Missing Back Feathers

[Steve Bell]

I have some Bobwhite Quail that are missing their lower back feathers and most of there tail feathers. There are 24 of them, and they are about 10 weeks old. They have plenty of room. Anybody been seeing this?

 

[DK newbie]

I don't have any experience with bobwhites and most of what I know about them comes from this forum - but I'm pretty convinced they are pecking each other and this is most likely due to too little room (I think the recommendation is 2 or 4 sqft a bird?), too few places to hide, too little to do with their time or a combination of these. Could also be due to too little protein in their feed, but bobwhites tend to be aggressive even if fed adequately.

 

[fat marans]

Random uneducated guess: molting?

 

[Isabella F]

How many roosters do you have? I've heard that that happens when there are to many roosters for the hens. (I am not an expert just through my research that is what I have seen)

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like a couple of things. At 10 weeks they are still going through molts as they won't be fully feathered with adult plumage until 3 full months.

If you are crowding them, especially in pens with wire flooring, tail feathers can break.

Make sure they have at least 3 square foot per bird, 4 square feet when they are mature to curb aggression. Bobs are not as docile as other breeds.

Make sure they are not competing for food and water, not enough proper sustenance will cause poor feathering.

 

[Steve Bell]

I don't have any experience with bobwhites and most of what I know about them comes from this forum - but I'm pretty convinced they are pecking each other and this is most likely due to too little room (I think the recommendation is 2 or 4 sqft a bird?), too few places to hide, too little to do with their time or a combination of these. Could also be due to too little protein in their feed, but bobwhites tend to be aggressive even if fed adequately.

This was very helpful. Thank you!

 

[DK newbie]

You're welcome Glad I could help. Did you find a solution to the problem?

 

[Steve Bell]

You're welcome Glad I could help. Did you find a solution to the problem?

I believe they probably were over crowded and were left to pick on each other everyday. I thinned them out and the feathers on the back are starting to come in again, although slowly.

 

[Diamond Dan]

Ditto on overcrowding and too many men in the house and the idle bobwhite is the playground for pecking and bullying. ...throw in afew piles of grass clippings works every time at calming the savages