Quail Hormones Kicking In

[chrishel]

My six coturnix chicks are 4 weeks old yesterday and the loudest chick of the bunch started crowing yesterday and this morning. I've been trying to vent sex the chicks but I'm pretty incompetent and I just feel like a perv looking up chicks butts so I'm resigned to beer sexing.

However, my stress comes in because my last set of chicks, the male got mature before the 3 females started laying and he has a screw loose and got violent and injured a female enough that we put her down. I came home and it looked like a scene from a horror movie. So he went into solitary confinement in a spare parakeet cage I had. The remaining girls lived happy, unaccosted lives.

I realize my experience is not uncommon, but I'm wondering if it's possible for all the new chicks to just get along into maturity?

Every time I go to check on them, I just expect to see blood and someone injured.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

with quails...it happens, its one of those things you gotta kinda keep in mind, sometimes there is one that is just rowdy. you did the right thing separating him, maybe he can go back in once the hens get a little older, but for now he's fine where he is at(or maybe onto camp kenmore )

 

[chrishel]

How old is too old for Camp Kenmore? He's about 4 years old now. The girls laid for about 2 1/2 years, then stopped, I kept them until they ultimately died. Pokey got moved into their roomy digs. I'm thinking he's kind of old and tough.

I did try re-introducing Pokey as they got older and I got tired of cleaning multiple cages for 3 birds, but he would fixate on the passive hen and the aggressive hen would chase him around. I felt sorry for everyone. I know the meaning of hen-pecked!

He's about ready to move back to something smaller because I want to move the new chicks into the cage he's in.

I tried using him to sex the chicks but he's aggressive and tried to mount everyone including Curious George (the new one that started crowing).

 

[JJMR794]

Unlike Chickens And Turkeys They Do Not Get Tough With Age