Spikey scabs in quail

[Linita]

Hi,

I wonder if these scabs are a common non problematic thing or they're a disease or something that needs to be addressed.

Here there are some pictures showing where the scabs are located in her body as well as some close ups and a photo of the feeder. There come with some footnotes.

https://imgur.com/a/DghbSvO

I have a Japanese Coturnix Isabelle quail. She's kept as an indoor pet. There's another quail but right now they're separated.

In the last 2 months, I started noticing some spikey scabs on her chest. Then in the last month or so I've also noticed them in her head and also one in her leg.
All these are places where there's some sort of friction. The scabs around her head are in places where she has some friction against the feeder's holes. I let her out of the cage everyday and even if it's not very often, she sometimes flights and bumps into things and hurts herself in the chest. So I think that's where those are comming from. And in the leg I really don't know but it's just one.

The scabs keep growing and eventually they fall off on their own but then they re-spawn like pokemon in tall grass.

I didn't worry when I saw the first ones in the chest but since the problem seems to be getting worse and they're popping up in other parts of her body I'm starting to worry.

I haven't been able to find anything online about these scabs. I wonder if they're just scabs and they're a common non dangerous thing I shouldn't worry about or if they're some sort of disease that needs to be checked and treated. The quail is active, eats and drinks, runs normal, it's pretty active actually, a bit too much even.
The only thing I've noticed is that in the last couple months or last month (I don't remember), she's been panting a lot. Like while she's bathing in the shavings she pants, other times when she's running around, other times for apparently no reason, but she does that for about 1/4 part of the moments I am looking at her.

She's very tame and friendly and it's not scared of me. She's now isolated out of caution.
They're indoors so they're not in contact with other animals. I only have a canary in his cage that goes outside in the balcony every day, but he seems healthy and doesn't have shown anything like this.

The other quail is not panting and doesn't have these scabs, but they've been together most of the time, just appart for the last weeks. They also have pretty different personalities, the quail with the scabs is a lot more tame and friendly but also much less graceful and more of a brute when it comes to food and in general. So if they're caused by friction or something like that, I guess that's why the other one doesn't have them. She doesn't fly and bump into things and she isn't as brute while eating or comming for food. The golden quail (with the scabs) starts jumping against the top mesh of the cage when she sees me comming with a treat out of anxiousness for it, and definitely goes to get food without being very careful.

As a side note:

The panting and the scabs can very well be totally separate issues, but I thought it was good to mention. Also a few months ago she hurt herself against the ceiling and walls while flying pretty bad. It was a few meter's flight. She hasn't hurt herself that bad again since I've been keeping a closer eye on her when she's out. But still you can't predict her sudden crazy flights since there doesn't seem to be a trigger and it happens all the sudden. I have a moral dilemma of if I should let herself out less or not, because she is really happy outside and I think it's worth it as long as she doesn't get any serious injury. I wonder how people keep them in aviaries and if they run in the same problem.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The one's where there is friction are likely something similar to skin tags. Since she's getting one on her head due to the feeder, that could be remedied by changing the feeder around.

The scabs on her chest are more like scabs from irritation and if she's jumping against wire, this can irritate it more. Looks like you keep a tidy area, but if she's laying down a lot where there's moisture in the bedding, this may cause exacerbate the problem. I'd just monitor those, if they get worse, then you may need to dab on a little triple antibiotic ointment and keep bedding ultra dry until she heals, but her jumping about it will be a challenge.

Do you provide any dirt/sand for them to dust bath? I like to provide bowls of peatmoss with a little sand.

The panting, how old is she? Do you notice more panting when it's time to lay an egg or is it random?

 

[Linita]

The one's where there is friction are likely something similar to skin tags. Since she's getting one on her head due to the feeder, that could be remedied by changing the feeder around.

The scabs on her chest are more like scabs from irritation and if she's jumping against wire, this can irritate it more. Looks like you keep a tidy area, but if she's laying down a lot where there's moisture in the bedding, this may cause exacerbate the problem. I'd just monitor those, if they get worse, then you may need to dab on a little triple antibiotic ointment and keep bedding ultra dry until she heals, but her jumping about it will be a challenge.

Do you provide any dirt/sand for them to dust bath? I like to provide bowls of peatmoss with a little sand.

The panting, how old is she? Do you notice more panting when it's time to lay an egg or is it random?

She's 5 months old.
I am not giving them sandbaths because I did and they prefer bathing in the shavings for whatever the reason.

No, not more panting when she's laying. It's more like random yes. Although now the temperature has dropped and she's panting less. I wonder if it may be the heat a bit but here it's not really that warm. It was 27°C tops. I wonder how she's gonna do through the summer when it's over 40°C outside. She's an indoor pet and I try to keep my appt under 31°C anyway but.

Thanks very much for your comment.

I will keep an eye on the substract to check it's dry and change it more often. I have been touching it and it always stayed dry anyway it's warm so it dries more.
The wounds in her chest don't seem infected at least not to me, I don't have experience with poultry wounds. How do they look when they are? I just compare to human ones.

I've done an update on the feeder and taped all around the holes so the edges are soft now.

I don't think they're skin tags because they're totally dead. It's like scabs which keep growing out for whatever the reason. When they get long you can even cut the top part and it's just hard sort of scab.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She may be getting too warm. They can handle normal heat but need to have good shade if outside.
If you have her inside, you may find that you need to provide more ventilation or air circulation, even when it's a bit cooler.

Wounds that have infection would be bright red, oozing, have pus and/or a foul odor.

I'd just keep watch on her like you have been doing and see how it goes.