Quail male blinded from bully

[Quailnewbiee]

For months now, I had my female and male pair of quails that were bonded together in the garage. They both seemed very happy. A quite a few weeks back my crossbeak had gotten attacked so I put her in with the pair to heal. They were all together for months, fine. We recently built new cages for the winter to keep them warmer in the garage. These cages are smaller. A few days ago my male was attacked by the female. I separated him to heal. He kept calling for her this morning and she keeps calling for him. They have always done this for each other, which is why I never separate them. I reintroduced him under supervision back to her to watch their behavior. He is looking for her, but is blind, he is waking into walls and is a sad sight. Anytime he gets near her, she pecks him. I’m not sure if his eyes will ever heal to be able to see again. My questions are

#1 do I keep him alive if he is blind? Or is it cruel to let him live like that?

#2 should I make him an indoor by himself pet? He does crow a lot, will taking him into our house stop him from crowing? (No female no crow?)

#3 if he heels will the hens ever accept him again?

The picture include his eyes and the cages. He is in bottom an two females are in the middle.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He may not be blind, just injured.
Rinse his eyes with saline, then apply an eye ointment like Terramycin in the eyes to help them heal. Do this a couple of times a day.

See that he's drinking and eating well.

 

[Nabiki]

Give him a few days. I don't think his eye is gone, so he may well heal up. If he does turn out to be blind, he will require special care. If you're not prepared to give that to him, it would be kinder to cull.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Don't put them back together until they're fully healed. It's mother nature telling them to cull their own injured flock. When you put them back together, remove both and put them in a darkened brooder for a day or so before putting them back in their permanent home.

It's humbug, but that's just evolution doing what evolution does.

 

[Quailnewbiee]

I just want to first say thank you to you all for your comments and answers. They helped me. I also wanted to update that I had him separated and isolated at first.... But he was very lonely and crowed all day. (Even though he was right under the other two). Because the female he was bonded with was attacking him, I isolated her, put the injured male with my crossbeak. I read somewhere that crossbeaks are so valuable for this reason! The two of them got along, the males scabs eventually fell off. After he looked strong enough, I reintroduced the bonded female and all is happy again. I did add a few obstacles made of boxes so they have places to run to and escape/hide. Also a tray of sand. I plan to add more fake plants etc. Winter is just starting so I need to keep them busy and happy until spring!! Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Boppo]

Well done! I am so glad to hear you were able to reunite them all!