Behavior problems- who to put where?

[GemW]

I'm having some behavior problems...
I started with 10 quail. We ended up with 5 make and 5 female. While deciding who went where and who we were gonna keep, on of our males got scalped. He's alive and fine but bald. Still some scabs. I decided to keep him to get more hatching eggs. Our goal is for 14 females only eventually. We have 2 stacked enclosures that I think will fit 7 comfortably.
So, we culled the extra males and put baldy in with the remaining 5 girls right away. His head started bleeding again. I wasn't sure if someone was pecking at him or if it was the feeder but thought I'd give him so more time alone to heal. So I put him in the empty enclosure for about a week alone and the girls were all together and everything was fine. He seemed ready to go so I put him back with the girls last night.
This morning, he's running around terrified. And another one of my hens now has a bloody face. I saw one of the girls chasing him and bloody face girl is hiding in the corner. So I took her out and separate her to the empty cage. Of course, she's one of the ones that is laying. So, went to check on them and he's still running around scared with another on of the girls chasing him.
So, do I separate her too? Do I put her in with my other seemingly aggressive female or is that begging for a blood bath? How long does the time out need to be? I was going to start collecting my eggs for hatching tomorrow but at this rate, none are gonna be fertilized... how do I get all these birds together?

 

[Nabiki]

You might try taking all of the birds out, clean and rearrange the pen, the put them all back in at night. That kind of puts them all on even footing and can help. It might not, depending on the personalities of the birds, but that's what I would try.

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

Was his head completely healed before you put him in with the females? Birds will pick at anything bloody/scabby. Why was the other hen's face bloody? Does it seem like she was picking on the rooster, or does she have her own injury? If she has her own injury, you may have a dominant hen that is bullying the others, in which case the bully may need to be removed/culled. I would sit and watch them for a while, if possible, to try and determine if you have a bully. If Bloodyface Hen was just bloody from picking on the roo, I've heard sometimes the hens just won't accept certain roosters, that may be the case here.

 

[GemW]

Was his head completely healed before you put him in with the females? Birds will pick at anything bloody/scabby. Why was the other hen's face bloody? Does it seem like she was picking on the rooster, or does she have her own injury? If she has her own injury, you may have a dominant hen that is bullying the others, in which case the bully may need to be removed/culled. I would sit and watch them for a while, if possible, to try and determine if you have a bully. If Bloodyface Hen was just bloody from picking on the roo, I've heard sometimes the hens just won't accept certain roosters, that may be the case here.

It looks like she has her own injury. The dominant female was chasing her and when I removed her the other one was chasing her. She has been sitting alone in the corner. So I think its the other hens.

His head was mostly healed but still had some scabs on the top. He looked like he was feeling good and was crowing again and pacing, like he was ready to be back with them.

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

It looks like she has her own injury. The dominant female was chasing her and when I removed her the other one was chasing her. She has been sitting alone in the corner. So I think its the other hens.

His head was mostly healed but still had some scabs on the top. He looked like he was feeling good and was crowing again and pacing, like he was ready to be back with them.

How big are the enclosures?

 

[GemW]

How big are the enclosures?

2 x 4

 

[GemW]

It looks like she has her own injury. The dominant female was chasing her and when I removed her the other one was chasing her. She has been sitting alone in the corner. So I think its the other hens.

His head was mostly healed but still had some scabs on the top. He looked like he was feeling good and was crowing again and pacing, like he was ready to be back with them.

Also to clarify, he doesn't look like they have picked any scabs or drawn any blood from him. They are just aggressively chasing him. They go in, he stays out and if he goes in, they chase him off. Just a little jump st him to back him into a corner and they turn around and go back the other way. But hes scared of them either way.

 

[GemW]

I took the other aggressive lady out and put her with the original troublemaker.
So now roo is in with with the 3 pretty docile ladies and got right to his rooster duties. Like within seconds of removing the 2nd one.
I sat and watched for a bit and the 2 girls alone seem to be getting along...hope I don't wake up to another injury tomorrow. I'll take them out tomorrow and clean everything real good and try to reunite.

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

Based on what you're describing, you might have several dynamics going on then: a bully (or maybe two) and a somewhat submissive rooster (which probably isn't a bad problem to have, all things considered). I would try Nabiki's suggestion to take everything out of the enclosure, clean it, rearrange it, and put all the birds back in at the same time (preferably at night, if possible) to try for a fresh start.

 

[GemW]

Just an update...I had my 2 possibly aggressive gals separated for the day Saturday. I cleaned and rearranged and reintroduced the separated girls a few hours apart in Sunday evening. So far, so good. My roo had a minute to get some confidence back and when the other girls came back, he took his place with them too. He's not running any more from anyone and no one seems to be getting pecked any more. So for a harmonious pen.