Quail loneliness and aggression

[sunbursts]

I have 3 bobwhite quail, all raised together - 2 male, 1 female.
The female chose a mate, I separate the pair (males were fighting) and have my one male alone.

My female gets very restless. The pair share a pen in my basement that is about 3.5x3.5feet. She'll pace back and forth around the end of the cage, yesterday she did so much that her beak got a little bloody.

The male is left alone and is now getting aggressive because (I'm guessing) he's lonely. We cuddle him as we can and that calms him down but I have other things to do (LOL)!

We have a huge cage we kept them in before this (pictured below) and I can keep one pair on the bottom and the male on the top. This keeps them all talking quite a bit, sqwaky, and also restless, maybe because they can't get at one another but can hear each other?

This is my first breeding season with quail, they were all fine until the boys started getting excited to breed! We will be hatching more in a few weeks, so this situation is temporary but what is the best way to keep them for now? Appreciate any thoughts!

 

[le_bwah]

That ferret cage ... Could you remove the floors and lay it on its side? No clue what to do for the distressed female, but the male is probably lonely/territorial. Definitely separate for breeding season until you get a better cage arrangement sorted out for all of them.

 

[sunbursts]

What's wrong with the cage? I thought it worked out okay cause I can separate them if needed and both would have their own space. They would have less floor space if I turned it on it's side. Is there a reason it's not a suitable housing for them?

 

[le_bwah]

Besides being a ferret cage... I was thinking for a single pair (lay it on its back, I mean). More room that way, and you're not stressing them out keeping pairs close together.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Nothing wrong with sticking quail in ferret cages My main breeding cages are very similar.

That said, I do think your bobwhites probably need more room and a more natural setup than my Coturnix. They have not adjusted to captivity the same way. Is there a possibility of looking into a larger walk-in style setup? I would think about rehoming the extra male to someone with females (kind of a boring life with no company - many of us reluctantly process our extra males for this reason) and either giving the pair full run of the current setup or getting a bigger one. Good luck!

 

[Crazydoglady99]

Get some branches & sticks to make hidey places. They love it!!