Is my hutch appropriate?

[Green Bean Quail]

Oh! Are we looking at pin feathers already? That's surprising. I think you have one special chick there.

Awe! I’ll tell her you said that! From the way she struts around I think she know that already

 

[Roomi the quail]

You said your chicks are losing feathers on the edge of their wings? It may be the natural feathering process, they feather up from the wingtips and tails. Mine started to grow pin feathers at the age of 3days. If your chick grooms particularly on this 'less feathered area' you might expect more pin feathers to come.

 

[gtaus]

I brush them occasionally with a sterilized toothbrush

I have never brushed any of my chicks. They instinctively preen themselves to keep clean. Is there some reason you brush them?

 

[Green Bean Quail]

I have never brushed any of my chicks. They instinctively preen themselves to keep clean. Is there some reason you brush them?

My aunt, who raised chickens & three batches of quails for a while, used to do it to apparently familiarize the birds with touching/petting of feathers. I stopped doing it just in case. They didn't like it much past the first few times I tried

 

[Green Bean Quail]

You said your chicks are losing feathers on the edge of their wings? It may be the natural feathering process, they feather up from the wingtips and tails. Mine started to grow pin feathers at the age of 3days. If your chick grooms particularly on this 'less feathered area' you might expect more pin feathers to come.

You are right! just wasn't expecting them to grow in so fast-everyone elses's seemed to take about five days! They are all pinning quite quickly now and are losing their baby down. They grow so fast.

 

[gtaus]

Just wondering, is it appropriate? One of my chicks is losing feathers on the edges of her wings so is there too little room? I can’t fix the white light, we live in rural area and it will take three weeks for a ref light (?red light) to arrive (no Petsmarts or anything to get the right one) so by then they won’t need it. I added two “huts” to try and give them a darkroom if needed.

I'm having a hard time understanding your setup. Do you have any pictures? How many chicks in how big a brooder? How old are your chicks? Are you talking about a white bulb heat lamp?

If you live in a rural area, you might have better luck getting a red light at a local farm store. Some people say a white light makes the chicks more aggressive. I used red lights myself until I was prepping my chicks to go outside to the main coop, then I would use the white light during daylight hours and switch to the red light for nighttime hours. That way they start to develop a natural pattern of awake/sleep with the sun when out in the coop.

If you can't get a red light, I would not be too concerned. I think the size of your brooder would have more to do with any possible aggressiveness with your chicks. If you suspect some chicks are picking on other chicks, the "huts" you add should not be enclosed because you don't want a chick trapped inside a box and getting pecked by a more aggressive chick(s). So make sure the huts have more than one way in and out. They need to escape and run away if needed.