Why Your Quail Suddenly Started Fighting

[@flocknfamilyhomestead9161]

I have noticed when the bickering starts I give every bird a spritz of 1part apple cider vinegar and 2 parts water. They hate the spray. But it calms them down and seems to reset their Hierarchy. I call it my cage reset.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I need to test that out myself. I have heard lots of reports from people saying basically the same thing.

[@thedouglaspodcast]

hey Chris!! I know this comment is 3 years old lolol but really curious to know: did you ever end up trying it out?! This year was my first hatch ever and I did exactly what you said not to do 🥲 both panicked.. and separated all the roosters lmaoo. I’m “laughing” but really it wasn’t funny *at all* 😭 I think the reason for such immediate panic is because it was my favorite Coturnix that got badly beat up 😔😔😔 I always say he’s abnormal hahah not only does he not mind being handled.. he LOVES it 😭 since day one! He’d stand on top of the brooding table and cry until I picked him up. Like wtf is that?! 😩 lolol none of my 12 are like that.. only him.. So you can imagine my horror when I came home after being gone just *fifteen minutes* and his face/beak was all bloody. And this was before I was able to sex ANY of them. But course, immediately after, every rooster (who I was pretty convinced were female btw 🥲) began their calling. I wish I saw your video beforehand but also think it was a good thing I got the other two males out because even tho his injuries didn’t look THAT bad.. his health quickly declined a few days later and I almost lost him 😔 Since it was on his face and he was breeding.. I’m wondering if it got infected. I cleaned him up really good immediately when I first saw him bloody, put ointment on it right away.. which I already had due to possible bumblefoot. And because of that, I also already KNOW all my guys hate ACV 🤣 so really considering trying this out!! I just feel so terrible for these two males because those hormones are INTENSE 😔💔 doesn’t shock me one but that they went from incredibly sweet and loving.. to wanting to k**l their whole family like a light switch lmaooo

[@ericryckman5174]

Went through this a couple months ago. It stopped but it wasn't fun. Sometimes you get a hen that is a bully and it seems contagious. The other hens will bully (usually they beat up the roosters) I pulled out the bully a separated her for a month. Took.a marker (sharpie) put a line on top of her head so I knew where she was when I put her back into main cage. This worked 50% of the time. The ones that are repeat bullies end up in the freezer. Great video Chris. Praying for you guys. God bless.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Sounds like you have a good plan for dealing with it. That is pretty much my policy as well. Thank you for all of the prayers as well.

[@LuisRamirez-fy4lh]

Hey why does my rooster beat up just one hen ? My rooster mates with the rest but that hen runs away and doesn’t mate with rooster so just get pecked at?

[@jimbear8888]

I have 2 hens and 2 roosters I had to separate. Roosters pull feathers and actually pecked holes in the females heads.. Rooster to hen ratio is 1 to 5 but seems to make a difference in their behavior. One particular rooster is very aggressive. Praying they all make it through breeding season!

[@Elsa-y6m]

I have 2 quail and everything seems nice at starting but they fight very hard now and my another quail bleeding in head and I'm trying to put together 5 mins again they start fight what i do?

[@shibibi1]

I've had 2 quail where they've essentially had their legs flayed! All been living together peacefully till suddenly 2 (in separate cages) went lame and upon checking them, their legs are bloody and skinned. Been doing in coop isolation so they can't be beat up anymore, but they've not been removed from the flock

[@JimmyOverstreet]

Thanks brother, I'm new to quail and this was happening. Not bad but was going on. This helped a bunch!

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you for watching. I am glad you found this video helpful.

[@abigailerdman750]

Mine have started fighting suddenly, but it's July and breeding season has been going on for a while. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Ouchimoo]

I was so mad when I checked on my birds today. My tamest girl had both sides of her head drilled into today and if I didn't catch it sooner would have been dead. Still possible, she's not out of the woods yet. They were my oldest quail, all hens, born this spring. Only thing I can think of that would have to set them off to attack her is my second batch has roos that just started crowing earlier this week. Absolutely no warning signs though. There wasn't any squabbles for dominance in a while. She wasn't even the shyest one in the group. Just went to feed and water and she wasn't at the cage door to greet me.

[@danielombaard9795]

Hi,i really need some help,my quail are not even fighting,i only have 2 males with 10 henns in each gage,but i have a big problem,mine are trying to eat each other allive im not joking,and its all on their back side where the egg comes from and cant really say what i want but u will understand what i mean,pls help,as soon as one start bleeding thye all go in and start pekking the back side open😢😢

[@Noeaskr]

Just get chickens people, I have both now and I regret ever trying the quail.

[@Facts_homesteading]

I had a flock of coturnix quails made of all females and even though they were all females they still fought each other and killed each other in just a week I went from 30 quails to 14

[@richardrobertson1331]

If one of your birds is a sociopath, why let that bird continue to breed? We have domesticated animals because we stopped breeding those animals that displayed aggression.

