DeadlyTaco
Hatching
- Jun 24, 2025
- 1
- 0
- 2
So, this is our first time having quail. We had a horrible hatch rate from shipped eggs. Not making that mistake again. We ended up with 2 males and 1 female that survived. Another one hatched but had a messed up neck and only survived about four hours.
We got some information that you can't keep more than one male with females unless you have a bunch of females. But we didn't learn this until it was too late. The males fought and one male we ended up dispatching because he was pretty torn up. They are 6 weeks old tomorrow. The hen started laying eggs on Saturday, the night we ended up having to pull the other male out. So right now, there's one male and one female in the cage. They seem to get along okay, and yes, we do have more quail in the incubator to help offset our ratios.
However, the male that we have with her used to be very gentle and friendly with us. We could pet him, pick him up, etc. Now, ever since the incident, he has been very aggressive. We try to change the water, bedding, add food, anything, and he goes crazy and tries to attack our hands. We don't know if he's just protecting the female or what. We haven't let him get us, we're quicker than him lol. But still, it's unnerving.
Is this normal for males to defend females in this way at 6 weeks old? Did the fight with the other male cause his brain to break? Should we let him just keep being defensive and let it go? Or should he find his way to freezer camp?
Another side question, we've never been bitten by a quail before, lol. So someone who's experienced aggression, if he does succeed in his attack on our hands, will he hurt someone?
We got some information that you can't keep more than one male with females unless you have a bunch of females. But we didn't learn this until it was too late. The males fought and one male we ended up dispatching because he was pretty torn up. They are 6 weeks old tomorrow. The hen started laying eggs on Saturday, the night we ended up having to pull the other male out. So right now, there's one male and one female in the cage. They seem to get along okay, and yes, we do have more quail in the incubator to help offset our ratios.
However, the male that we have with her used to be very gentle and friendly with us. We could pet him, pick him up, etc. Now, ever since the incident, he has been very aggressive. We try to change the water, bedding, add food, anything, and he goes crazy and tries to attack our hands. We don't know if he's just protecting the female or what. We haven't let him get us, we're quicker than him lol. But still, it's unnerving.
Is this normal for males to defend females in this way at 6 weeks old? Did the fight with the other male cause his brain to break? Should we let him just keep being defensive and let it go? Or should he find his way to freezer camp?
Another side question, we've never been bitten by a quail before, lol. So someone who's experienced aggression, if he does succeed in his attack on our hands, will he hurt someone?
