Huge patches of feathers missing! :(

[aurora_bahuki]

I have a little white quail whos only between 5 and 6 weeks old named Marilyn.  She's pure white (we thought she was albino but she has black eyes and very pink skin beneath the feathers) and very beautiful.  A post below mentioned my problem of aggressive quail behavior, and we believe that the quail who was agressive did this.  Poor little Marilyn has HUGE chunks of feathers missing with big patches of skin showing, and even though a few pin feathers (at least the ends of them) are there, its still very worrysome.  So, we gave this extremely aggressive black quail (who we think went canibalistic) to a bird farm.  The other quails seem much happier without him, but I'm still worried about Marilyn's health.  Will these feathers grow back?  Is there anything I can buy to help the healing proces?  Please keep in mind, I live in Southern California near a beach and it's hard to find bird supplies without going a bit out of my way.  Just getting food is a pain.  Either way, is there anything cheap and easy I can do to help her heal more?  Below are some pictures of Marilyn, and you can surely see the huge patches of feathers missing.  (Sorry the pictures aren't very detailed)  Help?  



(If you can't see the picture, try here)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v461/fluffyquail/merpatches2.jpg

[komori35]

well even though you removed the aggressive one, it may not have been him at all.  a quote from someone else who has recently helped me with a problem like this one: "when quail beat each other up, they usually go for the head and the back of the neck.  the breast and stomach are places where they can reach themselves." so though i reccomend that a high protein crumble will help them get her feathers back more quickly (sorry, its food   ), i also think you should check for parasites on the bird, because she may have pulled them out herself to get at them. if you see scabs or red, irritated skin, its very probable. are any other birds of yours losing feathers? is she off her feed? give her a good look-over and get back to me.  if i cant help, then ill reccomend your case to someone who can.

by the way, what kind of bird is she?  she looks raher like a button...or a tuxedo coturnix...

                                                   -komori

[stewaw]

If birds see an injured or weak member in their midst they can be pretty relentless.  Looking at your pictures, at a minimum I would separate her until she has healed better.  With her white plumage, those injuries stand out like a beacon saying "peck me".  I'm comfortable in saying at least in my flock she would be picked on repeatedly until I either removed her or she died.

David

[aurora_bahuki]

Well, we're pretty much sure it was the aggressive one because he pecked at everyone else, not just her.  I think the others might be losing some feathers but not nearly as many as she is.  I can't tell if her skin is red and irritated or if thats the natural color of the skin, a beige/pink color.  Plus, the pin feathers coming in sort of hide teh skin, though in that picture the wounds look darker than they are.  I haven't seen any blood yet, which  Isuppose is a good thing.  I hear new feathers can take a MONTH to grow in, and I don't think I can seperate her for that long because I'm afraid when I put her back, they'll pick at her becaus she'll seem like a stranger, plus, I don't have anywhere to put her currently.  If I see any blood, I'll probably take her to a vet or be forced to buy a seperate cage fo her.  As I think I said above, the others are losing feathers as well but not nearly as many as she is, or maybe because she's white I can see it better.  She's the only white one and I have no idea what type of quail she is unfortunately.  Any other comments or suggestions?

well even though you removed the aggressive one, it may not have been him at all.  a quote from someone else who has recently helped me with a problem like this one: "when quail beat each other up, they usually go for the head and the back of the neck.  the breast and stomach are places where they can reach themselves." so though i reccomend that a high protein crumble will help them get her feathers back more quickly (sorry, its food   ), i also think you should check for parasites on the bird, because she may have pulled them out herself to get at them. if you see scabs or red, irritated skin, its very probable. are any other birds of yours losing feathers? is she off her feed? give her a good look-over and get back to me.  if i cant help, then ill reccomend your case to someone who can.

by the way, what kind of bird is she?  she looks raher like a button...or a tuxedo coturnix...

                                                   -komori

[komori35]

the feathers on her side shouldn't take a month.  if you dont have anywhere to put her, waht i do with mine is partition off an end of the cage with cardboard and put another food and water dish in there. if the pin feathers are coming back in thats good. two weeks or so and she'll probably be fine.

P.S. she really does look like a button quail.  what color are the other birds?

                                                                   -komori

[aurora_bahuki]

I wouldn't be able to tell you what type of quail she is or the others.  I've never really had quail before, this is my first time raising them or even seeing them really (besides in pictures).  I guess I'll hae to wait until they're older to be able to tell.  Sorry.  ^_^  (They're about 4-6 weeks old)

[komori35]

it might help you later on down the road to know what kind of quail they are, for sure.  got any pictures of them? 4-6 weeks is when the plumage comes in, and i can see that on Marilyn.  if you can post a pic or two im sure someone can be able to tell.

i hope Marilyn gets well soon  :)

                                                  -komori

[brendaks]

She's a Texas A&M Courtnix quail - hope she's doing better now!