Quail with scruffy feathers.

[Fivehollers]

Our quail are having difficulty with their feathers.

Some facts:
---They are fed about 20% protein.
---They are 12 to 16 weeks old.
---There are 450 birds in a 12' by 50' flight pen that is about 4 foot off the ground to keep predators away. Ha

The feathers are missing from between the wings and are sparse and scruffy (battered, beat up) on the breast. It is hard to describe until you see them.

Another factoid:
---We are having a problem with a particular type of hawk/falcon. This damn bird will sit under the flight pen and scare the birds to one end and then hang upside down and run under the floor, trying to get at the birds. Yeah, I have been trying to get this on film because you would not believe how acrobatic this bird is. It is about the size of a large crow, with barred rust and gray feathers. This bird actually was throwing itself against the side of our flight pens that are up at the house. Over and over...running into the sides of the pen. It was amazing to watch. He must be really hungry 

Anyway...we did put a very large pan in the cage filled with dirt that was about a week ago...

Any help would be appreciated.

Lori Pike
Five Hollers Quail Farm

[frank_lap_127]

Sounds like overcrowding to me...

Frank

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

The hawk Sounds like a Cooper's Hawk






More on the Cooper's Hawk http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Coopers_Hawk_dtl.html

Lori,

What type of quail are they? 600 square foot isn't alot of room for 450 birds. How much head room do they have, and what type of cover is available inside the pen?


Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[slider]

Some hatches will do this no matter how many birds is in the hatch and no matter how large the pen. And it is from them pecking..No matter how much space you have for them, when you have them up off of the ground they will all stay in a tight group so your overall space does not really matter.You might try splitting them up in 2 or 3 groups and placing large pans of sand around the pens for them to dust in and check your protine level in your feed. And as far as the other problem you have all I can say about that is....12ga.

[CharlieHorse]

When the coons were harrassing my BW's, there were feathers flying everywhere. Looked as if someone had taken feather tik pillows, cut them open and strung it all over the pen, allover the sides, top, and bottom.

If what "slider" describes as possibly being the case, I'd be inclined to provide alot more cover throughout the pen and to close in the sides on the bottom of pen to keep the dirty rascal from getting under there.

Good Luck!

[birdlover17]

Hey steve,
i've seen one or two of these Cooper's hawk around my yard a few years back, it was hanging around my pond probably interested in a free meal.  They kind of are fascinating birds they dont seem to bother my birds, since that year i haven't seen them since.  I know where i live, the city releases hawks to control the pigeon problem.

[Fivehollers]

Okay the picture of the Hawk is spot on. I will end that thought there.   

The flight pen is in the middle of the woods. We built it on a clearing that the logging company created when we had the ground selectively harvested several years ago. What cover there was we had to remove and then the old man put metal rings around the remaining trees because we have a coon problem and no way to run electricity out there.

The pen is 7 foot at the peak (the pen roof is made of PVC rounded with netting) We have reinforced the sides with chicken wire and then put a 4 foot piece of tarp around the whole thing so they will not get comfortable seeing us on the fourwheeler or walking (this trail is also the way to the tree stands and food plot access) We also work the dog on the clearing past the flight pen. If we have any birds left after the Quail Unlimited people come I will put some pine branches or something so they have cover during the winter.

The birds up at the house have metal roofs on their pens and we put up black plastic in the winter to keep out the snow.


The old man is feeding scratch grain for the past two weeks and now that they are comfortable with the "bath" they have been using it regularly. They are plenty fat and starting to get their butt feathers back, maybe the stress caused by the hawk took its toll. He was around for a while, that is the fastest bird I have ever witnessed.

The live trap is out again because a coon had the audacity to take a dump on my deck, right by the table.  Anyway...by the time we wake up enough to grab the 22 the damn things are running away. I have faith in the old man tho...

Lori

[wildergamebirds]

Okay the picture of the Hawk is spot on. I will end that thought there. 
Lori

  " poor soul was just too high strung seems the strain was just too much"

  I've seen hawks fly into wires, and poles.  Farsightedness ?  I once had a Great Horned Owl fly into the side of my pickup door on the highway, while chasing a mouse.  The worst seem to be Teal, maybe all the blood rushes to their wings, leaving none for their brain and eyes.

[nicodemusliam]

Well, Nice info and I also noticed that my female indian runner and also my female khaki campbell seem to have quite dry and sort of bare wings, it looks  like they have been pecked at alot or maybe it's just general bad feather condition. We feed them on layers, they have access to lots of water and also eat lots of worms and other creepies in the garden.