3 day old Texas A&M quail keep pecking and killing each other

[riverrunner]

HI, To all
I have around 40 (probably less now) recently hatched Texas A&M quail they keep pecking on each others beaks and killing each other at about a rate of 5 or 6 a day. I trimmed the beaks back slightly but it didn't seem to help. They have plenty of room and have food and water available readily. Any suggestions???

 

[Chick Charm]

Things I would try.
Make sure your temperature is NOT TOO HOT. High heat makes em peck more.
Make sure there is plenty of space for all your birds. Cramped conditions can lead to pecking.

I don't know if these are the answers but that is where I would start.

 

[settingdusk]

The quail get bored. If you have any bugs they can hunt or places to perch or hide they love that.

 

[buttonquailtx]

Are you using a white light for heat? If so, switch to a red light. Birds naturally peck at bright colors, and the yellow down is really bright under a white light. I do this with my white button quail. If I ever use a white light with them, they constantly peck at each other.

 

[goagain]

I agree with buttonquailtx, when I use white light my white birds will deflesh each other. Just switching to a red light calms them greatly. They become very docile almost instantly. It was a hard lessons to learn.

 

[riverrunner]

Thanks for all the responses I really appreciate the help. I swaped the light to a red light last night and but there were still a few more that were pecked on this morning. There may be enough white light getting in from other sources that the red isn't doing the trick. Going to try to block other light sources this evening.

 

[dynodon]

I don't know what kind of brooder you have them in . But if you have a solid floor , you might want to cover it with medium sized pine shavings . I have a 4ft x 4 ft x 1 ft high brooder in my incubator room , and I have anywhere from 10 to 40 hatching each week. I also use a red light ,and will have babies from 1 day to 2 weeks old all mixed together and have never had the pecking problem .They seem to love picking through the shavings . I must say it adds a lot of extra work ,because you have to keep cleaning out their waterers ,and feeders.When they get big enough to try to fly out of the brooder , I move them to the pens outside .About twice a week I have to clean out the brooder, when the shavings ,poop ,and wasted feed get matted in the floor .I use an 8 in. sheetrock knife to scrape it out ,only takes a few minutes.

 

[riverrunner]

Thanks to all. I replaced the red heat bulb with a low watt red light and seemed to do the trick. No casualties in the last two days.