Quail randomly ganging up on others. Why now? And what to do? **very graphic PICS on 1st post and page 2**

[Nabiki]

Yep. Get rid of the bullies, not the ones that are getting bullied.

 

[Echoes]

Ill do my best to figure it out without putting the others in danger.
Ill keep you guys posted

 

[Echoes]

UPDATE **** PICS
So the one with the throat injuries is alittle worse than i first thought before going to work. Got a better look and its not just feathers pulled out, its flesh is all the way tore open so i can see the throat. Also, the same one has some wing damage.
I dont even know how to clean it at this point. I have them in the house now in a brooder box. I feel like trying to clean it will be very painful and damaging. Maybe just keep the brooder clean and see how it heals up??
Dabbed the scalped one with water and a towel.

 

[Nabiki]

Looks like you've done a lot of cleaning. It won't hurt to see how she does in a clean brooder. Quail are surprisingly resilient.

 

[Echoes]

I hope so! But looking at that neck is terrifying. I feel like it needs to be closed and stitched. It just flesh spread wide apart to expose the throat. I can't see how that'll close and heal on its own. So sad. Reminds me of a specific Cenobite character in the Hellraiser movies. If I felt comfortable stitching something like that I would. Feel like the two sides of the wound need to be reconnected for any kind of healing. But hoping im wrong.

 

[Nabiki]

I hope so! But looking at that neck is terrifying. I feel like it needs to be closed and stitched. It just flesh spread wide apart to expose the throat. I can't see how that'll close and heal on its own. So sad. Reminds me of a specific Cenobite character in the Hellraiser movies. If I felt comfortable stitching something like that I would. Feel like the two sides of the wound need to be reconnected for any kind of healing. But hoping im wrong.

You might be surprised. If she doesn't look a lot better in the next couple of days, you might consider culling then.

 

[Echoes]

You might be surprised. If she doesn't look a lot better in the next couple of days, you might consider culling then.

Copy that! Thanks for everything so far!
I will keep this post updated for sure.

 

[Nabiki]

I hope they all recover well.

 

[CascadeQUAIL]

I have grown a bit of a disdain for coturnix because I'm fairly certain that there is nothing you can do to stop them from fighting like this.

I've kept them every way except free range, and it doesn't matter if they are in a battery cage or a 16' x 16' aviary, they will do this to each other.

You can definitely help fight it by making sure your ratio of M:F is good, and they have enough space, feeder space, and waterer access. But no amount of habitat or care can make them not occasionally just go crazy and beat each other half/all the way to death in my opinion.

Get a little quail hospital setup, make sure and pull any ones with small injuries as it takes about 2 minutes for them to turn into big injuries, and honestly get RID of the trouble makers. Some of them are just born broken I swear.

I use Vetricin or non-medicated neosporin if it's really bad. Honestly they recover quickly but if you can see major organs or they are dropping their head or listless, just be humane and cull them.

If you have enough room in their cage provide them with area to get out of sight, hides or multi-room habitat. That helps break up the fighting a lot. In big square cages the aggressor can just see them the whole time and does nothing but zap them from across the room until they are dead. They're so mean for how cute they are.

 

[Echoes]

Thanks for the insight, Cascade. Will have to keep a closer on eye them from now on, foreverrr it seems. Love the idea of a 'quail hospital', seeing as its possible this might always and randomly be a potential problem. And adding different rooms is an idea i've been thinking about since before this bloodbath happened, so thanks for reassuring me on that!
Maybe I will pick up some neopsporin tomorrow. Does anyone else have any experience with this, just to get a second opinion on possible pros and cons?


One thing that came to mind is the heat. Does hot weather play a role in aggression, or anything in their behavior for that matter? We live in Utah, in a part that can get pretty hot. I looked into this before deciding to go with raising quail and it seemed okay to do, but I can't remember all the bulletpoints of research. So far it doesn't go much above 90 degrees f, but it is very dry here in the desert. It will eventually go up in the 100's and have a handful of days in the 110's.