Hi, I am new to this site and I am hoping that someone can help me. I have 6 coturnix quail in an outside pen that is 8 ft x 4 ft. Four females, one male, and one undecided. The "undecided" one came from a different breeder and is a different color (much more red) - it doesn't have the obvious speckled chest of the females, but isn't exhibiting any "male behavior" at this point. He/she is about 6 weeks old. Anyway, he/she isn't really the problem. The problem is the other male, whom we affectionately named Braveheart when he was a sweet little chick living in a large cardboard box in our bathroom. We hatched Braveheart ourselves, and he has always been treated kindly and gently. He is almost 3 months old. About 10 days ago, he suddenly became very aggressive. When I (or my husband) open the pen door to retrieve eggs, Braveheart RUNS over at full speed to peck and bite at our hands. It actually hurts and he has drawn a small amount of blood. He is constantly mating with the females, biting their necks, although I realize that this is normal male quail behavior - but attacking our hands isn't normal, is it? I was hoping that this sudden aggressive attitude was a phase, but it seems to be getting worse, if anything. It is a pain to retrieve eggs or pet one of the sweet females anymore - Braveheart always runs over to attack us! He ignores the "gender undecided" one. Any ideas, anyone?
