Newbie - please help!

[Cattt123]

Hi all, I’ve read everything I can on here but I also tend to worry over nothing so worth asking! I have two courtonix quail and the hen is losing some feathers.
From this forum I’ve learnt that this could be mites or lice, and she also sometimes opens her mouth and sneezes, and she sometimes kind of wipes her beak on me or her surroundings. I don’t know how much grooming is normal so I don’t know if she’s doing it too much.
I can’t see any little critters on her after looking under her wings etc. at night.

She does have twisted feet (having surgery to fix in a couple weeks) so her tummy is closer to the ground, but I don’t think this is the main cause as she has patchy areas under her wings too.

I knew to check her vent too, but honestly don’t know what I’m looking for so I included a picture if someone can educate me

Thanks in advance for any help!!

(Also is that an ingrown feather on her tummy?)

 

[Chip76]

Most of that sounds normal to me. My quail has been molting for the last few weeks and there are feathers everywhere!!! So unless there are bald patches, she's probably ok. The new feathers growing in must be pretty itchy bc Pedro is constantly preening and leaving piles of waxy stuff, usually on me. She also sneezes regularly and hates having anything on her beak.

I've never seen an ingrown feather, but that does look like it might be one. I don't know anything about the vents either, so not much help there. Maybe someone else can help with those questions.

 

[Nabiki]

That does kind of look like an ingrown feather, but I've never seen one on any of my birds. The vent looks pretty normal to me.

The feather loss could be from dragging her stomach as you speculate. Is her bedding damp at all? I've seen that kind of baldness on chicks that have knocked over their water then lay in it.

 

[Cattt123]

Most of that sounds normal to me. My quail has been molting for the last few weeks and there are feathers everywhere!!! So unless there are bald patches, she's probably ok. The new feathers growing in must be pretty itchy bc Pedro is constantly preening and leaving piles of waxy stuff, usually on me. She also sneezes regularly and hates having anything on her beak.

I've never seen an ingrown feather, but that does look like it might be one. I don't know anything about the vents either, so not much help there. Maybe someone else can help with those questions.

Thanks so much! I am a worrier, and especially as it’s all new to me so I appreciate your help

 

[Cattt123]

That does kind of look like an ingrown feather, but I've never seen one on any of my birds. The vent looks pretty normal to me.

The feather loss could be from dragging her stomach as you speculate. Is her bedding damp at all? I've seen that kind of baldness on chicks that have knocked over their water then lay in it.

I use sand for her and it doesn’t get damp - although with her feet she is very messy and kicks her water around a bit... but I check the cage a few times a day. She’s upright most of the time so