Female starting to fight.

[Rosanna9246]

Hi all. I have three female quail in one pen. There is plenty of room. They are about 8 weeks old. Two have started laying eggs. Anyway, yesterday I found one pecked bloody. No eye damage but her face was a mess. I immediately separated her. That left 2. Then I noticed one chasing after the other. Ok, then I removed the bully. Now I have all three in solo cages. I’m hoping once the injured one heals the can put her back with the non aggressive one. But the bully is not happy being separated. I was thinking I could put her with another flock (4 month olds) and maybe they can put her in her place but I don’t want a bloodbath. Although the older birds all get along I get the feeling they’re not going to be all that accepting to a new one. On a note I keep my males separated from the females. Could the fact that they are in the same general area get the females worked up. I have 4 males (2 outside, two inside. All in separated cages) I plan to find a home for them because my neighbors are getting annoyed with the 2 am crowing.

 

[Nabiki]

Are you sure your bully is a hen? It is possible to get a mean hen, and separating her is the right thing to do. Sometimes they'll get along after a couple of days of separations, sometimes they won't. It really depends on that bird's personality.

If she continues to be mean, you may want to rehome her with your extra boys. (Good luck with that, males are very difficult to rehome.)

Can you show us a picture of your setup?

 

[Rosanna9246]

She’s definitely a hen. I collected her egg this morning, not sure why she is being a bully. This was the first time any of my hens got violent. The males on the other hand, sheesh. They are all separated. The first picture is my main hen houses. The grey coop has 5 hens. They are my oldest at 6 months. The hand built thing holds 7 that are 4 months. The second picture is the bachelor pad and the grow out pen. The three 8 week olds were in the grow out. There is one in there now. The third picture is my isolation ward. My Wry neck hen who has her own space because she’s sweet and lays everyday but would be constantly knocked over if I put her with her hatch mates. The beat up one is in the metal cage for now and the bully is in a rabbit hutch. It’s not a very big yard but they all have room. And they love the dog who in turn loves the extra eggs for a snack.

 

[bhaugh]

You could try No Pick on the beat up one and put her with the non bully. I'd put the bully in with others. I cull for aggression so consider that as an option

 

[Rosanna9246]

The beat up one healed nicely. I put her back in the pen with her buddy. (They seemed to miss each other.) immediately went to sand bath together. I’m giving the bully a few more days to calm down in solitary. She can see the others just can’t get at them. I might build a bigger pen for them over the weekend. Right now they are in grow out and might not be the biggest of space. Ok for two but not three.