Young quails pecking each other

[bored]

Hi, recently i noticed that one of my two 3 week old coturnix quails suddenly just started pecking the other quail who is a few days older than it, I let them out of their box for a hour or so to let them roam free but the younger quail chased the other trying to peck it. But sometimes they would sleep right next to each other with no problems im quite stressed about this situation as is the older quail when it sees the other sometimes (I say sometimes because i have tried partitioning their box to quarantine them for a few hours but this just made the younger quails aggression seem worse) I am baffled at this situation as it has suprised me... the younger quail never seemed to be the one who would turn out to be aggressive as when they were a few days old the victim quail would peck a syringe i used to give it water whilst the younger one was scared of it. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could help me as i do not want to cull it because I have had quails in the past that i have needed to cull as there were too many males, it affected me as i was attached to them.

Thanks.

 

[aart]

How old are these birds?
How big is their cage?

 

[Quailobsessed]

Welcome to BYC!

How much space do your chicks have? Could you post a picture of their brooder?

 

[bored]

Hi Sorry about the late response, they are 3 weeks old with nearly full coverage of feathers so we gave the brooder away to a friend as his quails just hatched... i think they were stressed as they were in the house and we had a visitor, whilst the visitor was there they were going mad even after she left. The younger quail started to peck the older one so i seperated them all night. i thought they stopped but they didnt. Later when i thought it got bad i seperated them for roughly 24 hours and they stopped, i saw one or two pecks but they weren't harsh as the victim quail did not seem affected.

 

[bored]

If noone minds id like to ask if i can bathe my quails in water and dry them off as soon as possible as they literally stink, this happened to my previous quails and i think it is as they are shedding feathers because when i hold them these little dandruff like things stay on my hand

 

[Nabiki]

If noone minds id like to ask if i can bathe my quails in water and dry them off as soon as possible as they literally stink, this happened to my previous quails and i think it is as they are shedding feathers because when i hold them these little dandruff like things stay on my hand

That wouldn't be a good idea. It would be better to change their bedding more often to keep them from stinking.

 

[bored]

That wouldn't be a good idea. It would be better to change their bedding more often to keep them from stinking.

Ill try my best because they poop ALOT

 

[Nabiki]

Ill try my best because they poop ALOT

Yes, they do! I have to clean my brooders every day.