quail losing feathers to soon?

[quailmama 82012]

so, i'm sorry if this is completely normal but i would just like to know when quail start losing feathers. my quail is losing his at three weeks and i don't know if i'm doing anything wrong or just being paranoid. thanks!

 

[le_bwah]

Molting has to do with sunlight. You can check how many hours you're getting here if you type in your location.

In my experience, full-grown Coturnix raised outdoors will start to molt between 12-13 hours of sunlight. That might be different for juveniles—I don't know.

Are they losing feathers all over, or just in patches? Juveniles can "shed" and look pretty gross as they grow. As long as you don't see bald patches of skin or evidence of mites, they'll probably grow through it.

 

[quailmama 82012]

right now he's inside, due to the cold weather, but i do have a little lamp on for him when ever i wake up through whenever i go to bed. i cant see any skin, but you can tell where the feathers were falling out. thanks!

 

[JaeG]

They do an awful lot of growing in those first 6 weeks so they do grow feathers in, then do a mini molt as they head towards being fully grown.

 

[quailmama 82012]

i put my finger under his wing because he wouldn't keep still if i didn't. i just noticed today and its the same on the other side. i added apple cider vinegar to his water to help. it is definitely not him being picked on because he's the only one, (via, me trying to incubate the other eggs, which are not cooperating.)

 

[le_bwah]

He's likely just growing, then, especially if it's symmetrical. They always look gross while their blood feathers are coming in.

Be aware that there's little scientific evidence of ACV doing quail any good. You're better off using commercial "chicken vitamins" (or even baby vitamins, if you can get them easier) to promote feather growth.

 

[quailmama 82012]

ok. do you know what vitamins would help? or any foods?
thanks again.

 

[le_bwah]

Any water-soluble vitamins marketed for chicks are good. Feed your bird a high protein game bird feed (aim for 24%-30%) while they're growing or molting—whatever you can get in your area should work.