fighting

[rita]

well i have put the quails inside the shed and i have noticed that one is being picked on, they were all hatched together, have always been together never have been separated, so i don't understand why.
before i moved them inside i thought it was strange how 2 quails were always inside the house and 2 out in the run all the time and have noticed lots of feathers around which i thought was a moult going on, but obviously they have been squabbling.
why would they do that after all this time together.
i have separated the quails in the shed but they can see each other through the wire. hopefully they will settle back and be friends again.
anyone know why this has happened.

 

[Dean&Laura]

There is a pecking order that quails adhere to no matter how they were raised or in which order they were acquired.

Our order of purchase was:

Houdini
Molly
Honey
Izzy
Cookie
and New baby.

The pecking order is:

Honey (never pecked)
Molly (a bit pecked)
Houdini (our male, quite pecked)
Cookie (Very Pecked)
Izzy (practically bald)

(new baby isn't integrated yet)

Everyone of them pecks another quail. There is no ringleader.

We found that if you spray them twice daily with a mist of 'Anti peck' (from most pet shops, suitable for chickens) then it tends to stop the pecking, but ideally, isolation is the best solution.

Hope I helped.

 

[Marigold]

The social structure of quails is quite different from chickens, isn't it? They don't seem to have a hierarchy like hens do, with each bird knowing her place - they just have a go when they feel like it. But you can get a group like mine, all girls, who have lived companionably together for months now with no pecking at all. Like Rita's they have always been together, which I'm sure helps, but I don't know why Rita's group has suddenly started behaving like this.

 

[Dean&Laura]

Our quails have a hierarchy,definitely. Then again, maybe i have a weird bevy.