Sexually frustrated quail?

[speekingtree]

Hello

we recently got 5 female Coturnix quail from a small holding, they were previously living in a shed with some male quail, and various breeds of chicken.
they were approx 8 weeks old when we got them, (they would be about 12 weeks now)
all are laying well.
also they were being mounted by the male hence my question about sexual frustration, but they no longer have this luxury

the past couple of days the biggest female Blue, has been guarding the entrance to the fruit cage
(we have a small chicken coop that leads into a reinforced fruit cage that they can forage in around the bottom of an apple tree) physically stopping Delta from entering the nesting box.

also we have witnessed Blue chasing Delta and pecking at her head neck and butt.
Blue doesnt seem to have any problem with the other quail
non of the other quail are attacking Delta, just Blue.

(on a side note Delta is possibly the youngest - she lacks the colour markings of the other four, she is deffinatly female, I think she looks boarder line albino, and am wondering if it could be simple bullying)

Does anyone have any ideas whats occurring?
Many thanks

 

[JaeG]

Sometimes quail just plain don't like each other, even when they are raised together. In the absence of a male one female will take on the role of 'head of the flock' and will even tidbit food for the other females, making that rumbling noise to call the others over if you put treats in the cage, but it should be a peaceful arrangement. It sounds like Blue doesn't want Delta to be part of 'her' flock. You could separate Blue off for a week where she can still see the others and they her, but she can't bully anyone and see if that changes her attitude. Often that will work. Otherwise you may have to rehome one or the other or set up two separate flocks. They are lovely birds but can be downright awful to each other when personalities clash.

 

[JurassicBawk]

Quail are notoriously racist, meaning that they do not like quail of other colors. Hopefully yours have decided to play nice by now, but every time I've had one quail that was a different color it would be picked on. And yes, there is usually a dominate female that will boss the others around if allowed to do so. Usually removing them for a bit then reintroducing them a few days later will mix up the pecking order a little and calm them down, but not always. One of mine is boss no matter what.

Side note- my 4 chickens are named Blue, Delta, Charlie, and Clever Girl. I did have an Echo, but 'she' turned into a 'he' and had to be rehomed.

 

[speekingtree]

thankyou so much for your replies JaeG & JurassicBawk, thats really helpful.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Quail don't get any physical pleasure out of mating, so it's not like they're pent-up. I don't want to get too far into details, but quail mating is less "tab A in slot B" and more "cloaca A against cloaca B".