Quail Chick Plucking Others!!!!

[Coastal Quails]

I have one week old coturnix chicks and one is plucking and eating feathers! I have him separated for now but he is NOT happy!!! Please help, this is urgent. They are on 23% starter feed and mealworms, scrambled eggs and grit provided every other day.

 

[nightowl223]

This may sound like an odd question, but do you use white or red bulbs for their heat source?
I've found that red light almost always prevents picking, because a white light will show if someone's managed to start a new feather bleeding, and birds will pick at red blood; with red bulbs, it hides the blood color, and the other chicks don't all gang up on the bleeding chick.

It sounds like it wouldn't be a diet deficiency, but it never hurts to mix in some vitamin/electrolyte mix like what Durvet sells into their water ever so often. I do that with the first week's water for a new hatch, anyway, just to get them going on the right foot.

As long as there's no significant injuries to the other chicks, there shouldn't be much danger. But be sure to cover any injured areas with blu-kote. It also hides blood, as well as being a great help to healing and keeping infection away.

Quail, like other birds, don't do well alone. You might start by introducing another baby into the area with the "picker" and see what happens.

 

[Coastal Quails]

This may sound like an odd question, but do you use white or red bulbs for their heat source?
I've found that red light almost always prevents picking, because a white light will show if someone's managed to start a new feather bleeding, and birds will pick at red blood; with red bulbs, it hides the blood color, and the other chicks don't all gang up on the bleeding chick.

It sounds like it wouldn't be a diet deficiency, but it never hurts to mix in some vitamin/electrolyte mix like what Durvet sells into their water ever so often. I do that with the first week's water for a new hatch, anyway, just to get them going on the right foot.

As long as there's no significant injuries to the other chicks, there shouldn't be much danger. But be sure to cover any injured areas with blu-kote. It also hides blood, as well as being a great help to healing and keeping infection away.

Quail, like other birds, don't do well alone. You might start by introducing another baby into the area with the "picker" and see what happens.

I use a white light, i will keep all that in mind. There doesn’t seem to be any significant bleeding but he has been pulling out their feathers and eating them... the other chicks squeak and jump away whenever he does it... i have it isolated for now and i’ll try to introduce him back in an hour or so...

 

[Coastal Quails]

This may sound like an odd question, but do you use white or red bulbs for their heat source?
I've found that red light almost always prevents picking, because a white light will show if someone's managed to start a new feather bleeding, and birds will pick at red blood; with red bulbs, it hides the blood color, and the other chicks don't all gang up on the bleeding chick.

It sounds like it wouldn't be a diet deficiency, but it never hurts to mix in some vitamin/electrolyte mix like what Durvet sells into their water ever so often. I do that with the first week's water for a new hatch, anyway, just to get them going on the right foot.

As long as there's no significant injuries to the other chicks, there shouldn't be much danger. But be sure to cover any injured areas with blu-kote. It also hides blood, as well as being a great help to healing and keeping infection away.

Quail, like other birds, don't do well alone. You might start by introducing another baby into the area with the "picker" and see what happens.

Blu kote isn’t available where i am. I had the chick deprecated for an hour then re-introduced but it did not work. I’m tired and out of ideas

 

[nightowl223]

That sort of time-out isn't really going to work with birds. They don't "get" it like kids do.

Do you have any Vick's vaporub? You might try putting that on some of the pecked spots on the other chicks. There's also a pick-no-more or something similar that Rooster Booster sells. Either one might help keep the determined little naughty fella from doing any more picking/pecking at the others.