Help, I think might have two males!

[Oob Child]

I have 5 quail on a cage, three definitely female, and one definitely male.
I have a little runty quail, 6 weeks of age, who I think could be another male. She's not crowing yet, and I tried vent sexing but was unsuccessful, I did it too early to tell. Her name is Cinni.
I think she might be a male because I've seen her chase other birds and attempt to mount them.
Cinni has attempted to mount/attack my other male before, because she has some feathers missing from her head. I watched her chase and grab onto the feathers on top of one of my females heads and attempt to mount, but been too small.

Cinni is not feather sexable.
My other male is the same age as her and hasn't begun mounting yet but is crowing.
I have a female that used to do this when she was younger to assert dominance, but she grew out of it.

Here are some of the 'injuries' my other birds have suffered from her. She hasn't drawn any blood yet.

Female injuries: (I watched her attempt to mount them both, one of them hasn't had feathers taken off her head).

I watched Cinni attempt to mount the one below, but her feathers weren't plucked.

This one did have feathers plucked.

The male's injuries:

Culling is not an option.
I don't have any other birds to put her with.

I am planning on waiting a week or so before re vent sexing her and taking any action whatsoever.

 

[Oob Child]

Is there a possibility that if Cinni was a male and still small when she was fully grown, she could be too small to hump females, and therefore not be able to over breed them?
Just a tired thought
I understand that it would still be a problem somehow, I'm hoping she's just a territorial female that will grow out of it.

Also, I witnessed my current male, Sugar, mating for the first time today.

 

[Nabiki]

That sounds like male behaviour to me. Also I know the Cinni had issues as a chick, but in general, males are smaller than hens, so that also implies male.

Unfortunately, with the amount of space that you have, you're not going to be able to get the right ratio, and it's not good to keep one of your boys alone, so one of your boys needs to go.

 

[foog]

I agree, one of the males should go. In my experience the birds that pull feathers off usually end up scalping another bird eventually. I try to get rid of males that constantly pull feathers while breeding too. Just a very undesirable quality to me, I always feel bad for the hens.

I happen to have a small male, and he is by far the worst when it comes to breeding. He tries to breed them, but he’s too small. He either ended up falling over and pulling tons of feathers, or pulling the hen backwards so she flips over with him. He was always pulling out their feathers. He’s in a bachelor pen with 2 other roos now. I plan to cull him

You could always wait it out and see if they get along, but you’d be putting the other birds at risk. It’s likely they won’t get along. I’ve had roos get along, but if they don’t have enough space they will end up fighting or worse

 

[Oob Child]

That sounds like male behaviour to me. Also I know the Cinni had issues as a chick, but in general, males are smaller than hens, so that also implies male.

Unfortunately, with the amount of space that you have, you're not going to be able to get the right ratio, and it's not good to keep one of your boys alone, so one of your boys needs to go.

I understand that, but I'm still hoping she's a girl. I'll have to figure it out when the time comes, but I understand it's not looking good.

 

[Oob Child]

I agree, one of the males should go. In my experience the birds that pull feathers off usually end up scalping another bird eventually. I try to get rid of males that constantly pull feathers while breeding too. Just a very undesirable quality to me, I always feel bad for the hens.

I happen to have a small male, and he is by far the worst when it comes to breeding. He tries to breed them, but he’s too small. He either ended up falling over and pulling tons of feathers, or pulling the hen backwards so she flips over with him. He was always pulling out their feathers. He’s in a bachelor pen with 2 other roos now. I plan to cull him

That makes sense. The fact that she humped the other male does make me want to believe it is a territorial female behavior.

You could always wait it out and see if they get along, but you’d be putting the other birds at risk. It’s likely they won’t get along. I’ve had roos get along, but if they don’t have enough space they will end up fighting or worse

I'm waiting until I can properly vent sex them to take action, but if something bad happens I would separate them immediately.

 

[MrJudeRaw]

I understand that, but I'm still hoping she's a girl. I'll have to figure it out when the time comes, but I understand it's not looking good.

They are not a hen and even if they are they are creating a dangerous and stressful environment for the other birds. this is part of husbandry and you gotta step up. Cant hope this one away. Good luck

 

[MrJudeRaw]

1) The fact that she humped the other male does make me want to believe it is a territorial female behavior.

2) I'm waiting until I can properly vent sex them to take action, but if something bad happens I would separate them immediately.

1) males hump everything. it makes no difference to them if its a rooster or a hen which is where a lot of the fighting between roosters actually occurs when they are younger.

2) bad things are happening.

 

[Oob Child]

I just vent sexed both of them (Cinni and Sugar). They are both males. Cinni isn't crowing yet, unless the pig noises he makes are actually just a really bad crowing attempt.

What do I do?? Am I able to separate Cinni, or would he be really lonely? Should I try selling him? I really don't want to cull him.

I don't want to get rid of the poor baby, he's been my pet since he hatched.

 

[Nabiki]

You are now faced with the hard reality of hatching chicks. If you try to keep both of them in the same cage, you're going to get blood and possible death. If you try to separate one, he's going to be lonely. If you try to keep two coveys, your hens are going to get overbred.

You need to get rid of one of your males.