Bald and turning bald quail hens; Foods to help feather growth?

[SeptemberQuail]

Quick summary;
My male's been mating one female for a month or two now and she's pretty much completely bald on her neck. Now he's moved onto the other female, she's lost a few feathers on the back of her head.
To mate the first female (bald one), my roo would need to grab feathers above her eye or top of her head which doesn't look comfortable for her, and when that fails (because he can't get a good grip), he just decides to mate the other female with more feathers on her head.

So now, I'm just wondering, is there any foods to assist in feather growth? I don't see much progress going on on the bald hen's neck with any new feathers. The last thing I need is two completely bald females and a desperate male.
Also when is moult for quails? I live in Australia, and it's summer right now.

Thanks.

 

[yallapilko]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your bird, tho I think it's quite a common problem.
First check out the nutrition in your food, I've listed some info below. Make sure that the methionine levels are correct as that is for feathering. Then you could add some foods with extra methionine, such as seeds. Sesame seeds are very high and I bulk buy these from ebay as my current food is low in methionine.
I'm in the UK and currently freezing about to brave the cold outdoors and I'm pretty envious that you're now in mid summer!
Quail nutritional requirements are as follows:


Age and Type

Protein

Methionine

Calcium ​

Phosphorus
Layer from 6 weeks

20%​

0.45%

2.75%

0.65%

 

[jak2002003]

The normal quail food contains all the nutrients they need for feather growth. Nothing will make the feathers grow faster, but the good diet will make the feathers stronger and glossy.

I suggest you remove the male for a few weeks to give the hens feathers time to re grow. You might also add extra females when its time to put the male back in. The more females you have the less stress on them.

The hens will still lay eggs if the male is not in with them, and they stay fertile for several weeks even with no male.

(oh, and providing a dust bath area will help the feathers stay clean and healthy too)

 

[satay]

What are you feeding them? I use gamebird starter. It's 28% protein.