Why now??

[shelleyd2008]

I have had my older jumbo coturnix's in the same cage since the day they hatched. No problems whatsoever. They are in a 2x2 cage, there are 3 females and 1 male. This morning when I went out to feed them, one of the females has part of her face gone!!

I can't tell if she actually lost her eye, but that seems to be the focus of the attack. What gives? These guys are about 4 1/2 months old, and I haven't had any problems with fighting.

 

[gabrielle1976]

Are you shure it was the quail could something else have gotten in the cage or put its face / beak thru the cage.
How awful for you regardless, Maybe they need more space.
Seperate her and give her lots of TLC
Someone that acutally knows something will asnwer soon

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
No this is an obvious pecking wound. They should have plenty of space, and they have been in this cage for over 2 months. It could have been one of the quial in the next cage, but they are babies, so I doubt they would have done it. There hasn't been any fighting in that group either.

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

Quail are just weird some times..
I had a pair of button quail together.. They were a great couple.. Then one day. I went to feed them.. And half her scalp was gone. I guess she started to molt and didnt want to breed.. And he wanted to get down to business.. So a fight broke out..

Im a beginner quail keeper.. So I dont know if this is out of the norm..