Sick of my A&Ms...

[livestrong]

I've got a batch of browns and a batch of A&M and the later are all crazy aggressive. They all gang up on each other attack each other. It's crazy and super annoying. They are all in a pen with 2X1 feet for each bird. I had two previously injured birds in agonizing pens and just re-introduced them last night and this morning it was a blood bath.

All the while my Jumbo brown pharaohs are all happy as could be and all get along great even though they are all from two different joined flocks that we just mindlessly mixed last fall. The whites have been together the entire time and just really suck.

Should I cull these whites and just bread myself some new Jumbos?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Sounds as though they are bit cramped for space

 

[Nabiki]

I wouldn't breed aggressive birds. I had a hen that I put in with my older birds, and she didn't get along with them. I put her in with younger birds, and she started pecking at them. She volunteered to be Christmas dinner.

 

[livestrong]

Sounds as though they are bit cramped for space

That's the thing. There are 5 birds in more than 4x2 feet. The browns are 8 birds in the same size enclosure and zero issues.

 

[pennyJo1960]

That is still very cramped for that many birds some take to it worse than others

 

[bobbi-j]

That's the thing. There are 5 birds in more than 4x2 feet. The browns are 8 birds in the same size enclosure and zero issues.

Is that 4x2 per bird? Total dimensions and a picture of your setup would be helpful. If you just don't like them, why not process or rehome them? You're not required to keep chickens that aren't working out for you or the rest of your flock. It's Ok to make subtractions.

 

[livestrong]

Is that 4x2 per bird? Total dimensions and a picture of your setup would be helpful. If you just don't like them, why not process or rehome them? You're not required to keep chickens that aren't working out for you or the rest of your flock. It's Ok to make subtractions.

They are quail, not chickens. The recommendation is no less than 1sf per bird. I have 5 birds in 8sf of space. That's almost double the recommendation and my birds that are at ratio are calm as larks. I really don't think its a spacing issue. I just think the birds have some bread in aggression.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Alright so they are all quail it would have helped to know that some are more fractious than others someone that knows more than I on quail @CapricornFarm could use quail input please

 

[Nabiki]

Alright so they are all quail it would have helped to know that some are more fractious than others someone that knows more than I on quail @CapricornFarm could use quail input please

This was posted in the quail forums...

@livestrong 8 square feet for 5 birds can still be a bit crowded. It's a minimum of 1 square foot per bird, but you need to remember that feeders, waterers and any life enrichment items take some of that up.

Do you have a picture of their living area? It could be that some of the aggression is bred into them (which is a good reason to not have aggressive birds in your breeding stock), but it could be environmental too. They should have places to hide (boxes, either live or fake plants, etc) and things to play with.

 

[bobbi-j]

Ah! I should always check the forum section before replying. I still think it’s OK to remove birds from your flock or your farm if they are not what you want to deal with.