Quail Pen--Would Fighting Occur?

[gatrapper]

Hey Y'all,

Just picked up 20 coturnix quail. I want to keep them in one of my chicken tractors. Dimensions are 4 x 8. If I gave the birds that much room, would I have to worry about the male to female ratio and fighting?

 

[Quailobsessed]

What is the male:female ratio?

 

[gatrapper]

I don't know at the moment since they are all chicks.

 

[JaeG]

It depends entirely on the birds nature's. I have bred for docility and have multiple pairs sharing my large aviary quite happily. Some like more aggressive males, believing that they are better breeders (I've never had trouble with fertility with my gentle boys though). Personality is inherited.

 

[CaloosaBirds]

My favorite boys (2 of them) died when they were 5+ years old, were very sweet, non aggressive, and always had 100% fertility with their hens (4-6 per).

As for space, that's a nice large area. As long as you don't have any males that are super aggressive towards each other, that would be a great space for them. However, personally, I would keep at least a 3:1 ratio (better is 5:1 hens to roos) because the hens will look battered even if the males aren't fighting each other.

 

[gatrapper]

Ok great! Thanks for the helpful info!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Personality is partially hereditary. As mentioned above, some can breed for calmer birds. Mine personally seem to just like squabbling, especially the females. I can keep pairs and trios of just male's fine, but if I only have two or three hens then they start fighting. So far mine seem to be best with a male and 2 or 3 females.

I've never done multiple groups in a larger cage though

 

[Nabiki]

You have 20 quail in 32 square feet, which is enough for a peaceful covey. Males, however are rarely peaceful. You may get a few that get along, but with 20 chicks, you should expect around 10 boys. The chances of 10 boys all getting along are extremely slim.

 

[Sasha-chickens]

Hey Y'all,

Just picked up 20 coturnix quail. I want to keep them in one of my chicken tractors. Dimensions are 4 x 8. If I gave the birds that much room, would I have to worry about the male to female ratio and fighting?

It depends on the birds. I have more female than males in one coop and more males than female in the other coop and none of them fight and they are living their best life.