A quail cock thinks he rules my hens

[seasidechicken]

Two days ago I walked into my yard to feed my hens and there was a very tame male quail amongst my 9 hens. One red silkie, four white silkies, two Marans and a black Jersey giant. At first I thought it was cute seeing this tiny bird eating between the hens but by the end of the night that changed. I noticed the hens were a little scared of the mini bird and didn't know why. By this morning the little guy was acting like a rough and tumble rooster. He was running around and giving the smackdown to any hen not in the right place. I was amazed to see a bird weighing maybe 8 oz's ruling the roost on chickens ten times his size. The bird is tame and even lets me touch it. It may have been a pet that got lose. I live in the middle of town and have never seen a quail within miles of my house. My co-workers have been joking about it saying if they breed the will have quickens.

 

[dc3085]

Chickens can be carriers of many diseases that are fatal to quail but the chickens themselves are resistant to. It would be best if you do something to keep him from getting to them. If he is a wild quail I would probably euthanize him (call fish and game if you are worried since it isn't quail season) before he goes and damages a local population with something he caught from domestic poultry.

This is a quail with coryza it caught from healthy looking chickens.