Best way to treat quail with bleeding head wound?

[kurby22]

So my three Celadons are finally outside in their own pen, so they have tons of space. I know one is a male as he just crowed at me the other day, but the other two are not yet crowing so I am not sure about them. I discovered that one of the “not sure yets” had a crack in its beak that was slightly bloody, and some missing feathers near the side of its head around the ear area. This one hides alone all day or gets harassed...but only by the one that’s crowing. I sprayed it with antiseptic spray last night and checked again tonight and it looks more bloody than last night—so I’m thinking I need to take out the crowing male tomorrow and let this little one heal?

My first question is what else should I do besides keep it sterilized and separate the meanie? And my second question is...is it more likely that the picked on one is a male as well? Or a hen that is getting too much attention cuz she’s maybe the only hen? Are they more likely to pester the hen or the other male if there’s only three of them? I wanted to keep my Celadons separate from my non-Celadons so I was planning to wait till my current eggs hatched to add to their pen—but now I’m wondering if they are picking on this one because the numbers aren’t balanced enough? I only have three hens out of 6 in the other pen of non-Celadons...so I really don’t want to upset their balance yet. They’re currently all getting along...

I can obviously put the picked on one in a pen for a couple days to help it heal...but will they just resume picking on it when it returns? Would spraying them all with some ACV help when I put it back? Or would it be better to move out the mean one and see how that goes?

Edited to add: they are only 4 weeks old

Thanks!

 

[Nabiki]

It sounds like you're doing the right things for the wounded bird. It's probably a male, especially since you said it was smaller. Males tend to be smaller than females.

You're going to want to get rid of 2 of the males in your non-celadon pen. It's better to do so before things get bloody. You only want 1 male for 3-5 females.

 

[kurby22]

It sounds like you're doing the right things for the wounded bird. It's probably a male, especially since you said it was smaller. Males tend to be smaller than females.

You're going to want to get rid of 2 of the males in your non-celadon pen. It's better to do so before things get bloody. You only want 1 male for 3-5 females.

Okay that’s good to know...blah I feel so bad for him :-( I was hoping to post the males all together for rehoming once I had the Celadons figured out—just for ease on my part haha. I will probably do it sooner now that I know Silvie is a male and I for sure want to keep him. Thanks Nabiki!

 

[Nabiki]

I hope you find homes for the boys, but you should probably be aware that people who want boys are rare.

 

[kurby22]

Yeah :-( this is my least favorite part of quail...

 

[FloorCandy]

I find comfort in selling the males as snake food, it’s a fast and natural death, and it is basically what nature intended for quail. There’s no waste, and I’m certain the snake is very grateful.

 

[Nabiki]

I sell some of my extras for snake food too, but I usually eat them. I have a customer who will take problem chicks for snake food. It saves me from having to cull them, and it's still part of the circle of life.

 

[kurby22]

I find comfort in selling the males as snake food, it’s a fast and natural death, and it is basically what nature intended for quail. There’s no waste, and I’m certain the snake is very grateful.

Yeah, how do you find the people feeding snakes? Or do they find you? I may have found someone interested in two of them, but it’s obviously not sustainable long term! If there are some I want to keep for breeding only, how many males can live together in harmony? I’m debating a male pen and female pen and then a breeding pen for eggs...the Sacramento Valley still seems pretty new to quail so some of the pretty colorings might appeal to people perhaps? I need to get better plans before any of that happens but hate to give away a nice male if I don’t have to...

 

[FloorCandy]

Yeah, how do you find the people feeding snakes? Or do they find you? I may have found someone interested in two of them, but it’s obviously not sustainable long term! If there are some I want to keep for breeding only, how many males can live together in harmony? I’m debating a male pen and female pen and then a breeding pen for eggs...the Sacramento Valley still seems pretty new to quail so some of the pretty colorings might appeal to people perhaps? I need to get better plans before any of that happens but hate to give away a nice male if I don’t have to...

The amount of males together just depends on space, I try to keep it 1 per 2 sq ft.

To sell as snake food, I advertise in the craigslist pet section as feeders. I’ll often get several people lined up and when I have some available, I go down the list first come first served. Another trick, when you see people selling a lot of snakes, they’re probably a breeder, answer their ad and start a dialogue about selling the feeders, offer a couple for free to try it out.

 

[Nabiki]

I kind of lucked into my snake guy. He was buying eggs, and I offered him some pickled eggs. He told me that he was feeding the eggs to his reptiles, and I mentioned that I get chicks now and then that need to be culled, and he started buying them and some extra boys now and then.