Quail babies

[crazyanimals]

Hi everyone!

I have a question about some newly hatched gambol quail babies. I have 4 of them in a 4 foot long by 2 foot wide cage with many things for entertainment. I have a "red" heat lamp on one side so they can regulate their own temperature (they do this very well I have found) my question is, why are they so aggressive!? One in particular is very aggressive towards the other three and is constantly picking at their tiny feet or pecking at their heads or backs, even grabbing on and pulling them around, it's almost constantly messing with the other babies. He/she was the first one hatched and the second one a day after, and so on... I have it separated by a grid inside from the other three at the moment but am wondering what else I can do? They are less than a week old. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Quail can be aggressive, especially the New World Quail like Gambels, Bobwhites, California's...etc.

I have found that quail are especially aggressive if they are kept too warm. They can literally kill each other in the brooder if they are too hot. What is the temp in your brooder? Good that you are using a red lamp. This is a much better wavelength than white lighting.

I would lower your temp down to 92 degrees. Keep the lamp off to one side and food and water on the other. Temp gauge on the floor directly beneath the light. You need to chill them out right now. Then lower the temp by 5 degrees from here on out each week. If they should appear a bit chilly, you can raise it up to 95 tomorrow and work it down from there.

I am going to move this over to the quail section for more input from other quail owners.

Also, Gambels are kept in pairs only or an all female or all male quarters after one year of age. They mate for life with one bird and do not tolerate others in their territory and can kill lone males or females during breeding season.

Good luck! Gambels have the prettiest calls and are so pretty!!

 

[crazyanimals]

Hi! Thank you for the quick reply! I will lower the temperature. They seem to want to be right up next to the heat even though it's close (not too close of course ) should I worry about pairing them off at this young age or is it possible to have them in this cage all together for now?

Thank you again!

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

TwoCrows knows their stuff and I hope you get even more responses in the quail section.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hi! Thank you for the quick reply! I will lower the temperature. They seem to want to be right up next to the heat even though it's close (not too close of course

) should I worry about pairing them off at this young age or is it possible to have them in this cage all together for now?

Thank you again!

Gambels chicks are usually started at day old around 97 to 95 degrees. But sometimes, depending on how you keep them, humidity levels etc...sometimes you may need to lower the heat. Just watch them closely. If all else fails and this particular chick is mean, a week or two separation in isolation might be needed.

No no need to pair them off now. You can keep them all together until next late spring. They will pair off themselves. Females pick the males, not the other way around. If you end up with only one female and the rest males, you can always keep the extra males together however not in sight of the others or any females.

Gambels need 4 square feet per bird as adults. Young birds can get away with 2 or 3 square feet per bird. Gambels can be skittish and flush easily. So use fake or real foliage in their pen so they have places to run and hide in instead of shooting straight up into the ceiling. They won't be sexually mature until next late spring. You should be able to sex them at 3 months of age.

 

[crazyanimals]

Ok thanks for all the great info. Their temperature right now is at 93. I think I'm going to have to just seperate this little guy/gal. Now I'm just wondering if I can separate them in the same pen (should they be able to see eachother?) or put him/her in a different pen all together? The other three calm down emediatly after I remove the trouble maker, they will even try to clean eachother and snuggle up. But they do notice he/she is gone and look all around the pen for it. I have never seen this much aggression from any newly hatched baby before! I'm really at a loss as to what to do with him/her

 

[crazyanimals]

Welcome to the BYC flock!  We are glad you joined us!





TwoCrows knows their stuff and I hope you get even more responses in the quail section.

Thank you! I'm taking all the advise I can get for this little stinker. Lol

 

[TwoCrows]

Ok thanks for all the great info. Their temperature right now is at 93. I think I'm going to have to just seperate this little guy/gal. Now I'm just wondering if I can separate them in the same pen (should they be able to see eachother?) or put him/her in a different pen all together? The other three calm down emediatly after I remove the trouble maker, they will even try to clean eachother and snuggle up. But they do notice he/she is gone and look all around the pen for it. I have never seen this much aggression from any newly hatched baby before! I'm really at a loss as to what to do with him/her

Once in a while you get an aggressive chick. It happens. I would separate them out in isolation. Being able to see the others, he will only dream of toes he can bite and feathers he can pluck. But if he is sent to the isolation chamber, LOL, he is going to change his tune after a week being all alone. At least usually they do.

Give it a try. And also remember, many times these chicks outgrow this behavior as well. Lots of things change as these chicks grow up and personalities develop. On the other hand, chicks can have a screw loose up stairs and never grow out of it.

 

[crazyanimals]

Lol you're too funny! Thanks again for all of this advise and help! It has really helped ease my mind with this demon spawn. Lol should he/she not be able to hear the other at all? The three know he's near and he knows they are as well so I was wondering if that doesn't help either. It's crazy to think of this poor baby in complete isolation (I feel like an abusive momma) haha. But I understand if I need to move him further away!

 

[TwoCrows]

It might help to keep this evil chick in ear shot of the other chicks. This way he can think about how he would love company but cant have any because he is too devilish. LOL

It is only for one week. You can put some small stuffed animals in with him, a small mirror so he thinks there are others on the other side of this mirror, even put in a feather duster, if you have one and prop it up with feathers down so he can snuggle in.

In a week try putting him back in and see what happens. But I would go a full week with this. Give him lots of attention in the mean time. He will live through it and it may just do the trick. You can't put your others in danger because of this tiny monster. Ha!