Creating pairs/integrating buttons

[Canina]

So as you know I’ve had two roos since November who are apparently gay, prison gay or at least bisexual. They are currently in the nice 4ft tank.

I now have two future girlfriends for them who I will introduce in about a month. They are currently in the 2 ft tank.

I am prepared for the possibility of rehoming one of the roos because I only ever intended to have a couple of hens in the first place and the ratio of males to females is miles away from ideal. I prefer the personality and behaviour of the wild type one though the other one is funny and cute, he can be a brat (I had to separate the boys for a day when they first went in the new tank because Cinnamon chased him away from food but they cried for eachother, I put them back, they calmed down and are back to reenacting the Lil Nas X ‘Montero’ music video) I suspect he will be the one I have to worry about being territorial if anyone else is introduced though.

I am wondering whether to try the wild one and Hen A (either Nunu or Nana) in the big tank first and letting themselves get used to eachother. There’s 4 ft of space and he’s got at least a few braincells and a bit of class. I’d rather he is the dominant one in the space because he’s not a dick about it.

I am thinking to introduce Cinnamon and Hen B in the 2ft tank in my bedroom. Whilst it is smaller, I am able to supervise them pretty much 24/7. If need be there’s a small timeout cage and another 2ft cage.

Then once they are bonded I am thinking of introducing them as a pair to the other two. My thinking is that if they have been separated from eachother they will be less inclined to see the girls as intruders and bond to them. But also if they both are bonded to a hen each already, they will be less likely fight eachother over them. I wonder if Cinnamon will also be more ok with his lot in life (not being in charge) if he has a girlfriend.

Considering my boys haven’t even drawn blood once after 6 months together I hope they will gentlemanly with the girls but am also aware that introducing them will change the dynamic of their relationships with eachother and each bird will have less space, but at least the tank offers lots of hiding places.

I would like to be able to keep all of them in there but am prepared to remove a roo if I have to and just keep him on his own either next to my bed, on my partner’s desk or offer him to anyone who wants to breed him because I think his colours are quite different. He’s so mottled on top with bright white underneath.

 

[Nabiki]

Buttons do well in pairs. It's coturnix that need the harem.

Keep them where they can see each other but not touch for a week or so, then try introducing them. You may have to keep each pair in their own enclosure, but I've had good luck with two pairs in my pens.

 

[Oldegarlicshnapp]

Lmfao prison gay. Best of luck to your promiscuous little guys. Hopefully they’ll settle down with a white picket fence once they meet their little ladies

 

[Canina]

Buttons do well in pairs. It's coturnix that need the harem.

Keep them where they can see each other but not touch for a week or so, then try introducing them. You may have to keep each pair in their own enclosure, but I've had good luck with two pairs in my pens.

I’ve read conflicting info but think you are right. A lot of problem seem to assume they act the same but even in a few months of getting into quail I can see they have different needs and behaviours.

Seeing as my boys haven’t made eachother bald or hurt eachother’s vents from their antics one hen shouldn’t get badly overmated either.

I’ll try keeping all 4 together and if it doesn’t work, I might try partitioning the tank or keep the second pair in the 2ft tank.

Do you think separating the boys and trying to pair them individually before putting them all in the big tank as described is the way to go, or should I put both girls in with partition so they have eachother for moral support and then boys can ‘choose’ themselves to begin with? So do I keep MM and FF pairs where they can see but not touch or do I mix them. I worry that if the boys can see and smell the girls but not get to them for their protection they will instead get frustrated and fight eachother. But the girls have the double whammy of getting used to both the new environment and new birds.

So not sure about the best order to do things in or perhaps I’m overthinking it. I just don’t want to create a preventable situation where someone gets beaten up lol

 

[FloorCandy]

I find it’s the young hens who pick on the older male when I put them together, the males are happy to jump on anything that goes near them after not having any ladies haha.

I didn’t try to keep two males with mates together, from the start I picked 2 males and I divided a 50 gallon bin cage in half with a hardware cloth panel that I can slide in and out. I have one group on each side. Each male has several ladies and so far I’ve found that girls who hatched together and grew up together and were intro’d to the male young, will have no problem sharing him. I don’t leave them eggs to get territorial over so that probably helps. One boy has 3 ladies, one has 5, but I’ll probably trim that to 3 when I see who are the nicest ones.

 

[Canina]

Lmfao prison gay. Best of luck to your promiscuous little guys. Hopefully they’ll settle down with a white picket fence once they meet their little ladies

Lol I hope so

Things can escalate from dustbathing. together to preening eachother to one of them assuming the position pretty quickly. And when we have guests, too.

 

[Canina]

I find it’s the young hens who pick on the older male when I put them together, the males are happy to jump on anything that goes near them after not having any ladies haha.

I didn’t try to keep two males with mates together, from the start I picked 2 males and I divided a 50 gallon bin cage in half with a hardware cloth panel that I can slide in and out. I have one group on each side. Each male has several ladies and so far I’ve found that girls who hatched together and grew up together and were intro’d to the male young, will have no problem sharing him. I don’t leave them eggs to get territorial over so that probably helps. One boy has 3 ladies, one has 5, but I’ll probably trim that to 3 when I see who are the nicest ones.

Thanks for your experience, that’s interesting that it’s the girls that can be mean. Is that defensiveness or do they actively go after them? I’ve seen a video of a hen chasing chasing a male for seemingly no reason but not sure how typical that is.

 

[FloorCandy]

Thanks for your experience, that’s interesting that it’s the girls that can be mean. Is that defensiveness or do they actively go after them? I’ve seen a video of a hen chasing chasing a male for seemingly no reason but not sure how typical that is.

Seems like they just go after him. They settle down after a few days, and the boy often has some feathers missing on his head. I have a couple hides made from plastic containers, and they have a front door and side door, so the boy can run in and go out the side and break the line of sight. Once the line of sight is broken, the hen almost immediately forgets what she was doing and wanders away.

 

[FloorCandy]

To add, I’m guessing they go after him because I keep them in groups until they are about the same size as the male, so maybe 6-8 weeks old, and it’s possible they had chosen a sweetheart from their hatch group and were unhappy with the man I arranged for them lol.

 

[Canina]

Seems like they just go after him. They settle down after a few days, and the boy often has some feathers missing on his head. I have a couple hides made from plastic containers, and they have a front door and side door, so the boy can run in and go out the side and break the line of sight. Once the line of sight is broken, the hen almost immediately forgets what she was doing and wanders away.

Ok good to know. They have several wood and coconut shell hides/tunnels, plants and stuff to take cover in if necessary