Why is my quail losing feathers

I have a chick not even 2 months old that is bald between the wings. I just brought her home from a very reputable farm. All my 9 hens have bald backs. Some are worse than others. There is 1 rooster.

No problem with egg laying. Is it possible that the rooster is doing it? Their coop is small for 9 but I would think that the sides would bald. Please help! Have you noticed this at all?

They are loaded with seeds and full of protein. They are as big as a cow salt block. Seems my chickens are looking better and their feathers coming back in!!! I have four chickens and one is losing her feathers and stays to herself. They are around 16 months old. The other three are fine and not losing feathers. I am going to try this protein block and appreciate the idea! We had two chickens and one just died about 6 weeks ago. So the original Lady Gaga has been alone for a while. She recently has been losing a lot of feathers.

The quills are still on her body, but the feathery part is gone. This has happened on her chest and her butt. Our first thought was that another animal had been attacking her, but if that were the case, I think she would have bite marks as well. I know she can reach the chest, but all around the vent as well?

And if she is doing it to herself, what could be the cause? Is it just because she is lonely? Hi Claire, our 8. She has been on her own since June when her last companion died. We have been advised not to try to home her with a new flock as she would be bullied. Do you think that emotional stress could cause this problem?

Thanks Claire, I think we will just have to concentrate on keeping her as entertained as possible. Hi Claire I have noticed this on one of my birds this morning they are all loosing feathers but one of them as it quails in the back and no feathers in two big patches. I had them last year when they was on 6th months old and not seen this before am a little worried any advice.

Hi Louise, Sounds to me like it could be their first major molt as they are around 18 months old now. Chickens are very social birds…they require companionship or they get stressed. And you are correct about putting her in an already existing flock, she would be bullied, especially since she is already stressed.

Hi Kelly, one of my chicken fits the same description you shared, she has numerous bold spots but oddly enough her quilts are still on her, I asumed she was molting but today I was shocked as I noticed her quilts. This can be depluming mites.. I have 34 chicks but only one chick is loosing feathers after suffering mosquito bites. What could be the problem? Hi Anastasia, I would first sort of mosquito flies and make sure they are kept away from the coop and run area.

We have a 9 week old Speckled Sussex hen who we just noticed today had feathers ripped out in between her wings. She appeared very lethargic today. We separated her and wormed her and started her on soluable Tylan in her water. She just seems tired like the others had been picking on her. Any suggestions. Hi Ryan, You need to make sure that no blood has been drawn- chickens love to peck a red colored things!

Keep her well fed and make sure to and also keep her water filled up with vitamins. The other hen is fine. Would this be lice still? I have ten chickens, one of my youngest, a one year old blue Marans, is the only one with feather loss. She has no feathers on her butt and spotty on her back and sides. Plus, where her skin is showing it is bright red. She is towards the bottom of the pecking order.

I have tried seven, blue kote, and even vitamin E. I do t know if I should separate her from the rest of the flock or not. Thank you. Hi Karen, First I would double check her for mites and if she does have them treat her with a dusting. They integrated fairly well. One of our older chickens is losing her feathers. She looks like someone has chewed her up. She has feather loss every where. She seems otherwise to be fine, eating drinking, running around.

All the other chicks seem healthy, no feather loss etc. They are all in one coop which is big enough for all of them. Hi Joy, Normally if one chicken has mites- they will all have mites. Is she has only recently lost them I would clean the coop out and treat them all with a dusting powder. In which case you can use the tree pruning sealer as discussed in the article to find the bully!

I have 3 chickens laying well,but the white star and sussex have lost the feathers just around the neck,the marin I have has no feather loss. Hi Brian, Sounds to me like they are beginning to molt! My 3 yo Speckled Sussex just began dropping lots of feathers from her fluffy rear area not the neck like a usual molt. The other girls are ok. Could this be the cause? I keep water in several areas throughout the yard as they free range during the day.

