Feather Loss on Male's Head?

[Green Bean Quail]

Hey all!

It is going to be a BIG week for my quails this Monday. They will be moving to a 16 square foot hutch complete with a sand bath, coconut shell play set, hay-filled nesting box, dirt, shavings and a tray of kentucky bluegrass to eat in. So excited to get them to their new home! Only issue, my male (blondie) has been losing feathers on his top of his head. The two females are molting along with him, and their feather loss is due to breeding. (Hoping a larger hutch will lessen the intensity of the loss) but I'm baffled about the male's loss. He does often "bounce" at me when I open the lid or am by the lid (aggressive when hes breeding), could he be rubbing against the wire? No feather loss on any of the others besides head. Is this any health problem i should be aware of?
Thanks!

GreenBean

 

[Quailobsessed]

Hey all!

It is going to be a BIG week for my quails this Monday. They will be moving to a 16 square foot hutch complete with a sand bath, coconut shell play set, hay-filled nesting box, dirt, shavings and a tray of kentucky bluegrass to eat in. So excited to get them to their new home! Only issue, my male (blondie) has been losing feathers on his top of his head. The two females are molting along with him, and their feather loss is due to breeding. (Hoping a larger hutch will lessen the intensity of the loss) but I'm baffled about the male's loss. He does often "bounce" at me when I open the lid or am by the lid (aggressive when hes breeding), could he be rubbing against the wire? No feather loss on any of the others besides head. Is this any health problem i should be aware of?
Thanks!

GreenBean

That's exciting for them, good luck!

Could you post a picture of your quail?

 

[Green Bean Quail]

Absolutely! I am at work until 6pm right now but once I’m off I’ll snap a few pic!

 

[Green Bean Quail]

That's exciting for them, good luck!

Could you post a picture of your quail?

Okay here are the photos. One female has no feather loss, and one male and one female both have this kind of head loss

the image if of the males’ feather loss, but it looks identical on the girl. No other feather loss on rest of the body. The cage looks a little messy because of weekly cleaning, and they’re getting to the limit of how long it’s been! Smell a little sour, but I will be cleaning the cage tomorrow.

 

[Quailobsessed]

How tall is the enclosure? Could they be jumping up and hitting their heads on the wire above?

 

[Green Bean Quail]

How tall is the enclosure? Could they be jumping up and hitting their heads on the wire above?

Honestly I think that may be it! They have a rather low lid, I did that because I thought it’d be less painful if they did wind up hitting the top-any ways to fix it? Will it detriment health or egg laying to have the bald areas?

 

[Quailobsessed]

Honestly I think that may be it! They have a rather low lid, I did that because I thought it’d be less painful if they did wind up hitting the top-any ways to fix it? Will it detriment health or egg laying to have the bald areas?

You will need to raise the roof. It won't detriment their heath to have bald patches, but if they continue to hit their head, they can do damage. I've lost king quails to boinking. If you can't raise the roof, put something soft there so they won't continue to harm themselves.

 

[Green Bean Quail]

You will need to raise the roof. It won't detriment their heath to have bald patches, but if they continue to hit their head, they can do damage. I've lost king quails to boinking. If you can't raise the roof, put something soft there so they won't continue to harm themselves.

Gotcha! I can’t fix the roof height, but what can I add to soften it? Should I drape a towel on the top? It’s a wire lid on a basket right now, but the new hutch on Monday will be a wood lid that opens like a chest.

 

[Quailobsessed]

Gotcha! I can’t fix the roof height, but what can I add to soften it? Should I drape a towel on the top? It’s a wire lid on a basket right now, but the new hutch on Monday will be a wood lid that opens like a chest.

When I lost a quail to boinking, I put wadding material on the ceilings of all the cages as it is softer to hit into. You could put a towel perhaps, just something that will soften the impact.

 

[Green Bean Quail]

Gotcha! I can’t fix the roof height, but what can I add to soften it? Should I drape a towel on the top? It’s a wire lid on a basket right now, but the new hutch on Monday will be a wood lid that opens like a chest.

Will do, then! I’ll drape a towel over the cage for the rest of the weekend, as they’ll only be there until Monday, but I’ll try to get around soon to fixing up the new cage. The male only ever bonks when I’m around, as he tries to attack me. Should I just try to limit contact besides feed until I can get them a safer ceiling? Now I’m paranoid about them dying!!!