Male quail major head injury

[Katt47]

So I have 14 quail with 2 males and 12 females. I know the ratio is off by one but took a chance because I saw conflicting info on this. Now one of my males is in solitary with an eye missing and a couple generous head wounds. Is it really the other male attacking him or could it be some another factor?

 

[Whiskybear]

You’d have to be able to watch them to be sure. I have a batch of hens that mauled 3 males before I finally got them to accept one.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Keep the males separated. It could have been the females or the male that attacked. The birds form group identities and fiercely defend them.

Separate the injured male, give him some TLC for a few days and there's a good chance he'll heal just fine. Then, put a separator in the cage and dole out the hens, 6 per roo. If you have another coop that's out of sight of the main one, that's ideal.

It's times like these that make me think I'll give up quail -- then I remember all the benefits like eggs and compost and reaffirm my commitment to raising them.

 

[Nabiki]

Your ratio is okay, but unless you have a lot of space, odds are good that your boys are going to fight. Even if you have a lot of space, you have to get two boys that get along to make it work.

You didn't post pictures, but I have seen some seriously messed up boys heal up without any issues. Keep him clean and separate for a while, and he'll probably be just fine.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

I use the same ratio currently and am having a good amount of success fertility-wise. Everyone else has already stated what to do, only thing I will add is females can be defensive of "their males" and get jealous. Definitely could be a female who did the damage, however I would advise not mixing breeding groups anyway.