Sudden unwarranted aggression towards eachother

[wayward]

Maybe not completely "unwarranted" do to their condition. Out of my initial two quail broods, a series of unfortunate events left me with three boys and only one surviving female. Their genders hadn't been immediately apparent because of one quail being a golden-white color was very difficult to identify. We've managed to identify that one as a male based on behavior, and he had shown some aggression towards his cage-mates but this was quickly settled by splitting the cage into two sections. I went out this morning to find his head bright and shining red with many missing feathers. He's been moved into the house in a small cage. A few hours later I decided to examine the others, to find the only female is also losing feathers on her head. I don't know if this was from the golden quail I had removed, or if one of the other boys had been doing it. I noticed she was all the way across the cage from the boys, so I removed her just to be safe. The two remaining boys seem to be getting along fine (they're pretty much inseparable, always have been).

I feel like its probably the obvious answer, two many males feeling the onset of spring and the mating season. What I want to know is if I can break up this behavior somehow. I've considered obtaining more females to remove the sense of competition, but I don't want them being aggressive to them for being new. Also, why is the one female being attacked? It doesn't just look like mating wear-and-tear. I think the stress is causing all of them to fight, regardless.

 

[Chick Charm]

Ratio is important. 5 to 1 is good for cots.

Space is important as well. In a covey with multiple males you may want to go with 2 sf per bird or more if you have the room.

Blend them into completely new surroundings simultaneously.

Keep a bachelors quarters ready for stuff like this.

 

[wayward]

Ratio is important. 5 to 1 is good for cots.

Space is important as well. In a covey with multiple males you may want to go with 2 sf per bird or more if you have the room.

Blend them into completely new surroundings simultaneously.

Keep a bachelors quarters ready for stuff like this.

As I've said, due to unfortunate circumstances, the ratio is bad. Space is actually not an issue given the small number. But if I can get some new females, blending them together into new surroundings sounds like the way to go. Thank you very much.

 

[1000yearoldeggs]

I had the same problem, I hatched only one female and the rest males, I had to separate the female for them to calm down. Just separate until you can get more hens, really that's all you can do to avoid the aggression. I didn't have any luck keeping more than one male with females, but good luck to you.

The males were too much for me to handle, so I sold them. Hopefully you have nicer males than I did.