Is 2 roos 1 too many?

[laughingull]

So I am busy worrying myself that the very very very very pretty (did i mention- wowee what a gorgeouse bird) young tuxedo coturnix that i added to my flock might be a boy. The little one still had yellow chick down eyebrows when i got it and that was only a couple of weeks ago. I am watching anxiously for signs of boyness (it does have the tendancy to make the same alarm calls as my other roo- no crowing right now from either of them though) and wondering if that is the case if "he" will be able to stay in our coop. The other members of the coop are 1 roo and 5 hens and the coop is 4' x 3'. Thoughts?

Ok had to add a pic... this is one from a while ago and a bit before he/she filled out and became so lovely- but at least I caught a pic while there were remnants of the yellow eyebrows now so very white.

 

[laughingull]

Oh and sorry if this is a stupid question- I am new to quail (and loving them despite that each one seems to produce more poop than my three chickens combined)

 

[peewee]

You might be able to integrate him in with the other ones but, I would suggest that you try putting the new roo in a small cage by himself and put the cage in the pen with the others so they can get comfortable with the new guy for a few days then take ALL birds out of the coop that they will be living in and mix up the interior so that it does not look anything like it did before. Then put everybody back into the pen with the new guy running around with everyone else. This will help to stop the territorial disputes that can go on. They should have enough room in the 12sf that you have but I would also look into getting at least one more hen. That will give both boys 3 hens and help spread the abuse out between all 6 hens. Just watch the boys really well and separate if things get bad and they can go bad fairly quickly.
Good luck with the guys!

 

[laughingull]

Quote:
Thank you so much for the advice! They are actually already all living together just fine (though I wish I had read your advice befor adding my new quail as it would have saved several days of grumpy birds remedied by my building a second level in their coop and mixing things up- interestingly the little guy was totally accepted unlike my original roo which the hens seem to still hate.) I just don't know if the peacefull situation will change when the breeding season starts. Adding another hen is of course appealing because it means I could bring home another bird, but I am not sure I can deal with yet another contibuting to the poop load- where does it all come from!!!!? I ignored the advice to have a wire bottom and and am now rethinking the benefits of dirt.

 

[peewee]

You might want to try play sand. That is what I keep my birds on outside. Since you have only a few birds it should be easier to clean than dirt. Just take a flour sifter and sift the poop out of the sand. Every once in awhile just replace the sand. Keep in mind that when a bird poops it also pee's at the same time so the sand will get dirty from that. Just replace the sand when dirty.

 

[laughingull]

Quote:
Great suggestion- I will definitely consider it! They sure require more maintenance than I had expected. I rake the coop 2-3 times a week and add new dirt about 1x a week and that still isnt enough! Sand would make the process less dusty- though might make the poop less perfect for the compost bin?