So I have two pet bobwhite quail that I keep indoors. I also have a flock outside. They are all gender balanced - 5 pairs in a large run together, 2 pairs separately. Originally I had a number of 'spare' females that I found mates for, until there were only two alone together. I found a mate for one, but then the mated female started aggressively attacking the final lone female, so I had to take her out and put in a box by herself.
After a while of keeping her on her own and taming her a bit, I started taking her in my room where my pet quail were. They didn't interact directly at first, as I knew the female of my pet pair would just attack the solo female. But then my male started showing signs of attraction to the solo female. In fact, he became completely obsessed with her and seems to have switched allegiances from his original mate entirely. When him and the solo female are apart, she now screams incessantly for him, but if they're together I have to take his original mate away, or she'll kill the solo female.
Is there any way at all to get this trio to live together without the two girls constantly attempting to kill each other? It's cruel to the solo female to keep her separate, it's cruel to the mated female to take her away from her husband, and it's cruel to the husband to make him constantly choose between the two. Is there any possible solution to this dilemma that won't traumatize any of the participants?
After a while of keeping her on her own and taming her a bit, I started taking her in my room where my pet quail were. They didn't interact directly at first, as I knew the female of my pet pair would just attack the solo female. But then my male started showing signs of attraction to the solo female. In fact, he became completely obsessed with her and seems to have switched allegiances from his original mate entirely. When him and the solo female are apart, she now screams incessantly for him, but if they're together I have to take his original mate away, or she'll kill the solo female.
Is there any way at all to get this trio to live together without the two girls constantly attempting to kill each other? It's cruel to the solo female to keep her separate, it's cruel to the mated female to take her away from her husband, and it's cruel to the husband to make him constantly choose between the two. Is there any possible solution to this dilemma that won't traumatize any of the participants?
