psycho quail

[rik and dick]

Help
rik and Dick have lived happily together for over a year despite being brothers.
Suddenly dick has gone psycho and attacked rik badly.he has blood on his beak.
Have seperated on opposite sides of pen and hes desperate to get through and finish the job
Any chance this is a temp fit of violence?
Usually they are inseperable

 

[TwoCrows]

What breed are these birds? How old are they? It depends on what started this. If this is hormonal and they are fighting over girls, it will probably continue until fall, as long as you don't add lighting to keep their hormones raging. If they are older birds, chances are this is just a riff between them and all will be well. If they are young birds and have now come of age, they may never get along again. Some roo's get along all their days and others want to kill the other.

Generally personalities don't change all that easily and are set by the time they become mature. But stranger things have happened and they can snap at any time. Not that common however, usually there is a good reason.

 

[rik and dick]

Coturnix. They are a year old and have always been together. Occasional over zealous attempts at same sex love and s few squabble s but they usually sleep eat and do everything together. They have a whole netted terrace with hiding places etc. When i came home the victim was wedged upside down between two pots i thought he was dead. When i rescued him his brother just kept coming at him again and again. Ive caged the aggressor who is mentally trying to escape to get at his erstwhile friend. Who incidentally is just hanging around next to the cage calling and looking bereft. I cant think of anything that has changed. Except spring arriving of course
No girls.

 

[TwoCrows]

You might expand their pen so they have more room. Most males can be kept together as long as there are no ladies around. Maybe if you give them enough space, maybe put in some cut branches for hidy places, they can coexist together. If not, you may need to keep them separated for good. Maybe keep them in the same pen with a divider. Maybe someday they will become good buddies again.

 

[rik and dick]

They have free range of half a large terrace so i dont think its space. There are loads of hiding places etc and two quail houses available for snoozing . He is demented! Can you sedate quail (only half joking)
It is such a shame because he is now in a small run which he hates
Thanks for your help

 

[TwoCrows]

Give him time. Maybe come fall and his hormones for the summer have calmed down he will settle down. Usually males raised together get along fairly well. But occasionally I too have had males that turn on each other. Usually it is due to being breeding season and then do get along later on in the year.

Good luck!

 

[rik and dick]

Thank you. I let him out this aftetnoon and all was fine snuggled up together. 2 hrs later a bleeding boy again. What is so difficult is they want to be together but cant control their urge to fight. Lonley or damaged. Poor things. Cock birds are a bit of a nuisance really arnt they (unless you want to eat them of course)

 

[TwoCrows]

Wow, don't you wish they could make up their minds? I would keep them separated permanently or try mixing again in the fall. Most of my boys get along well, at least the ones that were hatched and raised together. For now anyways. I have had brothers turn on each other in the past. You never can tell what they are thinking! Females can do this too. I had a hen snuggle up to her sister for 4 years and then one day, all heck broke loose and the bird was nearly killed. All you can do is separate them.

 

[rik and dick]

Yes my friend has a hen that was nearly killed by her two sisters who had been happy for a long time. I have had lots of animals but quail are i think the most stupid. The fish would beat them fins down in any IQ test.
I have at least seperated them so that they can roost v close and c each other but be seperated by netting.
Ruins access to all our outside space though.
Lucky for them i dont eat meat and that im strangely fond of the perverse little chaps!

 

[Dragons4u]

These guys hold on to sanity by a small thread, sometimes that thread snaps.
My best male suddenly went berserk and started attacking anything that moved. I ended up eating him.