten Lemon, I went out to feed the quail and I found Sailor Moon huddled in his box. And all the other quail were very quiet and subdued, some of them waiting until I was far away before coming out to eat. Sailor Moon had always been so bold before, I thought maybe something had happened, but I figured maybe a raccoon had walked by the cages or they’d spotted the dog earlier. I didn’t think much about it.

The next day, I realized that he was moving funny, hopping around on one leg. But he wouldn’t let me get close enough to look in the morning, so it wasn’t until the afternoon that I realized his foot was all messed up.

That’s how we found out Lemon’s mom and sibling were hanging around the quail cages, hunting beneath them for wild birds and taunting the quail for amusement. I saw the kitten rise up to bat at the bottom of Sailor Moon’s and OSB’s cages.

One of those cats scratched Sailor Moon’s leg pretty bad. That’s what I’m assuming happened to cause the original injury.

Since then, Sailor Moon’s foot and leg went really bad. I treated the wound with watered down cider vinegar, honey, and salt (not all mixed together). And while dead tissue doesn’t come back, he seemed much better.

I’m willing to live with a one-legged bird. I give him extra food and treats and worry about him a little more than the others, but I expected him to be all right.

Only he’s been ripping out his feathers again (something he did when first wounded) and I’m assuming that it’s pain related. But this time, there was blood all over his cage. Like enough to drip on the ground below 🙁

I don’t know what to do for him. I’m not a bird doctor. And even if I was, I don’t think he’s going to get better.

I added some cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper to his food. Hopefully it will help him with the pain. So if the feather ripping is pain related, maybe he can settle enough to get a bit better.

He’s eating food. He hops around on his one leg. But the weather has gotten cold and I’m assuming it pains him at night or until it warms up during the day.

I could take him away from the other birds, but if he’s going to die anyway I don’t want to give him the further trauma of dying all by himself. He seems to like seeing the other quail nearby, even if he’s in a separate cage.

I’m so sad about Sailor Moon. I feel so helpless in the face of his pain.

Somewhere in my heart, I thought I’d get to put him back together with Tuxedo Mask and they would be happy and have a bunch of chicks together. But with his bad leg, she would have beaten him up, or he would have hurt himself trying to chase her.

It’s just so sad.