I NEED HELP WITH MY NEW KING QUAIL

[Nuchi]

I am getting into keeping quail myself but have owned other pet birds before. With the size diff I would of worried about bulling before putting them together but they seem to benefit each other, I do love seeing that.

I would use a very little bit of coconut oil just enough add a little gloss but not gunk her up, it should sooth if its from over matting which I suspect more then the other options and if its external parasites it will kill any it comes into contact with. After that I would provide some food grade DE for a dust bath, this will kill all parasites that it comes into contact with yet is fully safe as its fossil sand. and finely I would add some brewers yeast to there food it wont effect there yeast balance in a negative way in fact living yeast of this kind like baking yeast can be used to help balance bad yeast. getting a bit off subject the brewers yeast helps repel further parasites down the line.

I don't know if more feathers can come in before a malt (I think they can)but once she malts she should look like none of this ever happened of course after looking worse all over for a little lol.

Again I don't own any quail as of yet but this is stuff I have picked up in my studies for ecosystem establishment/maintenance so its kinda wide spectrum info that may not apply. I hope some of this was helpful and not just a mess with how I go on.

 

[Majak5]

Mites
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Can’t t see any mites or lice, I think it was because they where housed with 3 males at the pet store and the males plucked them, how long does it take for their feathers to grow back from plucking and when will they lay eggs

 

[Nuchi]

That will do it one male is bad enough they are kinda lucky that they all where not bloodied. The feathers they should all fine by winter after they malt but maybe before then and as for the eggs its normal not to lay a couple of weeks to just under two months because of stress but I am fairly sure they wont be laying no where nearly as regular as your Coturnix.

 

[Hybridchucks]

The could have been bullied or over mated in their old home, before you got them.
I too think you should look for bugs on them.

Are you feeding them a high protein complete feed?

X2

 

[DK newbie]

Plucking is a relatively common issue in button quail. Watch carefully to make sure they are not plucking each other - it's not only roos that'll pluck.
In general it takes around two weeks, then the new feathers should be coming in. But if they've been plucked repeatedly for several months, there is a chance the feather follicles are so damaged they'll never get their feathers back. I have a hen with a permanent bald spot on her head because her partner pulled her feathers too hard when mating..
But they'll do just fine even without their back feathers. I'm sure they enjoy the cot's heat, but they don't actually need it.
And make sure to keep an eye on the cot - there have been stories on here about cots living peacefully with buttons for months, until one day, the peace was over and the cots started chasing and pecking the buttons.

 

[Majak5]

That will do it one male is bad enough they are kinda lucky that they all where not bloodied. The feathers they should all fine by winter after they malt but maybe before then and as for the eggs its normal not to lay a couple of weeks to just under two months because of stress but I am fairly sure they wont be laying no where nearly as regular as your Coturnix.

It’s going into winter now, it’s getting quite cold and they don’t have feathers on their backs so I’m worried that they will get too cold

 

[DK newbie]

How cold do you expect it to become where you keep them? I had a group of 4, 3 of which were plucked, at my parent's place last winter. They did just fine and it does occationally freeze where they are kept. So they are very hardy little birds. But being 4 they could of cause also huddle together.

 

[TwoCrows]

King Quail are Button quail which are tropical birds. So they really need to be kept indoors, above 50 degrees at all times, 60 -70 degrees Fahrenheit preferred.

The feather loss appears to be from over mating. Feathers take about a total of 6 weeks to go from pin sized to full length. You should see some pin feathers in the next week or so.

They will hold off from laying when they have fully adapted to their new home. Each time you move them, they hold off from laying.

Good luck with your new birds!

 

[JaeG]

They will pluck each other if stressed, or just because. I have a male who will be fine for awhile with his offspring, then he will start plucking them. I've had a few individuals of a certain colour that will pluck any other bird that's a different colour. They are funny little birds.

They will only lay over summer and stop during winter. Yours still look very young though - around 4 weeks old so I wouldn't expect any eggs until the weather warms up and the days are long enough.

 

[Majak5]

They will pluck each other if stressed, or just because. I have a male who will be fine for awhile with his offspring, then he will start plucking them. I've had a few individuals of a certain colour that will pluck any other bird that's a different colour. They are funny little birds.

They will only lay over summer and stop during winter. Yours still look very young though - around 4 weeks old so I wouldn't expect any eggs until the weather warms up and the days are long enough.

thank you, that helps a lot, I got one more so now their are 3 girls, do you think it would be ok to put they could go in with the male