I would keep an eye over her the next few days and see if any other hens in the flock start dropping feathers or not. We inherited 11 unsexed chicks, transpired that 3 were cockerels and the 8 hens are various breeds and sizes.

We separated the smaller hens with missing feathers and let them recover. I have been letting them have the occasional egg and given them mealworms as well as layers pellets and corn Any suggestions?? Hi, It sounds like you are doing all the right things. For a hen to grow their feathers back they need plenty of protein. The only other thing you could do is get them a molting mix feed- your local feed store will stock it.

Hello, I am new to chickens, about a month Now and My red hen has a bald spot on her chest….. She red one usually sleeps in the nesting box, where I had added some lavender herbs to the sand….. She is a prolific layer, pretty much daily. Rarely does she miss a day. My other hen is an every other day girl. Any help appreciated! Hi Mary, Are you certain she is laying eggs?

It sounds to me like she is broody- when hens are broody they tend to pluck their own chest feathers out so their skin can touch the eggs… Claire. Could this be stress? They are in a brand new coop, but are not able to completely free-range as previously, due to predators.

Any suggestions would be great! Hi Annette, It could well be stress. How long have they been with you for. In my experience chickens tend to need around weeks to settle in to a new environment. I have 4 and she is the only one. Hi Amanda, This does sound very strange and again sounds like one of the flock members might be bullying her!

If this continues you can either isolate her or the bully and see if her feathers come back. My chickens are losing the little under feathers because I see them on the ground but none of them look like they are missing feathers. They are all around months old.

Is this normal? I think that I may have a mite problem in my coupe. When you say to dust the chickens what kind of dust? We have barred plint rocks, they were hatched march 1, Is it too soon for them to be molting at this age? Our road island reds are not showing the same problem. Please reply per e mail, thank you. Hi Donald, Yes it definitely sounds too early for them to have their first molt- this normally occurs when they around 18 months old.

Are the barred rocks kept in the same coop as the RIRs? Also are there any Roosters in the flock? Hi, I live in the uk, have 3 hens this is their second summer on earth and one of them has lost a line of feathers from right underneath her belly, between her legs. She has not laid for the last 2 days but seems happy enough. Is this likely to be a moult?

None of them moulted last year. I add a solution to their water once a week to prevent this and it has always been successful. My breeder recommended it They live at night in an Eglu and run around in a pen during the day. Many thanks. At my house there is a chicken named Ginger, and her feathers are twigs. Bones are sticking out, and the rooster keeps treading on her. What do I do!? You could also add some electrolyte to her water.

I bought 5 Rhode Island red hens. All their beaks were broke off and feathers were damaged broke off and missing what can I do to help them. Hi Bridgette, What do you mean by broke off? Can you email us a photo and we will see how we can help! I have a chicken that the others in the flock bullied. I separated her from the rest and when I tried to put her back they attacked her again. She is still a homeless little girl. What should I do?

Hi Sandi, Does the entire flock bully her or just one or two hens? If it is just one or two hens I would in fact isolate the hens that are doing the bullying. Then in a few days reintroduce the bullies and see how you get on, Claire.

We have 10 hens and 1 rooster. We got them as chicks last june, so about 15 months ago. They started laying end of November and were laying eggs a day on average. Since beginning of May-ish, they dropped to 1 or 2 eggs every other day. They have plenty of nesting boxes, get free range of food and layer pellets. Hi, My youngest chick, about a year and a half old , has been losing her feathers on her wings and around her neck.

It just started today or yesterday. I have 3 chickens, and she is the only one losing her feathers. She is the lowest in the pecking order, but the highest protects her. I have diatomaceous earth that I sprinkle around their coop, and where they take dirt baths. I was wondering if meal worms would provide enough protein for her. If any. Thank you so much, Kenzie. Hi Kenzie, They do provide some protein but not much. The best way to increase her protein is by changing her feed to game feed… Claire.

