The Loner

[Payroll]

First I had 3 quail. One became aggressive towards the others, so I had her culled.

Then I had 2 quail. I checked on them this morning, one was panting. When I came back she was dead.

Now I have one. I realize they are social animals. Can I have just one quail, or is she going to be miserable? I am home all day, so I can keep her company, but I'm not a bird.

 

[Payroll]

Problem solved! I have a line on some 3 week old quail.

Any tips on how to introduce quail to each other? I'd prefer if they didn't rip each other to pieces.

 

[TwoCrows]

How old is the original lone quail? Do you know the gender of it yet?

 

[Quailsong]

First I had 3 quail. One became aggressive towards the others, so I had her culled.

Then I had 2 quail. I checked on them this morning, one was panting. When I came back she was dead.

Now I have one. I realize they are social animals. Can I have just one quail, or is she going to be miserable? I am home all day, so I can keep her company, but I'm not a bird.

Just as a precaution, panting is often a sign of overheating. It has been a VERY hot summer in some areas of the US & Canada this year. Make sure your quails are out of the sun, have plenty of cool water (you can even stick ice cubes in their water feeder) and check on them regularly.

Quail are definitely social animals. Sometimes being at the extreme ends of too few or too many can cause aggression. Low number aggression is often boredom, but there are other reasons as well. I've heard of some folks just keeping one, but it was indoors only, they spent a LOT of time with the bird so it never felt alone.

Normally I would say it's best to quarantine the birds for a couple weeks, but since it's just one quail now you might be best skipping that. As TwoCrows asked, it's good to have more info on the lone bird (and the new ones coming in). As well, a description of your pen and/or a picture will help us to figure out what else could help them integrate better.

 

[Payroll]

Here is my pen. I usually take the divider out, but I can stick it back in. It has a bird door sawed into it.

The remaining bird is a female. She started laying eggs last week and is about 7 weeks old. She loves to explore and is always the first out of the cage and the first to feed from my hand.



I move the cage daily to provide them with a new spot of grass and I also have a cage in the porch that I can use.



I have some ice cream buckets that I have turned upside and cut a "door" into that they can use as hidey holes.

 

[TwoCrows]

Unless all these birds are female, you are going to need to keep them 1 male to 4 to 7 females. You can not keep more than 1 male in this space and probably a total of 6 or 7 birds all in all. Same amount if they are all females.

I would put up a screen for a divider and put the new birds on one side and the lone female on the other. Leave them this way for 2 or 3 weeks till everybody gets accustom to the others. By this time in a few weeks, there should be little fighting when you mix them. Always watch closely for the first week and always intervene if things get too violent. Always remove the aggressor, not the one being picked on.

 

[Payroll]

I am integrating one 7-week old hen and three 3-week old hens.

I have them separated with a divider. The little ones could get through to the bigger ones pen (now corrected) and when the older hen saw them, she attacked (no one was hurt, and I have since filled that spot).

However, the older hen let out the most interesting call, which I can only assume is a territorial call. She kept it up for about a minute. Very interesting and not at all like the crow from a rooster quail.

If I hear it again, I'll try to capture the sound.

 

[Quailsong]

TwoCrows made an excellent suggestion with switching your divider to a wire mesh screen. That will help them integrate within the two to three week time-frame without the fighting.

IF you move the cage a lot, as in twice-daily or once every day, then you can risk having those extra quail stuffed in there - but the big key here is boredom vs entertainment. If they seem too bored, they will fight, no exceptions. If you cannot supply extra entertainment for their needs then you will need them in separate cages.

Might I suggest you make use of the wall space by installing a rabbit water nipple/bottle feeder? Japanese Coturnix are very easy to adapt to such watering devices & will make moving their pen much easier - esp since you'll be doing it every day and/or more. Lastly, you can also hang a feeder dish in the corner w/ some wiring (look at heavy-duty parrot feeders) to save even more room & won't have to fiddle w/ taking out bricks (& potentially dropping one on them!)

Lastly, it's summer now but it's time to already start thinking about what your quail set-up is going to look like in winter. I know Saskatchewan has terribly cold winters, from -25C down to -30C or worse on bad days. Quail can take the minus temps, but nowhere near the weather you'll be experiencing. So start planning that winter coop so it's all ready for them when needed.

 

[Payroll]

I'll look for that wall mounted feeder and waterer at my local Peavy Mart and Early's store.

I stuck a cardboard divider in the cage. Should I change that to a wire mesh divider so they can see each other, or is hearing each other good enough for integration?

I'm leaving on Sunday for my two-week vacation, so I need this set up before I leave.

I'm not too concerned about a winter cage, as an outdoor winter cage is impractical. I was going to butcher them in October. However, I have grown extremely attached to the older hen, so if she survives the summer I will be contemplating a way to move her inside without causing my husband's allergies to flare up.

Thanks!

 

[pdawson1983]

Payroll, I noticed that your pen opens from the top. Do you have any problems with escape attempts? I am going to be building a coop to house 18 quail and I really like your setup. It seems like a top opening would provide easy access to collect eggs.