Button Quail Feather Hygiene

[buttonbrigade]

Hi there!

I have 7 button quail who are overall doing quite well (as far as I know!). Eating + drinking nicely, laying good eggs - some are even broody!, and I clean their enclosure at least once a week. Their feathers have looked very dingy recently, and I'm not sure if it's a reflection on the sand I use in their sand bath or a potential health issue with the birds themselves. Do they ever need to bathe with water?

Attaching two photos of my white ones, one from March and one from today. Any idea what I should do to get them back to their best?

 

[SilverBirds]

Their feathers don't look matted or uncared for, just a little dirty. It's easier to see the dirt that gets on their feathers vs birds that are and other color. If you want to give them a bath, you can try it but they might not be to happy about it.

 

[Gezellige_Poes]

Hi there!

I have 7 button quail who are overall doing quite well (as far as I know!). Eating + drinking nicely, laying good eggs - some are even broody!, and I clean their enclosure at least once a week. Their feathers have looked very dingy recently, and I'm not sure if it's a reflection on the sand I use in their sand bath or a potential health issue with the birds themselves. Do they ever need to bathe with water?

Attaching two photos of my white ones, one from March and one from today. Any idea what I should do to get them back to their best?

I had the same happen with my white Coturnix quail. It was the play sand dust baths I was providing. They cleaned up after not having dust baths available for a weeks as I ran out of sand. I personally would not try bathing button quail. Mine are very skittish and flighty, not to mention difficult to catch. They also suffer feather loss from the stress of being caught and I imagine a natural instinct to drop feathers in an attempt to survive a predatory attack, which I emulate in a way when I try to catch them. I don't know how you would keep them calm during bathing, either, and you chance them aspirating water.