My chickens have molted all summer and stopped laying eggs except for my silkie. Just when they all seemed to be all feathered up they are molting again. Still no eggs. I have given them calf mana and molting muffins and dusted them with DE. One of my chickens died recently. I have four Polish Crested and one Silkie. Hi Donna, It sounds to me like they are molting. Hi Lisa, Not exactly the same time, but normally within a few weeks of each other yes.

I have a chicken who is loosing feathers, and is bleeding on her wing. She also was staying on her roosting bar all day and I had to bring her food and water. Now I have her quarantine. Hi May, It sounds like she either has parasites or was attacked. Hi May, If your hen has a parasite you should quarantine them for at least 21 days.

Hi, we have recently moved to a property that came with 6 laying hens and a rooster. The entire flock is young and had just started laying. When we moved in, we were getting five eggs a day. One week later time change happened. All egg production has stopped. We have tried putting a light in their coop to make their day longer, but no luck. Also, our rooster, Randy, is looking quite dishevelled.

He is loosing feathers everywhere, which I assume is a moult. There are feathers all over the place, but as for now he is the only obvious one to be looking noticeably less feathery. Is this normal and do I just wait it out? Hi Ashley, It sounds like a molt to me. One of our silkies was attacked by a dog.

Took her to the vet and they said she was in shock. Two days after, she was perking up. Is this normal for shock? Hi, We have two chickens Rhode Islands Reds. Should I be worried about internal parasites? Also, we just brought them back into the garage in wire cages. Premium Feather Member. Doesn't sound like bugs internal or external.

Sounds like molting. Birds will stop laying during a molt. Look for pin feathers especially around the neck and head to confirm molting. TwoCrows said:. Click to expand Birds LOVE to molt in the dead of winter!! LOL I don't know why.

But molting is hormone driven. So when ever nature tells them to molt, off come the feathers! They will do fine. They may like some extra protein like mealworms or hard boiled eggs. My chickens crave extra protein during molting, but I have never seen my quail go all that ga-ga over more protein foods during this time. But it does help the feathers grow better. Don't worm them with any fenbendazole safeguard during a molt because the feathers will grow in really freaky.

LOL Makes them curl. There isn't much else you can do other than don't stress them at all during this time. Molting is stressful in itself and the birds can have diarrhea, sleep a lot and look very tired. You can add probiotics to the water or a vitamin supplement to the feed a few days a week if you want to.

So just hang in there for about 8 or 10 week and soon it will be all over! Most quail species molt twice a year, usually before breeding season and then after breeding season. Although, these times can be different if the birds are kept under light in the winter and the molt cycle is disturbed, or the weather fools them into an early breeding season. Older birds sometimes skip one of these molts each year and usually the spring time molt is less fierce than the fall molt.

Since your birds are molting now, they probably won't molt again til late summer or early fall. You will learn over time who molts when and how many times they molt each year. Each bird can be a bit different. Oh, and the Shaklee won't hurt the feathers if you want to worm them now. Only the safeguard is the stuff you need to avoid during molts.

Jan 12, 26 2 47 South Carolina. I just hatched 10 Coturnix quail. They are 7 days old. I noticed 2 days ago all of them are losing the feathers on wings. This means it is best to avoid housing them together.

If you have more than one male in a cage, this is most likely the cause of feather loss. Overcrowding can precipitate feather pecking and cannibalism.

It is important to provide adequate space for each member of the flock to eat and drink. Failure to do so can encourage competition that may lead to cannibalism and cause more-dominant birds to keep others away from feed and water. Molting is a hormonal process in shedding old feathers and making way for new growth.

Chickens, ducks, and turkeys tend to molt once a year once they become adults. Certain species of quail such as the Coturnix will molt twice a year due to their high productivity rates. Turkeys will molt lose feathers annually, generally during the spring or fall seasons. During their molting period, the birds may lose a large portion of their feathers.

This natural process lasts between four and ten weeks. If your turkey is losing feathers during a non-molting period, consult your veterinarian. Stress — moving locations or coops, temperature, predators, molting.