chinese painted quail

[dave85]

hi all,

was wondering what i can do to stop my cpq from plucking each other - they have sizeable aviaries with them in.

ive split them into 4 groups,

2 groups are of 8 - 4 of each sexe and the other 2 have spare cocks.

seems most of the plucked birds seem to be cocks.

how can i stop this and get them to recover all their feathers to the formal glory?

Thanks
Dave

[Rogerb]

try criss or paul they might know :smile:

[kenny]

hi dave
i may be wrong here but it may be your cocks attacking each other as you seem to have a lot of cocks compared to hens,and if they dont have enough space the cocks will fight
ken

[chris]

Housing the cocks individually is the only sure way i know of of preventing feather plucking. that, and make sure you have provided a sand bath as this gives them something else to do

Chris

[dave85]

hi kenny and chris,

I have groups of cocks and they are fully feathered and looking dam fine compared to the ones being kept with hens.

the hens seem in the best condition and none of have been fighting.

i think its the hens doing it to them? as some of the cocks are quite bald and some hens havent even a missing feather.

They all have an earth floor to pick around in and roll in which many do.

any other ideas?

Thanks
Dave

[laurab]

Ever heard the expression 'hen pecked' LOL:-P

[kenny]

hi dave
i have only ever kept a trio or a quattro of quial with one cock covering all the hens so beyond that i dont know.its usually the hens that get plucked.i still think you have too many cocks ,as one cock should be able to easily cover up to 8 hens......what do you think chris

ken:roll:

[chris]

i would move all but one or two of the cocks into cages or another aviary, leaving only one/two cocks to the group of hens you have. one will probably be the safest option, the only time i've ever known hens pluck a cock is when it's a new bird that's been added to the group, even then things tend to settle down after a week.

have they got much in the way of cover/hiding places. if they can hide from those doing the plucking then it doesn't help

Chris