Wounded female button quail

[Runic Otter]

Hi all! I was gifted some button quail a couple of months ago and I've had nothing but issues with them! We have 10 (3 males and 7 females). One of the females had most of her scalp torn apart and so I separated her and brought her inside. That was about a month ago. It was looking good but then she scratched it open. It started healing well, again, but then she tore it open, again. This time it's looking slightly swollen and "angry". I've been using antibiotic cream and antiseptic spray, but what can I do, if anything, to keep her from scratching it? At this point, I'm afraid she'll never be able to go back out with the others. Right now she's in a 20 gallon tank but she's pacing back and forth and just looks totally stressed. I feel so bad for the poor little thing.

 

[Nabiki]

Can you put a cone on her? They're very tiny, but that might be the only way I can think of to keep her from scratching it.

Button quail do better in pairs, so your male to female ratio is off. This will cause problems. Also, button quail require a lot of space for their size. They should have at least 1 square foot per bird, preferably more.

 

[Runic Otter]

The other quails are outside in an enclosed coop /pen and they actually seem to be doing well. I thought I would have issues as well with the M/F ratio (from what I had read). My boyfriend bought them as chicks from an ad, so he wasn't sure what he was getting. With the cone, my concern would be her ability to eat. She's made herself a little nest in her new tank and seems to be resting (thankfully). Thanks for your help!

 

[ButtonBag]

Perhaps it would be easier to cover her feet? I had to make one of my button chicks a tiny shoe out of a plaster (band-aid) once, I bet she could still walk but not scratch with something like that for a few days.

 

[Xouie]

Can you put a cone on her? They're very tiny, but that might be the only way I can think of to keep her from scratching it.

Button quail do better in pairs, so your male to female ratio is off. This will cause problems. Also, button quail require a lot of space for their size. They should have at least 1 square foot per bird, preferably more.

I’m racking my brain here— how could one make a cone small enough for a button? This could be a very helpful thing to have ready for some situations.

 

[Nabiki]

I’m racking my brain here— how could one make a cone small enough for a button? This could be a very helpful thing to have ready for some situations.

Card stock? TP roll?

TP rolls are actually really useful. I use them to make my feeders even less wasteful.

 

[Runic Otter]

Perhaps it would be easier to cover her feet? I had to make one of my button chicks a tiny shoe out of a plaster (band-aid) once, I bet she could still walk but not scratch with something like that for a few days.

That might actually be a good option. I could probably make a cone out of some heavy paper that I have I'm just worried about her ability to eat and drink. Maybe I should crochet her some booties!