HELP!!

[The Bean]

I have 4 Coturnix quails, 2 males and 2 females. They were hatched and raised together and live in a rabbit hutch/chook coop with plenty of food water and sand. One poor fella keeps getting beaten up and now his neck is badly scragged. I have tried separating the pairs and even isolating him but no luck. Any advice?

 

[Nabiki]

Coturnix quail males don't cohabit well. They also do better with a harem of at least three hens. Can you get some more hens and put the boys in separate cages with their own harem? The other possibility is to rehome or cull the extra male.

In any case, keep your injured bird warm and separate until he heals. I hope he gets better soon.

 

[JaeG]

Unless they have a lot of space, such as a large aviary, you cannot have two males sharing a cage when there are females about. One male should also have at least 4 hens as otherwise they get overbred. For now I'd put the two males in a separate cage where they cannot see the hens if that's possible, or add a solid divider, even if it's just cardboard. They are social so they need the company of other birds, but they can also be very aggressive in the wrong set-up.

 

[BReeder!]

I have 4 Coturnix quails, 2 males and 2 females. They were hatched and raised together and live in a rabbit hutch/chook coop with plenty of food water and sand. One poor fella keeps getting beaten up and now his neck is badly scragged. I have tried separating the pairs and even isolating him but no luck. Any advice?

Contradictory to what some say, I do keep multiple makes in the same cage with females. The trick for me is to have far more females. My cages 2'x4' and I've had about 20 mature quail in one cage. I keep the radio at least 3 females to 1 make. 4 females to 1 make is better and this is what I had when there was about 20 in one cage. That said I try to stick to 12-15 birds in a cage, 3 of which are male.

 

[Nabiki]

Contradictory to what some say, I do keep multiple makes in the same cage with females. The trick for me is to have far more females. My cages 2'x4' and I've had about 20 mature quail in one cage. I keep the radio at least 3 females to 1 make. 4 females to 1 make is better and this is what I had when there was about 20 in one cage. That said I try to stick to 12-15 birds in a cage, 3 of which are male.

You keep 20 birds in 8 square feet? That is really over crowded. I'm surprised they don't fight even more in those conditions.

I do keep two males in one of my pens, but I have 8 birds (2 males, 6 hens) in a 20 square foot enclosure with lots of hiding places. Both males are also very mellow, so it's unusual, but it's working.

 

[BReeder!]

You keep 20 birds in 8 square feet? That is really over crowded. I'm surprised they don't fight even more in those conditions.

I do keep two males in one of my pens, but I have 8 birds (2 males, 6 hens) in a 20 square foot enclosure with lots of hiding places. Both males are also very mellow, so it's unusual, but it's working.

Overcrowded is certainly an opinion. I am not raising quail as pets though. They are produce food as eggs and meat. Now my chickens, ducks and turkeys have plenty of room to stretch out and play, but they are more like pets, minus just the occasional bird that is headed to the dinner table to maintain the flock's social balance. None of them are being raised for meat though.

 

[The Bean]

Coturnix quail males don't cohabit well. They also do better with a harem of at least three hens. Can you get some more hens and put the boys in separate cages with their own harem? The other possibility is to rehome or cull the extra male.

In any case, keep your injured bird warm and separate until he heals. I hope he gets better soon.

Thank you for your reply. I have put him in a separate house and am treating him. I only have 2 girls so have put a girl to each boy. Otherwise he gets stressed being alone. Anyway am incubating 12 eggs so if any hatch I will follow your advice. Thanks again.

 

[Quailobsessed]

I suppose I have unusual japanese quails then.

I keep some of mine in male-female pairs with no issues, I even had two that were really bonded and never bullied each other, sadly, the hen died in the heat.

I have a large(ish) aviary that has two males and four females in it, so far going fine. It is a fairly new setup and I'm keeping an eye, but all seems well. The males were alone together before.

I do however have some pretty aggressive females. They fight with the males often and attack some of the males that can't defend themselves as well. I had an aviary (decent size) with one male and four females. The females had been bothering the male so I decided to keep an eye on them. Like 10 minutes later I found the cock plucked and bleeding! He's my rescue quail too, so I always feel extra sorry for him since I don't know what his old life was like.

I've moved those females to a different aviary. They are the ones with the two males, so they can't gang up on the one male.

I have recently moved around all my japanese quails as their arrangements weren't working. So I find there is an important aspect to consider which is the individual birds too.

 

[Nabiki]

Thank you for your reply. I have put him in a separate house and am treating him. I only have 2 girls so have put a girl to each boy. Otherwise he gets stressed being alone. Anyway am incubating 12 eggs so if any hatch I will follow your advice. Thanks again.

Make sure to watch them carefully. If there's only one hen, it's likely that he'll overbreed her and may cause injuries. It might work out, but if it does, it's the exception not the norm.

I suppose I have unusual japanese quails then.

I keep some of mine in male-female pairs with no issues, I even had two that were really bonded and never bullied each other, sadly, the hen died in the heat.

I have a large(ish) aviary that has two males and four females in it, so far going fine. It is a fairly new setup and I'm keeping an eye, but all seems well. The males were alone together before.

I do however have some pretty aggressive females. They fight with the males often and attack some of the males that can't defend themselves as well. I had an aviary (decent size) with one male and four females. The females had been bothering the male so I decided to keep an eye on them. Like 10 minutes later I found the cock plucked and bleeding! He's my rescue quail too, so I always feel extra sorry for him since I don't know what his old life was like.

I've moved those females to a different aviary. They are the ones with the two males, so they can't gang up on the one male.

I have recently moved around all my japanese quails as their arrangements weren't working. So I find there is an important aspect to consider which is the individual birds too.

There are always exceptions to the rules. The more space you have, the less conflict you usually have. They have space to get away from each other so injuries are less likely to occur.

 

[The Bean]

I suppose I have unusual japanese quails then.

I keep some of mine in male-female pairs with no issues, I even had two that were really bonded and never bullied each other, sadly, the hen died in the heat.

I have a large(ish) aviary that has two males and four females in it, so far going fine. It is a fairly new setup and I'm keeping an eye, but all seems well. The males were alone together before.

I do however have some pretty aggressive females. They fight with the males often and attack some of the males that can't defend themselves as well. I had an aviary (decent size) with one male and four females. The females had been bothering the male so I decided to keep an eye on them. Like 10 minutes later I found the cock plucked and bleeding! He's my rescue quail too, so I always feel extra sorry for him since I don't know what his old life was like.

I've moved those females to a different aviary. They are the ones with the two males, so they can't gang up on the one male.

I have recently moved around all my japanese quails as their arrangements weren't working. So I find there is an important aspect to consider which is the individual birds too.

Hi there now your info is very interesting cos my quails also have very distinct personalities irrespective of sex. I have also got an aggressive female who I fear is also contributing to the attacks on my poor male. Anyway I completely agree with you in terms of working out best pairings. After all who are we to play God? Extra bit of info I use Colloidal silver to great effect on lesions on all the birds I care for.