Quail advise needed.

Wayland.

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We have trouble at mill. We have been running a young rooster with six hens. All seemed well until yesterday. I found one of my hens with severe head injuries. She may not survive if, she does she has lost an eye at least. I am new to keeping Quail and would appreciate some advice. Should I not keep a rooster permanently running with hens? I feel inclined to religate him to the pot!
 
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I have had the same problem, but in my cases it is normally the male losing and eye (or two). The males will fight each other and too few females with a male leave them looking pretty rough, but my females are more likely to display aggressive behavior towards each other. The behavior is normally caused by overcrowding or boredom. However, I run 1 male and 5 females in a 2' by 4' cage so overcrowding is not my problem and mine get enough greens to keep them occupied. It is frustrating because I have seen people raising a couple dozen quail packed into cages the size of mine without the quail attacking each other.
What size cages are you using? My vet told me about a phenomenon called herd hierarchy (pecking order) where the smaller the herd the more problems with aggressive behavior as opposed to larger herds where any individual animal bullying or being bullied finds it easier to get lost in the crowd. So, dependent on your cage sizes you could try putting more birds in. The aggressive bird does need to be culled. I have never been able to curb their aggression. Good luck and if you find a solution please share it with me.
 

Wayland.

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Thanks for thar David. I am just finishing a new outside pen for them, so hoping the greatly increased escape area with branches and other hidey holes, perhaps the rooster will soon get out of breath with all that chasing about. I have not yet killed the rooster but he lives alone. I will reintroduce him once the hens are settled in. His last chance.
 

Wayland.

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Well things have quieted down a bit since the Quail have been put in the new run so himself is still around. I am surprised at how nasty these little birds can be. I was thinking about getting some of the larger Bob Whites but having read that they are the Quail equivalent to junk yard dogs, I am having second thoughts. We got some A & M Hatching eggs from the UK which up till now are a bit of a dissapointment. The birds are quite a bit smaller than my original stock. They are seven weeks old and have started laying already. Will they grow much more? They are described as a large breed or have I just been sold a pup? Any comments much appreciated.
 

Muraki

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I noticed that my quail usually don't get to being max weight until closure to the 10 week range. Time of year makes a difference as well. Mine bulk up more in the winter since I don't have them laying eggs then. Also for aggressive birds, specially when introducing birds to my group, I have a separate pen I put next to my larger pen, so the new birds can interact and be seen by the group. After 2 weeks, they usually can be put together without any issues. This works for having to remove a trouble maker and put him/her back with the group later. If I just add new birds in without keeping them separate first, my main group will kill the newcomer. :(
 
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