Hen keeps scratching her own head

[BarneyArmy]

Hi peepz,

I recently got 4 coturnix quail hens. They are two months old now. Three of them have started laying and are very curious and active. One of them is much more nervous and hasn't started laying yet. Last week she started getting a bald spot on her head, but seemed to be doing fine, apart from being nervous and skittish.

A few days ago she turned out to have blood on her head and beak. I wasn't sure if the others did that so I took her out of the flock. But she keeps having fresh blood on her head every morning, so I'm sure she does it herself. During the day she hardly scratches herself.
It's getting worse every day and it's looking really nasty right now. She is still very nervous in her separate cage, and doesn't seem to eat much.

Now what could this be? I have been thinking of possible mites and I could treat her for that (they have a DE bath), but I was wondering if it's also possible for her to be just not completely right in the head, and that the scratching is just part of her nervous behavior.

Has anyone ever seen something like this before? What could it be and how can I help her?

(Sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm a new quail owner.)

 

[DK newbie]

Could she be boinking at night? Some birds are very easily frightened when it's dark and you mention she's more nervous than the others. Boinking can cause feather loss as well as bleeding and if you don't see her scratching much during the day I doubt she does it at night.
I'd try padding the roof of her solitary enclosure - could be as simple as suspending a towel a couple of inches under the roof so she can't hurt herself. You can of cause also check for dark spots of dried blood on the current roof - you might be able to find the explanation like that.

 

[BarneyArmy]

Thank you. I have been thinking about that, but I thought it not very plausible because she is in a different cage now where she can hardly hurt herself. I never found any blood on the roof in either of the cages. They all have been boinking but none of them ever got hurt.

But it still is a possibility. I will pad her cage tonight and see what it's like tomorrow.

 

[wildone]

this is by no means a dumb question. if that where happening to me i would be running around i frantic circles trying to find a solution. this my sound weird, but when i was taking care of a little chick that was very weak, i sat up all night to make sure it was alright. sadly it died on Easter.

the best of luck to you.

 

[wildone]

if you don't want to to that you could get a camera and video tape throughout the night

 

[BarneyArmy]

Yesterday morning I didn't find any fresh blood on her head, so I thought the padding of her cage or the apllication of calendula oil had been working. This morning though, I found several blood stains on the padding. She must have been boinking like crazy. I still don't know where the initial blood came from, because the roof is padded with a double layer of bubble wrap. Maybe she scratches and boinks.

Could it help to give her a little night light so she will feel calmer at night? Or will it just keep her up?

I must say I'm thinking more and more about putting her down, because this is just no good life for her.

 

[DK newbie]

I suppose she could have broken the scab by boinking into the bubble wrap, even if it's unlikely she could actually have broken intact skin - or maybe she hits the sides of the cage sometimes and not just the top..
A light might keep her up, but if the alternative is boinking herself bloody I'd say staying up is better by far. You can try to find out how bright the light has to be - maybe a faint light is enough to prevent boinking and she can still sleep. But she'll probably need it even after healing as well, and the group might not accept her back easily, so putting her down might be the better alternative.

 

[wildone]

i really didn't know that boinking was a problem. my hens would boink all the time (they learned as chicks when i left the brooder lid open) until i started spraying them with a spray bottle every time they did it. now they just jump around a bit, but no boinking.

 

[BarneyArmy]

Ok, so I was trying out the night light I wanted to provide for this night, and had all other lights turned off, when I noticed the green light on my oven is flashing (hen is in my kitchen). I'm thinking this flashing light possibly drove her crazy. Imagine a strobe light next to your bed, when you are trying to sleep.

Of course I turned it off, and I turned a little night light on. We'll see if it worked tomorrow.

 

[chuckachucka]

I hope it works for your poor hen.