now they're all hen pecked? PICS

[Dingo]

So after I posted about my roudy males they settled down. Well last night I was watching them and my roux dilute hen was runnign around chasing after all the others, she especially likes to chase the two rosetta pieds. They've taken to hiding in their cardboard box to get away from her. I can't cull her or remove her from the colony because I think at most I have 3 hens (3:3 ratio at best). Anyone else have really pushy hens?
She's been resource guarding, even keeping the others away from the heat lamp when it's on at night. Am I wrong about the sex?

 

[The Critter Place]

How old is this bird?

I'm just learning myself, but it looks like a young roo to me.

 

[Chinchilla2]

Came across a study the other day done back in 2004 or 2009 (can't remember which) that looked at aggressive behavior in Coturnix after a shakeup of the living quarters. The dominate hen will play hoarder and attack with more frequency when new birds are added to her area or when placed into a new area with established birds. The study said that the behavior backed off to normal after a 24 hour period of time. If you just got through shuffling these around, that may be the problem. Give her a day or two and if she doesn't settle down, you may need to pull her and a roo out to a temp pen or something.

 

[Dingo]

They're all 4 weeks old now. I didn't move them at all, they settled their differences on their own until last night when this one started up.
I figured it was a hen cause the pharaoh already had a nice chestnut breast on him and I haven't seen the roux dilute crowing.

 

[Eyeheartquail]

I am newer to quail raising but have had quite the experience with my own covey. I have read thread after thread to gain more knowledge on these crazy birds. Your bird looks like a hen to me. I have had a couple issues with hens. My most recent hen that I had to cull did wonderfully with other hens but once you threw a male in the mix she went all crazy on everyone. The man that I got her from told me that she had a history of being a cold blooded killer. When I first started, I had a hen that was the same way but only because I had a bad hen/roo ratio. I had 3 roos (had a hard time sexing them) to 4 hens. Once I culled 2 of the roos I was good. Having too many roos doesn't only effect the roos' temperments but it can effect the hens also. It stirs up the whole emotional pot. I am very low scale with a 7ft x 3ft raised pen and now have 1 roo to 5 hens all together, there is complete harmony. It takes a lot of shuffling until you get the right combo. I would say if you have more that 8 or 9 hens then try adding 2 roos but then you may have issues with your males fighting. This is just my two cents, hopefully the more experienced can correct me if I am wrong. Good luck.

 

[navasima]

Quote:
x2

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

It does look like a young roo to me also.

 

[Stellar]

There is a lot of speckles on the roux though... The males should lose those speckles around 4-5 weeks. Keep an eye on that roux, maybe it's a late developer. Some hens are pushy though.

 

[The Critter Place]

She's here!

I was thinking that too, (about the spots ) but they look to be fading. That's why I asked the age of the bird. I'll be curious to see how it turns out.

And that's why I tell people i'm still learning my self.

 

[peewee]

That is a hen. If the bird is four weeks old there will still be some spots on the brest area but they will not be that pronounced if a male.
As for the pushyness, how big is the enclosure that you have your birds in? The recommended space for a grown bird is at least 1 sq ft per bird. I have found that the bigger the area you can give your birds the better. I have seen with my own birds that a "turd of a bird" will more than likely settle down if given more room.
They are also know to do the "monkey see, monkey do". This is how I get a bird that won't eat veggies to eat them. I put a bird that will eat them in the same pen with the one who won't and as soon as one sees another eating them they get the nerve up to at lest try them. My apologies but I have not read your thread about your rowdy boys. She may have seen them acting up and thought it might be fun to try.
You may also have to take into account that some birds just do not like some others. When raised together this is dramatically reduced but it can still happen.
Something happened to set her off. It may not be something that is readily apparent to you but something changed. She very well may be the reason that your boys fell back in line. One too many step ons, or pecks or she just plain got tired of it all and she whopped their butts back in line and she is just not over her mad yet and is taking it out on everybody.
What I would suggest that you try is this: Take the little ball of joy out of the community pen for a day. Give her some alone time. At the end of the day take everybody out. Rearange their house completely then put everybody, including joy, back in. Doing this seems to reset their little brains.