Help with Males pecking Females down

[jbas12]

We've had coturnix quail for about 3-4 months now and have terrible luck with the males pecking the females until they're bleeding. We've tried one male to three females, to two females, to one female, and every single time, within a couple of weeks, the male has pulled the females' neck feathers off until she's bleeding and skinless.Right now we have everyone in separate cages until they all heal. Any ideas on how to put a stop to this? I've heard about de-beaking, but would hate to do that to adult birds.

 

[Free Feather]

They may need more room. Try putting them in a tractor situation wrapped in plastic so they stay warm. Or, just get bigger cages or more things to keep them occupied. Perhaps someone who is more experienced could chime in.

 

[dc3085]

Coturnix shouldn't be placed with less than 4 hens. A coturnix rooster can EASILY keep 7 hens fertile.

 

[Sill]

We keep 4-6 hens per roo, everyone is happy! The roos can breed the hens to death if there are three or less.

 

[jbas12]

Thanks, everyone. We're down to 3 females and 2 males right now so it sounds as if everyone's going to be separated until we're able to get our hands on more hens. If our cages are 6 sq ft, we can hold 6 quail in each one, right?

 

[Bryam]

Yes, put many hens with each roo! They will be calmer then!