Typical or just unlucky? Quail Roo Aggression

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

We got 3 day old chicks 8 weeks ago and raised them to hopefully be very friendly since the day we got them. Of the 16 we started with 10 ended up being males. We have pulled them out as we found them and kept the "nicest" ones with our hens (1 male per 5-6 females in seperate cages) and still my males are increasingly aggressive. I worry every morning who I am going to find scalped or injured.
One male chases and relentlessly breeds only one hen in his cage and is completely stressing her out.
Every single male has been aggressive and we've now culled all but 3.... and even those 3 are in hot water.
Are we just completely unlucky to get so many mean males? Am I doing something wrong? Do I just remove and cull all males and start fresh with new males from a different hatch?
I have 11 celadon chicks (seperate from the above coturnix I was talking about) that are almost 4 weeks. Do I just use extra males from that group to add to my older cages and try again?

I am so frustrated and disappointed. I thought they'd be nicer but every morning someone is bloody because of my mean males.

Do most people just not keep males? I really wanted to hatch our own eggs but at this rate all my hens are going to be stressed to death.

 

[shrimpsilkies]

I do think a whole lot of cot males are overly rough. They may eventually mellow out with age but most people probably don’t have the time or patience to wait for them to be nice (plus fertility drops) when you can just eat him and try again. Have you tried separating the overbred hen so he forgets about her?

Hopefully a celadon male of yours ends up nice, and hopefully his chicks are even nicer!

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

I do think a whole lot of cot males are overly rough. They may eventually mellow out with age but most people probably don’t have the time or patience to wait for them to be nice (plus fertility drops) when you can just eat him and try again. Have you tried separating the overbred hen so he forgets about her?

Hopefully a celadon male of yours ends up nice, and hopefully his chicks are even nicer!

I pulled the male out instead of the over bred female. Should I do it the other way around?

 

[Nabiki]

How much space do they have? Do they have plenty of places to hide? It sounds like you've had some bad luck with all of the really aggressive boys. It is spring, though, and mine are getting more aggressive too.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

How much space do they have? Do they have plenty of places to hide? It sounds like you've had some bad luck with all of the really aggressive boys. It is spring, though, and mine are getting more aggressive too.

The cages are only 4x2 but they only have 6-7 birds in each (and only 1 of that total is male).

Are males more aggressive in spring? Does that calm down?

 

[shrimpsilkies]

I pulled the male out instead of the over bred female. Should I do it the other way around?

If you tried one, try the other. Really depends on the bird.

The cages are only 4x2 but they only have 6-7 birds in each (and only 1 of that total is male).

Are males more aggressive in spring? Does that calm down?

In general they are more active in the breeding season. In the fall/winter unless you light them, they may not mate at all while the hens aren’t laying. My falb fee male’s little foam pouch bulge on his bum was all flat and empty, and then all of a sudden two months ago was full of foam ready for breeding. He stopped mating while he molted in October and didn't start up again until now.

If you have room for it, maybe consider adding some divider walls or little hidey holes. In my ground pen I use cinder blocks and whenever a hen doesn’t want to be mated she stuffs herself in the hole where nothing can get her.

 

[Nabiki]

The cages are only 4x2 but they only have 6-7 birds in each (and only 1 of that total is male).

Are males more aggressive in spring? Does that calm down?

So, you have 6-7 birds in 8 square feet. That doesn't give you much room to put in hiding places. Remember, the space taken by feeders and waterers as well as hiding holes subtract from your available space. They might be a little crowded, which is not going to help. You want to have a minimum of 1 square foot per bird. More is better, especially if you're having aggression issues.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

So, you have 6-7 birds in 8 square feet. That doesn't give you much room to put in hiding places. Remember, the space taken by feeders and waterers as well as hiding holes subtract from your available space. They might be a little crowded, which is not going to help. You want to have a minimum of 1 square foot per bird. More is better, especially if you're having aggression issues.

Ok, that makes sense. I do have 2 baskets and a sand bowl in there too. I also add tree branches to hide in.
I'll try taking a few hens out though.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

If you tried one, try the other. Really depends on the bird.

In general they are more active in the breeding season. In the fall/winter unless you light them, they may not mate at all while the hens aren’t laying. My falb fee male’s little foam pouch bulge on his bum was all flat and empty, and then all of a sudden two months ago was full of foam ready for breeding. He stopped mating while he molted in October and didn't start up again until now.

If you have room for it, maybe consider adding some divider walls or little hidey holes. In my ground pen I use cinder blocks and whenever a hen doesn’t want to be mated she stuffs herself in the hole where nothing can get her. View attachment 2611759View attachment 2611760

I have 2 baskets to hide under and add tree branches that give some shelter but I can try out some different things to see if it helps. Maybe mine aren't great hiding spots

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

Will separating the male out for a few days help at all? I have 2 males currently in seperate cages inside my house (away from each other so they can't hear each other crow) in hopes that they'll calm down and can go back in with their hens but if it's really not going to do anything then maybe I just need to cull them and hope for kinder males in my celadon group.
Like I said, I'm down to these last 3 males of 10.... and 2 are on the naughty list currently

And did we do something wrong? Is it genetics? Should we not buy chicks/eggs from this breeder?