Help - (Gross pics) Blood on quail head

[Mike-Mike]

I have 2M and 6F in a tractor (Jumbo Coturnix). I have had them for several months with no problem. Today I found a male with blood coming out of both sides of his head. Not sure if he has eyes or of they are closed.

It looks wet because I tried to wash it off.

Thanks for your help


-Mike

 

[Mike-Mike]

Disregard spelling I will blame my phone.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I cleaned it up with iodine water and separated him from the rest.

 

[bigrob83]

you have aggression going on
that causes stress...
stress causes aggression and now you have everybody pecking the weak guy

watch them from a distance and find your culprit
its not always a male but in this case probably is

1 male can "service" up to 5 females just fine
how much space do they have?
in a large space more males would be okay
but in a smaller space they would not be okay

and like always you could always end up with a bad bird
out of a few hundred I have had a few males and one female
act like total demons

seperate him, they heal very quickly
I would recommend a wire bottom cage to prevent him from kicking dirt or whatever else in the wound
nothing wrong with the Iodine. I use a saline spray wound wash and ointment
the saline wash is easier to use on animals who dont care to stay still
just be sure to watch them and find your culprit
a overly aggressive quail will ruin the whole flock if it stays in the pen long enough

 

[stormseeker]

Disregard spelling I will blame my phone.

this exact thing happened when i added 3 females to the two pairs i have. a few days later i found the smaller of the two roos barely standing with both eyes GONE. blood all over. the bigger roo(bruce the male on my pics) did this! had to send him to my large boa to end him quickly.

 

[Mike-Mike]

you have aggression going on
that causes stress...
stress causes aggression and now you have everybody pecking the weak guy

watch them from a distance and find your culprit
its not always a male but in this case probably is

1 male can "service" up to 5 females just fine
how much space do they have?
in a large space more males would be okay
but in a smaller space they would not be okay

and like always you could always end up with a bad bird
out of a few hundred I have had a few males and one female
act like total demons

seperate him, they heal very quickly
I would recommend a wire bottom cage to prevent him from kicking dirt or whatever else in the wound
nothing wrong with the Iodine. I use a saline spray wound wash and ointment
the saline wash is easier to use on animals who dont care to stay still
just be sure to watch them and find your culprit
a overly aggressive quail will ruin the whole flock if it stays in the pen long enough

Thanks for the reply. My tractor is 2x6 and not sure what sparked it because they have been great for about 5 months. I am not sure if they pecked his eyes out. Is that normal? His eyes are closed tight but not sure.

 

[Mike-Mike]

this exact thing happened when i added 3 females to the two pairs i have. a few days later i found the smaller of the two roos barely standing with both eyes GONE. blood all over. the bigger roo(bruce the male on my pics) did this! had to send him to my large boa to end him quickly.

Thanks so much for the response.

 

[bigrob83]

Thanks for the reply. My tractor is 2x6 and not sure what sparked it because they have been great for about 5 months. I am not sure if they pecked his eyes out. Is that normal? His eyes are closed tight but not sure.

if I count back right
you got them just after breeding season was over
and breeding season is just barely starting.... so your just now seeing this

that is "normal" aggression
they peck the eyes out or the back of the head until they hit the brain stem
however, give him a day or two the eyes on a quail are fairly well protected and once he heals a bit his eyes will open again
and then you can tell if the other did get his eyes or not

personally and from experience I would say the male wont stop with the other male
he wont be nice to the ladies either, a male can do his job but he doesnt have to be "mean" about it
aggressive males tend to beat up the back of female's head, pull them around by their wings and other stuff a calmer male wouldnt do

your pen size is too small for 2 males to be together personally I would let the guy heal while watching the other
if he heals okay I would use him with the females and get rid of the other male

 

[Mike-Mike]

Great advice. Thanks . A few more questions:

1. This guy has his own food and water, will he be able to find it? I put a piece of watermelon in there in case he can smell it?
2. If this one is blind should I dispatch the blind one and just run things like that?
3. Also not sure if it matters but I have been running artificial light for 3 months so didn't they think it was breading season all along?


I have seen one grabbing the back of the females neck during mating but thought it was normal. The females all look great.

Thanks Again

 

[bigrob83]

I have seen one grabbing the back of the females neck during mating but thought it was normal. The females all look great.

Thanks Again

guess I should have been more specific

grab them by the back of the head? normal
chase them down and snatch them up by the back of the head with force while the hen is protesting? not normal