Hen suddenly grumpy pants!! What gives?!?

[becomingquailmommy]

8 month old coturnix quail hen is suddenly grouchy af and charging at me when I go to the coop. She was always cute, sweet, and would occasionally show off with her zoomies. Never pecked at me until a few days ago. Is she pissed off at the time change just like my human children, or what in the heck is going on…?!? We only have 3 quail. 2 female, 1 roo. We have tried hatching 3 times and somehow ended up with only 2 females Is our one girl stressed by excessive mating and acting out? Some kind of nutritional deficiency? The kids are scared to handle her now with this recent change in demeanor. Some insight please?

Pic is of the hen that’s still cute and sweet and lets us hold her

 

[thecatumbrella]

Let me start by saying I don't know squat about quail. I do know a bit about this behavior in chickens, so I'll do my best to relate.

Egg-laying poultry go through a lot of hormonal changes. It can cause them to turn on a dime against their flockmates and, unfortunately, against you. Sometimes there's an obvious culprit. Has anything changed recently? New food/enclosure/weather event/death in the flock/etc.? Other times, there's no clear cause whatsoever. The fact that she was previously friendly with you could mean she's also comfortable enough to confront you (and think she can win. Ha!)

Sadly, I don't know how to stop her. When my chickens get fresh with me, I do something they hate: I lovingly hold them. Not for long, but enough to show them what happens when you bite the hand that feeds you. It doesn't take long for them to connect cause = effect, and that usually dwindles their interest in winning a pecking order dispute with me.

Hopefully a quail person can weigh in and give actual advice. Best of luck getting her sorted. She's very cute for such a little attack bird!

 

[Nabiki]

It could be any number of reasons. She could be grumpy because she's uncomfortable for some reason. That could include beginning moult, illness, injury, over breeding, etc.

Your ratio of male to females is off, so it's quite possible that with spring here that the male is getting frisky. Watch for signs of over breeding, such as baldness or blood.

Has anything changed recently?

 

[becomingquailmommy]

No bald spots or blood, but her feathers definitely are ruffled in one area

We previously had one section of the coop split off for extra males. I removed the males + opened that side up a couple weeks ago. Extra room = I gave them another dust bath and another hide.

Should I cordon off one end and separate the one male? Believe me, I would like to have more females, but it just hasn’t worked out with hatching them so far…I kept the least aggressive male as our one We got 2 girls out of 14 hatched

 

[Goosebaby]

Quail personalities and behavior can shift dramatically due to the season and hormonal changes……… or it could mean you’ve achieved the highest level of quail bonding.

Level 1: they fear you.
Level 2: they’re okay with you as long as you don’t get too close or try to reach for them.
Level 3: they tolerate your presence.
Level 4: they look forward to your presence but run away if you reach for them.
Level 5: they tolerate brief handling.
Level 6: they don’t mind being handled.
Level 7: they’re so used to being handled and used to your presence that they now think they can bully you. Congratulations, you’ve reached the final level of quail bonding, being bullied by a cotton ball who’s unafraid to share her rage and other emotional whims with you.

 

[Nabiki]

No bald spots or blood, but her feathers definitely are ruffled in one area

We previously had one section of the coop split off for extra males. I removed the males + opened that side up a couple weeks ago. Extra room = I gave them another dust bath and another hide.

Should I cordon off one end and separate the one male? Believe me, I would like to have more females, but it just hasn’t worked out with hatching them so far…I kept the least aggressive male as our one We got 2 girls out of 14 hatched

As long as the males can see each other and can see and hear the females, there is likely to be aggression. It is possible for two males to get along if there is a lot of space and plenty of females, but even then, it can turn bloody fast.

 

[becomingquailmommy]

As long as the males can see each other and can see and hear the females, there is likely to be aggression. It is possible for two males to get along if there is a lot of space and plenty of females, but even then, it can turn bloody fast.

It’s just the single male now….
So you’re saying, hurry up and hatch some more females!!! Gonna stick some eggs in the incubator tomorrow and hope for better than 2 girls out of 14