First Egg!! And a question about introducing groups of quail...

[Weirdness555]

Hi there! We finally have an egg, the new food obviously helped, so thanks to everyone who answered and helped me out!



So, we've bought 3 more hens to balance out the ratios, and just because we realised we have space We have created a plan of action, please flag up anything you think is wrong with it or anything else we can do to ensure a smooth transition. We already have plenty of hiding places. We have 2 hens and a cockerel currently, so the new hens will outnumber old hens, if you don't count the cockerel.

1) Put new hens out in a cage in the airlock of the aviary during the day every day for a week, quail will be able to see and hear each other.
2) Assuming no-one throws themselves at the bars to kill each other, we will split the aviary into 2 with the cockerel in one side and the hens in the other, and put the new hens in with the cockerel at night. Old hens will be able to see and hear new hens and cockerel, but they won't be able to get to each other.
3) Once the new girls and the cockerel are settled, we'll remove the barrier and let them mingle with the older hens.

I figure that this will probably stop our current girls from laying for a couple of weeks. We hope that the introductions won't take any longer than 2 weeks, 1 week in the airlock and 1 week in with the cockerel. I also figure that once they're all in together there might be some scuffles while the girls figure out a pecking order, but that shouldn't last too long.

I'll really appreciate any input, especially if step 2 is not worth doing, because I'm worried that that might upset the hens we have now and cause more fights in the long run.

Thanks a lot

 

[veggiecanner]

I always keep any new animals seperate for 2 weeks in case they have any thing that would make my flock/herd sick.

 

[Weirdness555]

Well we're getting them from the same place as our other 2 hens, so unless his birds have developed something in the past 6 weeks then anything they have ours have already got, but still the will be out of direct contact while they're in the airlock. Thanks for your input though, we might extend that stage for 2 weeks. We want to get them in pretty quickly to relieve our over-loved hens haha But I wouldn't want them to cause any disease, so thanks a lot

 

[TwoCrows]

That is exactly how to introduce new birds. Leaving them separated but in view, in with the others 24/7 for about 2 or 3 weeks, and things will go much smoother at intro time. Always watch them closely for the first week, and especially the first 24 hours. They can look all happy and content, and then somebody attacks somebody else. Always intervene if it gets too violent. Always separate out the aggressor, never the one being attacked.

Good luck with the new quail!

 

[Weirdness555]

Also, do you think it's a good idea to put them in with our male first? I know that chicken cockerels protect their hens, so I figured that getting to know the male would be good for the new girls, but would it be better to leave the male in with his ladies and just put the newbies in their own half, or put them in with the male as planned?

P.S. I was hoping you would reply TwoCrows XD

 

[TwoCrows]

It really depends on your male. Each bird has it's personality. I have some very docile males and some very aggressive ones. Same with the females. Some could tolerate instant new flock members and others no matter how long they see a newbie on the other side of a wire, will ever allow them in with flock.

So you yourself need to assess your flock. Is this male fairly docile and quiet? Or is he the KING of the castle? Are your females gentle and quiet or are they crazed gals? Generally males don't hurt females, no matter what. But this is not always true. Females love to go after new females.

If these were my birds, I would probably put the new girls in with the male first, without the rest of the old females. It is the old girls that are most likely to do the fighting with the new girls. But again, assess your birds and do what you think will protect everybody. Sorry I am not coming up with an exact answer here. LOL

 

[Weirdness555]

No, it's great, thanks a lot. Our boy is pretty chilled out, because he's kind of old. We think he could be even over 2, so I don't think he will be the problem. Of the girls, one is quite confident and chilled out and the other is EXTREMELY timid, she runs scared when I approach the aviary and often freezes and stares at you. If we have a problem I think it will involve her, though probably not with her on the aggressive end. Thanks for your advice, we'll proceed with stage 1 and watch their behaviour carefully. To be honest I'm not too worried, the female we had which was really feisty died, and we always have the option of leaving them separate if there's a real problem. Thanks everyone

 

[Weirdness555]

Update: Today my brother found 2 more eggs in the aviary, looks like the second hen is laying! We have 2 of the colour above and one which is lighter and more grey, with the dark patches less brown and the lighter parts more white than the sort of tan of the other two. I figure that the odd one is from the 2nd hen Apparently they've been mating with our boy better now, no more running off, looks like all is well in quail land, just wait until we put more birds in! Mwahaha!

 

[TwoCrows]

Glad to hear that you are having so much success!!

 

[Weirdness555]

Update: New hens acquired, however they are a little younger than we planned so they won't be going out just yet, they're off heat but not totally fledged out around the face yet. They are GORGEOUS! Goldens, they're going to brighten up our aviary