Quail acting tired - is she molting or ill? Bare skin on belly?

I think they are just molting (a couple other hens are also losing feathers) but have been giving them DE in their sandbox every day, and vinegar in their water; seems to be helping. Everybody is eating and laying normally, so I'm just going to keep a close eye.

I did buy the vetermycin just in case - if anybody gets worse, I'm going to use it...
DE is basically silica. It's abrasive, so I wouldn't put it in their sandbox. It can cause irritation.
 
DE is basically silica. It's abrasive, so I wouldn't put it in their sandbox. It can cause irritation.
I don't ordinarily. Everyone seems to be OK for the time being (they luuuuuv the DE, rush for it when I put it in) but I do realize that it's not for long-term use. We change out the sandbox regularly and rinse the sand, so it won't stay behind.
 
Hello everyone, my lovely Coturnix quail started to act slowly and seems to sleep a lot for the last 3 days - had laid her last egg 5 days ago (before she used to lay once in every 3 days) and today I noticed a bare patch at her lower belly - i know that before it was never too full of feathers but the skin seems dry and she keeps scratching there and all over in general.
Could this be a partial molting starting or is it more likely an illness? Her living conditions haven't changed recently other than the days getting shorter, and she's still eating but just doesn't seem to have as much energy..
I know many others here will understand how worried I am even at the smallest sign of illness but it's my first time raising a quail.. thank you all for any information or experiences you could share.
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My quail did that when the daylight hours diminished.also laid less eggs.a little extra protein, meal worms helps. Adding some light to maintain 14-16 hours will trigger the egg laying hormones if you want them to keep laying. Mine lay an egg almost everyday. I made the mistake of leaving lights on 24/7 for extra heat during a cold blast . It caused extra aggression and feather picking. When I went back to a light dark schedule it again triggered some molting. Not good in the winter.
 

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