[ANHBUC]

   I wasn't sure of the sex of the 4 jumbo japanese quail I recently got from min200 but I know for sure now.  Three females and one very agressive male.  So much so that I have 2 injured females due to head pecking.  One really badly pecked head which is now featherless and raw,  the other not so bad.  I have separated the male who will probably be on death row now due to his aggression.  The 2 injured birds have been treated with purple spray and are now in a cat carrier indoors.  I am hoping that they will survive but it is not looking good for the badly injured one. 

The remaining female is in the rabbit hutch outside where they are normally kept.  Is it alright to leave one on its own?

I can't believe a little bird could do so much damage so quickly, they were all fine yesterday.  I check on them at least 6 times a day.   

[joyfull]

sorry but male quails are notorious for being aggressive 
Why not keep the good one with the minor injured one and keep the other severely injured one separate so you can keep a closer eye on her. This way the other one wont get lonely.

[ANHBUC]

Good idea.  Just thought that it may be too cold for the slightly injured one as it has been freezing for days here.  Thought that keeping her warm and quiet was the thing to do.  What do you think?

My other quail are in the ark you gave me and they are opposite the lone quail in her hutch. 

[joyfull]

can you move her hutch so it is well sheltered?

[ANHBUC]

It is very sheltered as both the ark and the hutch are under our tea house and we have them facing each other.

Like this but our has 2 back and one side panel.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Quail (not just the females!) can be really aggressive and quite temperamental. I have has quail grow up and spend months together and then suddenly take against one another and attack viciously. I had a group of 6 females and a male and the male just suddenly hated one of the girls and almost blinded her one day. Separated them, allowed her to heal, re-introduced and absolutely the same thing. Never got them back together and had to permanently separate them with her having a friend in with her. Have also had girls just go stroppy and attack all the others.

Males making the girls threadbare due to being randy is very different to aggression. If they are threadbare/bald on their necks and/or top of head you probably just have a randy male. If there is blood then it is generally out and out aggression and I have never managed to end this. In this case I separate permanently or kill the aggressor. Very nice for tea they are too!

One other issue is feather pecking which is generally on the bum but can be stopped with anti peck spray (daily for the rest of their life if you have the energy!).

[ANHBUC]

It was a male on 2 female aggressive attack as there was plenty of bare flesh and blood.  They were from the same brood and about 8 weeks old.

Think I know what triggered it off though.  I have 7 mature female Italian quail (laying) who are in a cage opposite the Japanese quail.  I noticed last night that as the sun was setting all the birds in the area, blackbirds especially were calling to each other.  This set off the Italian quail and then the male Japanese quail who is now in a cage in a shed started calling.  First time I have heard him do this.  Think that he got excited with the mature quail calling and tried to mate with his room mates.  They haven't started laying yet and probably didn't like his advances.  

Luckily I managed to separate them before he attacked all three.  They are all still alive and the most injured one has improved on yesterday.  They are in a cat carrier in a spare bedroom with the heating turned off so they won't have too much of a shock when they are recovered and back outside.  Fingers crossed.

Couple of pictures of the 2 injured birds, not a pretty sight.

[joyfull]

spring has sprung 

[ANHBUC]

Even seen a pair of squirrels in our garden.  Only ever seen one at a time before!

Had a chat with min200 about pairing the naughty male quail with 3 of the mature quail.  Would have to keep a close eye on them and put them in a breeding cage which would be neutral territory.  Would use the offspring as meat birds so the cross should not matter.

Any advice would be appreciated.   

[Kate and her Ducks]

I think that sounds like a good idea.

It might just be randiness but I have to say that when they make them bleed like in the first pic in my experience it is violence rather than sex and it seems to persist. The bald one (second) could just be mating but would be very cautious about reintroducing him to them again.

Think your plan sounds like a good way of separation and preventing inbreeding.

[ANHBUC]

Definitely would not put him back with his sisters.  I was unsure of him being male as he has both speckled and rust coloured brest.  Had seen pictures online of some females that have these markings so was waiting for either a crow or egg.  Unfortunately he did the damage before I heard him crow.  He crows at dawn and dusk now.

Will try introducing him to the older girls once I have sorted a breeding cage and will keep a look out for any hostility.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.   

[ANHBUC]

UPDATE

Both injured quails are doing well today, eating and drinking.  Applied more purple spray via a cotton bud as didn't want to get any in their eyes.  Both very active this afternoon so have put them back in the hutch with their sister. 

The uninjured quail had laid her first egg for me this morning so things are looking up.

Rehoused the "jail bird" into the cat carrier so he can have a view.  He was determined to try and escape out of the door when I was putting fresh food/water in!  Don't think he likes solitary confinement.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Yay! I do love dinky quail eggs!

[ANHBUC]

I am getting 8 a night now and only the 2 injured ones haven't started to lay yet.  They are quite big for quails eggs I think as they are usually 13, 14 and 15 grams.  Have even had double yolkers.  Will have to use some in baking as I am only getting between 1 and 3 hens eggs per day.    

[ANHBUC]

UPDATE

Both injured quail are doing well, have reapplied purple spray on both of them with a bit of sponge which was easier than the cotton buds.  The badly injured one is still very timid but was really good when I applied the PS.  She is healing well considering her injuries and I will keep up with the PS until she is fully healed so her sisters don't peck her wounds.

The "jail bird" is quite happy in the cat carrier and I have added a bowl with kiln dried sand in for a dust bath.  I handled him a bit today so that he will hopefully calm down a little (I live in hope)!