Extreme Feather Picking!

[Coturnix Quail]

Hello, my EE hen has recently been picked on for quite some time. Only on her back and the tip of her wings though. She's about a year old and so are the rest of my 8 hens. At first I thought it was lice/mites but I realized my RIR hen was mounting her so much that she lost her back feathers! Of course me not knowing what I'm doing thought she was simply molting and I left her alone. Now she has a bald patch on her back and the other hens pick on her!! I've gotten a chicken saddle, but it's too long for her and doesn't fit properly. I don't want to separate her because I don't have another place for her to stay. Now what, I'm really stuck. Here's a bit of an old pic, it has gone up her back a bit more, sometimes I see the skin gets reddish

 

[sourland]

Do an on site search on Pin Less Peepers. You could affix them to the 'peckers' and then remove once your hen has regrown her feathers.

 

[azygous]

Is the RIR hen the only one stomping this EE?

Is the RIR also pecking and snatching feathers from the EE?

Does she terrorize the EE, chase her around or away from the food?

Does the EE squat when she knows the RIR hen is about to stomp her?

How many square feet are there in the run? Ideally, you should have a 100 square foot run to provide adequate space to discourage aggression. Could space be one of your problems?

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Checked it out, seems interesting. Will it bother the hens at all because now that she is bare there are multiple picking, not just one.

 

[azygous]

If there is any bare skin exposed, chickens are stimulated to peck it. Disguise the bare skin with Blu-kote.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Yes, this hen is the only one, she thinks she's a male I don't think the RIR pecks at her, but the other hens do now. I do know for sure it's not because of the food, she will put a little chase when she feels like mounting her randomly, but that's pretty much it, she does it to some other hens too, but I don't think my EE crouches. Yes, I've thought of run space being the issue as well, I am planning on expanding the run asap, ideally before winter. Right now they're getting about 9 sq ft per bird, a bit more though because I have bantams as well, but I'm really trying to boost it up to at least 58 more sq ft. I do let them in my garden sometimes. I'm just doing some more research before I build it. One question I have though is the coop size is fine but how would I expand my run, it is currently on top of a small, not so steep hill, but I feel it would be awkward for the hens and also to build it, but there's a lot of flat ground after the hill, so how should I build it? I've heard of tunnels but I don't feel so safe because I've got foxes and coons.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Blu kote sounds interesting and something worth trying. So you just spray it on and leave it until? Or does it come off? Thanks for the early replies also

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want to make a no-sew polar fleece hen saddle to fit a quail. I have made them for chickens with a 7x9 inch piece of material, then make 2 slits about 1.5 inches long. It is held on just by the wings. After you try it on, you can trim away any extra material. It will need to be downsized including the wing slits, to fit the quail. This one is similar to mine:

 

[Coturnix Quail]

I’ll make sure to take a look into that, thanks.

 

[azygous]

Blu-kote is a purple solution, the main ingredient being gentian violet. It's messy and it stains. It won't easily come off of anything you put in on. It will need to wear off. I ignore the large dabber that comes in the bottle, choosing to use a Q-tip instead. It's much easier to get it where you want it. Feed stores carry it.