They aren’t babies anymore...

[Ruskin_Roost]

My 8 “babies” are growing up! Three of them crowed today. So far, all 5 of my “coturnix” are feather sexed as male, but two have some splotchy dotted feathers on their breast. I know my silver “Blondie” is male because he crowed at 6am once and again at 9pm. I am so sad! I don’t have enough outdoor run/ coops for so many males unless I can keep them together and they don’t hurt eachother or undergo a crowing contest at all hours! Thoughts?

 

[Quailobsessed]

I understand how attached to them you must be (I'm the same). For now, could you leave them together until they start fighting (before it gets bad though).

One time, I thought I had one male and four females, but I actually had one female and four females! Four of them were raised together (all except the one I knew was a male). Some fighting did happen, but it was just three of the males bullying one male and the only female. I separated the two that were getting bullied and they ended up making a perfect pair. The other three got along fine until sadly, one died. The other two males are still together though.

 

[muddy75]

you can set up a bachelor pen and just watch for and remove any aggressors......i currently have way too many males in my aviary so they are loud and stress the girls out......but most are at the age/size now that i can pick the favorites and remove the others. unfortunately it’s the risk we take with hatching...... you may look into buying some hens locally or ordering sexed teens if you want to get proper ratio to fill your space.

 

[birdlover2]

My 8 “babies” are growing up! Three of them crowed today. So far, all 5 of my “coturnix” are feather sexed as male, but two have some splotchy dotted feathers on their breast. I know my silver “Blondie” is male because he crowed at 6am once and again at 9pm. I am so sad! I don’t have enough outdoor run/ coops for so many males unless I can keep them together and they don’t hurt eachother or undergo a crowing contest at all hours! Thoughts?

I don't know much about quails, but I do know that some males get along just fine together, (there is usually some occasional small battles for station, than once that is settled all is generally well). For instance, my mother's straight run bantam chickens turned out to be 4 males and 2 females. They got along just fine. A couple fights for who would be dominant occurred at first, but when I got back around to visiting my mother, (only a couple weeks later), they were getting along just fine. It seemed the two top roos had made a leadership pact, (one was techincally leader, the other helped him maintain control and was allowed to attempt mating with hens and would naturally be leader if he died). The leader did end up dying, and as I thought the one had had made the pact with became leader, and he seems to have made a similair deal with another one of the roos. Her last is the smallest, (half the size of the others), and generally submissive. He doesn't crow much, and we've never seen him fight. So that's how it worked out for her.

She did end up getting 6 more hens to prevent the two hens from getting over-mated, though they seemed to have a decent amount of respect for the hens they grew up with and didn't try to mate with them much and romanced them, where-as the new hens they chased around and constantly tried to mate with at first, but they're all integrated now. We've had a long roo who was aggressive as could be, it's all about their personality, and if they've been with eachother since being chicks they fight alot less and get along a lot more. Introducing two strange roos is the thing likely to cause fireworks!

 

[Fenrisulfr]

To remove aggressive roos may not solve the problem, as I experienced.

I had a very calm and silent roo within another loud and aggressive one in a flock with 5 hens.
As soon I removed the aggressive one and the Position as alpha was vacant, the calm one changed to a monster.

Another flock (2.6 roos to hens) the beta roo always moved away from the flock and crowed 24/7 ... as soon I placed him to a flock for himself (1.3) he stepped crowing, satisfied with his new position as alpha.

So you never know. Changing a flock is unpredictable.

 

[birdlover2]

(correction): lone* roo who was aggressive as could be

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have a small batchlor pad (3 male's in 6 square feet of space) that get along decently. A few pulled feathers, but no fights and no 'mating' anymore from them.

 

[VioletsMom73]

My 8 “babies” are growing up! Three of them crowed today. So far, all 5 of my “coturnix” are feather sexed as male, but two have some splotchy dotted feathers on their breast. I know my silver “Blondie” is male because he crowed at 6am once and again at 9pm. I am so sad! I don’t have enough outdoor run/ coops for so many males unless I can keep them together and they don’t hurt eachother or undergo a crowing contest at all hours! Thoughts?

I don’t know if you have the room, but I am now in the process of building a second coop/run because I had a surprise
Second boy

 

[Ruskin_Roost]

you can set up a bachelor pen and just watch for and remove any aggressors......i currently have way too many males in my aviary so they are loud and stress the girls out......but most are at the age/size now that i can pick the favorites and remove the others. unfortunately it’s the risk we take with hatching...... you may look into buying some hens locally or ordering sexed teens if you want to get proper ratio to fill your space.

My partner and I had decided to table the “extra” males, but now that I have become attached I think it will be harder than originally thought. Thank you for your advice! I like the “bachelor pen” idea. I will be moving them to their outside hutch so I will begin by moving the ones I know are not aggressive and keep the questions lines inside and continue to watch.
Do you think it is a bad idea to seperate them and then reintroduce them?
thank you!

 

[Ruskin_Roost]

I don’t know if you have the room, but I am now in the process of building a second coop/run because I had a surprise
Second boy

I have one converted bunny hutch and two bunny cages now, I was just gifted the second bunny case, so now I have room to seperate them and see how they fare! Thank you for the advice.