Males bullying female

[maadroj]

We had to separate an injured female when she was about 6 weeks old. After about 1.5 weeks, we released her into the aviary with her siblings. The aviary is approximately 30'x7.5', with 12 Valley Quail.

They seemed fine at first, and she was thrilled to be back in the group, but pretty soon several of the males became increasingly aggressive to her, chasing her away. I first thought they were integrating her into their pecking order, but now it really looks like they want her gone. They chase her as soon as they glimpse her. She spends most of her time hiding from them. We're worried she doesn't eat or drink enough under the circumstances. My best guess is that they no longer consider her part of their covey and want her to go away. Any thoughts on how to resolve this peacefully?

 

[maadroj]

Update, now the most aggressive males appear to sometimes seek her out to chase even if they don't see her, and even one or two of the females peck her when she's near.

I had to separate another bird who is sick, for treatment. Will he also be bullied when he's released?

 

[mixedUPturk]

I think your problem is that Valley Quail are suposed to be kept in pairs for breeding ages. The coturnix are the ones run as a group and even them at 1 male per cage or else They too fight. They will kill eachother if you dont seperate them into breeding pairs.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I think they want to mate with her, and I know absolutely nothing about Valley Quail, but Japanese coturnix quail mating behavior looks like chasing and fighting, with the male grabbing the female by the feathers on the back of her head and holding on for dear life. She's the "new girl" on the block (after being separated for so long in a no-touch, no-see situation they no longer recognize her as having ever been part of the covey), so they're all bound to be quite interested in her. The males would like to mate her and the females just want to hate her... for now. If you can keep her from getting injured, it'll all sort itself out.

 

[maadroj]

Thanks. I hope so. I thought at one point that might be what they were doing, but they look increasingly hostile. We're trying to make sure she at least has food and water accessible throughout, and shield her twice a day so she has a chance to rest. I'm thinking about screening her off from the rest for a couple of weeks where they can see but not reach, to see if it helps.