Worried about my male quail

[Tillman]

Hi

18 months ago I brought my first 3 quails, Tillman, Tammy & Tilly. In the last few weeks I have started to note a change in their behaviour esp Tillman. I haven't heard him calling for a mate for over 3 weeks, he always used to call at least once first thing in the morning every day. He has lost interest in his girls ( even at feeding time when he used to be at his worst for hounding them ). He seems only to be interested in them now when he claims his position inbetween them for a snuggle. He has also taken to napping a lot & hiding his head in his wings whilst doing so a bit like a duck. ( I have never seen him do this before )
I have also noticed that Tammy ( the alpha ) has taken to "riveting" along with Tilly which is unusual for her.
Is this just because Tillman at 18mths is getting to be an old quail? Is this normal behaviour for older quails?

 

[Marigold]

Hi Tillman and welcome to the Forum. Are your quails Coturnix, or CPQs? They do live life in the fast lane, don't they, with that early maturity at only a few weeks old. How old were yours when you got them? I expect even a few weeks makes a difference, and if you've had them 18 months they would probably be at least 20 months, maybe more. I'm not sure what the life span of a well-kept quail would be, but maybe by now they're getting on a bit, and this might be affecting their behaviour. Are Tammy and Tilly still laying? If they are not showing any signs of illness, you may just have to watch and see what happens. At least none of them seems to be aggressive, which is the usual problem with quails!

 

[Tillman]

Hi Marigold. Thanks for the reply. They are Coturnix & I don't know their age when I brought them but both the girls were already laying. Tilly & Tammy are still laying daily & are as boisterous as ever. I hoping that I'm just being a bit paranoid about Tillman's behaviour because I adore them so much & when I feed them tonight he did make a halfhearted attempt at Tammy I will keep an eye on them and see what happens as you suggest.

 

[Marigold]

You're actually very lucky, to have a trio of coturnix where the male doesn't tear chunks out of the females and terrorise them with over-enthusiastic mating. I now keep an all-female flock as a result of some horrible injuries from the males I bred. Snuggling up to their girls just wasn't on the agenda! If Tilly and Tammy are laying daily they are evidently in good health, and I expect you are giving them green food and high-protein diet with calcium supplements and grit. Sounds as if they're very lucky birds who are doing well.

 

[Tillman]

Yes, I realise that i am lucky. I brought them from a garden centre, who really didn't offer me much advice at all. I have since found a great pet shop where the gent has been really helpful & knowlegable about quails.When I brought them, Tilly & Tammy were together & Tillman was on his own in another cage clearly labelled as a "female" so I brought all 3 ( I didn't like the thought of leaving Tillman alone in the cage ) but when I put them all together in their new home it soon became clear that Tillman wasn't actually female. So I have been very lucky as I have heard a number of people say the same as you. My birdies do have a pot of grit & they have greens every day, they even love my basil which I grow. I have to say I have never given them a calcium supplement, should I be?