Advice Needed

[Tass]

Hello Guys ... this might be long... I was a storyteller in a previous life ...

So I bought some Quail a couple months back, 10 females and 2 males, which I thought was an excellent deal... Until some things started to go down...
I had some issues from the beginning - with one quail having eye issues and weird scabbing along its back. There are no vets that see birds in my area so I turned to the seller for advice, he was real nice about the whole thing and even collected the injured quail and said I'd get her back once she recovered, I paid the pick up fee and all was well. There was back and forth between myself and the seller over Scabby (the injured bird), and he claimed she was doing well and even started laying again, about a month later, I messaged to enquire and find out when I would get Scabby back, and the seller said she escaped and basically got lost in with the other birds and that she's probably sold. The seller said I would get a replacement bird on the next delivery trip..

Come November, tensions begin rising in the coop, each day a different bird would be injured and I couldn't understand why..... until I started separating the quail to figure out who the aggressor was.. fast forward through injuries and one sudden death, turns out I have 5 males and 5 females (1 deceased , 1 with the seller - bringing the total to 12). I communicated to the seller for advice on swapping out the males for females, to which the response was "I can bring back Scabby but I don't have hens to spare at the moment" I then asked for a time frame of sorts mentioning that even if they are not the same colour females its fine - I just need for the quail to stop injuring each other. Anyways, I have not gotten a response from the seller for the last month and figured Scabby wont be returning to me either.

Quail are not readily available to purchase in my area, with sellers mainly selling fertile eggs and unsexed chicks. Just today a lady was ready to deliver 10 females to my door, but when I requested to pick up instead, she claimed her husband doesn't want to sell the females anymore... I am still on the lookout to find ladies to join my flock, but I am losing hope.

My current situation is - > There are 2 males with the 5 females in the main coop, the other 3 males are in an old parrot cage - there has been a significant reduction of injuries since the separation. The males are far away from the main coop and have been behaving well with each other. ( Just thinking, I'm getting 4 eggs daily, hopefully there isn't another male in there )
I did not anticipate the gender errors and so, I am now lost... I have grown attached to these birds, they all have names and I want to ensure that they are happy... I really don't want the 3 males staying in the parrot cage for forever and I don't want to send them to the freezer either, and then there's the main coop to sort out.... TBH I'm just really bummed over the whole experience and I don't really know what to do going forward...

What is the best way forward from here?

Any advice is welcome..

If you got this far, thank you for reading about my dilemma

 

[CliftonQuail]

Hi thank you for your response

Okay cool, I wont swap out the males.

I'm not finding any turkey starter but I am finding this: View attachment 3714027

Its usually out of stock so pretty difficult to come by.

The South African quail forum suggested the chicken broiler feed - whichever has the highest protein... max I found was about 22%. So yeah it is a bit rough, hopefully it improves soon since there is quite a bit of people getting into quail keeping and we can stop grinding up cat food .

Can you get a picture of the nutrition label for the Pheasant Starter, or provide a link to it? For starter feed, I go with a 28% protein feed and drop them to 24% at about 6-8 weeks old. Others have success with lower protein, but I've been going with what seems to be the consensus on here and other sources.

 

[nuthatched]

That's a really sketchy seller, the birds are sick and she likely knows it.

 

[Nabiki]

That is not a great situation. Definitely stop working with that seller. If you can, give them a bad review with your experience.

In the meantime, if you are determined to keep your extra boys, you either need to get a lot more hens or you need to keep them permanently separated in a "bachelor pad" where they can't see or hear the girls. This may or may not work come spring when their hormones really start up, but they might get along just fine. There is a much better chance with no hens around, but still not guaranteed.

If you have the space, I would get some hatching eggs from a reputable hatchery such as Myshire Farm. I would recommend Southwest Gamebirds, but they just stopped shipping eggs. They do ship live birds, however, if you want to pay the price for them.

 

[Nabiki]

Hi thank you for your response

Okay cool, I wont swap out the males.

I'm not finding any turkey starter but I am finding this: View attachment 3714027

Its usually out of stock so pretty difficult to come by.

The South African quail forum suggested the chicken broiler feed - whichever has the highest protein... max I found was about 22%. So yeah it is a bit rough, hopefully it improves soon since there is quite a bit of people getting into quail keeping and we can stop grinding up cat food .

+1 on a picture of the nutrition label from this.

 

[WoDia]

My MAIN experience is with Bobwhites and King. If you don’t have a separate building for the 3 males, section off an area in the main building for them. My situation is different, because I have a lot more birds. I house my entire Bobwhite covey (currently 40) together… and, a lot of mine are males. I also have 22 King, and a separate bachelor area works well for them. I provide plenty of hiding spaces for escape from the occasional bullying. I’ve never had any major injuries aside from a few picked-out feathers. I can ONLY tell you what I’d do… definitely find another seller. You’re attached to the group you have, so do your best to keep the bullies separated. Make sure YOURS are healthy, and DON’T introduce any new quail until you know for sure that THEY are healthy and have gone through a quarantine period. Good wishes being sent your way.

 

[WoDia]

You need to start thinking about separating your covey of 40, especially if you have more males than females....might be easier to separate the females, as you have a smaller number of females to rehouse/pen.

I actually don’t have more males than females. 5 exactly. 35 females. And, it’s winter. They are always kept together until Spring… just like they do in the wild. I’ve been successfully doing that for well over 20 years, but I do thank you for the suggestion.

 

[007Sean]

I actually don’t have more males than females. 5 exactly. 35 females. And, it’s winter. They are always kept together until Spring… just like they do in the wild. I’ve been successfully doing that for well over 20 years, but I do thank you for the suggestion.

Well, I guess it was just the way you worded it! I do pretty much the same thing, they run together during fall/winter but earlier in the year, usually by February, I separate them and have a better ratio of male to female.

 

[Nabiki]

Your setup looks nice! I wouldn't swap the males out. It is likely to stress your hens and they may or may not get along.

Can you get some turkey starter for your chicks? That will give them what they need if you can't find game bird starter. Can you order online? I have a friend in South Africa, and it sure sounds like things are rough down there.

 

[007Sean]

My MAIN experience is with Bobwhites and King. If you don’t have a separate building for the 3 males, section off an area in the main building for them. My situation is different, because I have a lot more birds. I house my entire Bobwhite covey (currently 40) together… and, a lot of mine are males. I also have 22 King, and a separate bachelor area works well for them. I provide plenty of hiding spaces for escape from the occasional bullying. I’ve never had any major injuries aside from a few picked-out feathers. I can ONLY tell you what I’d do… definitely find another seller. You’re attached to the group you have, so do your best to keep the bullies separated. Make sure YOURS are healthy, and DON’T introduce any new quail until you know for sure that THEY are healthy and have gone through a quarantine period. Good wishes being sent your way.

You need to start thinking about separating your covey of 40, especially if you have more males than females....might be easier to separate the females, as you have a smaller number of females to rehouse/pen.