3 week old quail missing back feathers

kristenm1975

Songster
11 Years
Jul 23, 2008
831
18
163
Seattle, WA
400

I just got these little ones and inspected for mites or lice. I didn't see anything like that. It can't be overmating already can it?

Thanks!
 
That does look like issues from mating. It is possible they were in with an adult male and he was mating them. Young birds can be harmed by mating too early in life.

Keep them away from the adults for a while and these feathers should all grow back.

This age of birds are still molting out baby feathers anyway. So you will still see lots of feathers around until they are 2 months of age.
 
Hmm, that's a bummer. Poor little things. Thanks for the input. They'll have their own space and as I determine how many of these are males, I'll thin them out to be sure I don't see any more of this.
 
I know this is an old topic but I was searching the forum to find information on this same issue. I have about 30 3 week old chicks that are in a 200-gallon horse trough brooder. most of the chicks have this issue, the previous batch of birds that I brooded a month ago had no issues. They are on pine shavings and I cannot see any mites or blood. This picture from the original poster is exactly what mine looks like. I know it is not a Mating or aggression issue, any help would be appreciated.
 
Looks like an over crowding issue. If you can, seperate 1/2 of them into another brooder, so they won't be stepping on eachother. Also, check your temperature, they may be huddling up under the heat source, thus stepping on eachother.
 
We did have a cold snap here in Idaho I know they have plenty of room but I did notice some piling, I will add another heat source, thank you.
 

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