Chickens, Chukars, Quail, Pheasant and Ducks

[wbruder17]

Currently, I have my 2 Chukars in a hutch/ run with about 6 quail (left). My quail keep getting scalped, one by one. We had to cull the one, and I have another one in a tupperware with half of its scalp hanging off, Blukote applied.I know quail will do this to each other, but is there a chance the Chuckars could be doing this?

I am unsure of the sex of all of the quails. I have an idea on some, but the others are A&Ms and I can't tell by the color. I get about 2 eggs every other day or so, and I'm getting a Chukar egg every few days, so at least one of those is a female.

I have about 20 chickens, 2 ducks, and 2 Red Golden Pheasants that are all housed together in a huge outdoor structure with a coop enclosed. Everyone occasionally goes into the coop. The ducks lay their eggs in the nest boxes and the pheasants (both male) chill in there during the day sometimes, but only the chickens sleep in there at night. Everyone has gotten along fabulously for 3 years. No fighting, no injuries, no sicknesses, etc. I have several banty chickens that are smaller than the chukers and do just fine.

I am looking for advice in moving the Chukars into the large enclosure to keep them away from the quail. I don't know if its them that are doing the scalping, but I also think the Chuckars would enjoy the other pen much better and perhaps this could help with the quail scalping problem.

Advice? Opinions? Comments?
Thanks.

 

[greymane]

I am sure most people will tell you housing pheasants with chickens is a no-no due to disease issues. As for the Chukar attacking the quail, I couldn't say. My quail, pheasants, ducks and chickens are all housed separately. I used to have my ducks with my chickens, but there were "personality clashes" and I think the ducks are much happier in with the goats (as they have a little pond in there).

If the pheasants are both male, I might suspect them. They can be aggressive and, particularly if they have no "lady friends". They would just now be getting into breeding mode and, if they were babies when you got them, it is possible that they were not mature enough the first year or two to get nasty.

My ducks are funny (as in strange). They seem to lay their eggs wherever it suits them. The downside of that is that the goats occasionally trample one.

 

[wbruder17]

Nope. You're a bit mixed up on who is with whom...

The pheasants are fine. They are with the chickens and ducks and everyone in there have been togther for two years with no issues or problems between them all. The pecking order is figured out and the male pheasants are best buds.

The quail and chukars are together. The quail are getting scalped, either by each other or the Chukars or both.

I want to move the Chukers into the other pen with the ducks, pheasants, and chickens.

I KNOW what people say about "no-no's" but its fine here, so far and for several years so I'm not gonna stress on that situation.

 

[greymane]

Oh, I see. I am not familiar with Chukar. Sorry to hear about the quail. I have mine alone (trios) and have not had any issues.

 

[wbruder17]

That's ok. I didn't know anything about them either. They were an experiment, but I think I will just sell them and focus on my chickens.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I am amazed you still have quail, chukars can be nasty little buggers. I bred chuks for years and the odd male(or cranky female) even tried to take my peafowl on; anything same size or smaller didn't survive long if it got into their enclosures.

I would try and get the quail sexed because over zealous males could be the ones scalping the others. Sexing is easy, grab the bird and check the vent, males will have a bulge above the vent and when pushed foam will come out, females don't have that.

 

[wbruder17]

Thanks, FancyFowl4Ever.... so, do you think the Chukers would be allright with my Red Golden Pheasants if I moved them away from the quail?

 

[wbruder17]

Well, the two quail that are in isolation, one scalped and the other all the feathers gone from her head (overmating?) Are both females. I thought the one was a male, but its not. I have 2 or 3 that are for sure females still in the pen, which leaves one male. I'm almost 100% positive that it IS the Chukars doing the damage. They are now on Craigslist if anyone is interested in 2 very healthy, robust Chukers. One is for sure a female, as I am getting an egg a day or so. The other might be male, or might be female. Either way, they are going to go away. They are not worth the hassle..... but they sure are pretty.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

Some cot hens can be nasty too with scalping other hens, I get the odd one now and then.

I wouldn't put the chukars with anything they didn't grow up with or ar least spend their preteen stages with. Once adult they don't seem to adjust too well to new "friends".

 

[wbruder17]

Thank you very much for the info. As beautiful as the Chukars are, I am going to get rid of them and keep the quail. Its a shame, but its going to be the best thing to do.