[@AlifriesFP]

I lost 5 quails becouse all white henns and roosters attacked the darker quails. It was a massacre

[@leedavis6354]

. Thank you I've been really getting worried about a couple of my birth. Can you do a couple cooking videos. What's your favorite recipes can we see them

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I have done some cooking videos before. I will see what I can do to get some more done sometime soon.

[@sststr]

I've got some quail that are almost 4 months old that have grown up together, and just this very morning I saw the dominant hen picking on the #2 hen. Haven't seen that behavior from them before. So far most of the time the dominant hen seems content to have the other one just run away and hide, but every once in a while she takes a more serious peck at the back of her neck. It is now September, so we're heading out of breeding season. It's only those two hens, the other quail are not involved in whatever is going on. And that #2 hen, she injured herself just a few days ago, got a gash on her underside somehow. I never could figure out the cause - I did check the beaks and talons of the other quail to see if any of them did it, but they all looked clean. There was a few drops of blood on the bedding, but only a little bit, and the little trail didn't give any suggestion of a cause. I keep them in a very tall (6 feet high) cage so they can fly, and my best guess was she did some flying and landed on the edge of something (a straw hut, plastic plant, nesting box), but I checked all those and didn't see any signs of blood or feathers or anything else to suggest a bad landing. I put some antiseptic spray on the gash and even just the next day she seemed mostly back to normal, and a few days later, she is now completely back to normal. But now I have to wonder if the dominant hen wasn't somehow perhaps responsible for that after all, despite my inspection of beaks and talons. Although in the few days between that incident and now, I hadn't noticed any fighting going on, so I still think it's something else. *sigh*

[@sststr]

So just a moment ago, I saw the #2 hen lying down nestled in nicely among the wood chips, and the rooster sitting there almost on top of her, preening her. It appears my rooster may have a new favorite, in which case I can see why the dominant hen would be so angry at the #2 hen. But I don't think the #2 hen was trying to win the rooster's affection, she's always been a free spirit, a strong, independent hen who don't need no rooster, but for whatever reason, the rooster is showing some real affection for her now. Looks like quail jealousy is a thing, eh?

[@linpemberton9437]

I had to remove a really aggressive hen who seriously bloodied up EVERYONE in the cage, hens and rooster alike. I don't like her to be alone, but I have no choice. At least she lays daily 😄

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I have had to do that before as well. Sometimes you can reintroduce her later and not have any issues. But if she was beating everyone up then she is probably just too aggressive and it is best not to breed her and keep her offspring.

[@linpemberton9437]

@@Slightlyrednecked that's what I'm doing. She lays every day so she is in a cage by herself next to the others so she can see them but not terrorize them. I've tried her 2 times each in both of my cages and no go....at least I know I'm not alone

[@AJayK610-18]

Hey Chris it's Aj from Crazy Chicken & Quail Lady My question is I came out to my quail house and one of my hens, her head is turned and can not straighten her head. I'm thinking she may have sand in her ear . what do you think? I have stretched her neck it helps for a little bit then goes right back to a kinked neck

[@JusCrank]

I’ve just introduced a 4 week old flock of 10 to a 5 week old flock of 19 in a 8’x8’x7’ aviary and 5 of them were being aggressive 1 being overly aggressive so I locked them in my 2’x3’ portable coop but kept them in the aviary over night. Next day I let them out. 4 of them were perfectly fine. That one though…. I put him back in the portable all alone. Tomorrow morning makes 2 days. I will try again. If there’s no success, I’ll keep him alone. Grow him out to 10 weeks and add him to the freezer.

[@JusCrank]

I also just started with quail about a week ago… so I’m very new to this… your vids have helped me out BIG TIME!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@daviebaggins]

I had a problem where i had one hen in with 5 roosters. i didnt know she was a female. She was smacking her head trying to get away. Isolated her until her head healed. I reintroduced her to a breeding group and the females all started to attack her. I sprayed them with vinegar water and they seemed too busy and distracted to attack. She seems blended in and fine today.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you for sharing that. I have not tried the vinegar trick myself but have heard good things about it. Glad to hear that she is doing better now.

[@daviebaggins]

@@Slightlyrednecked thank you. ive learned a lot from your videos.

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

Our quail have been fighting a lot! Thanks for this!

[@Slightlyrednecked]

It is that time of year. Mine have calmed down now, hope yours do too very soon.

[@thedouglaspodcast]

Love your shirt!!! 🔥🔥🔥 lolol

[@thedouglaspodcast]

Also the title and @ 0:41 is exactly what happened with me 😭😭😭 I had no clue it was due to breeding szn! It was (and still is) definitely spring when it happened 😅 and I definitely panicked immediately lolol

[@El_Nene18]

Chris do you think my quail will lay with layer crumble. It has 18% protein

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I am sure that they will lay. Light has more of an affect than protein. But they may lay a little more consistently with a slightly higher protein level. I like to go for 25% or higher myself.

[@El_Nene18]

Ok thank you

[@katieschwarting1695]

Thank you so much for this explanation! I am new to quail raising and this really worried me so its great to know it should subside!

[@BigDmike24]

They are savages for sure. Bob White's are the meanest I ever seen. They don't like stranger's. And fight pretty rough. I found a couple less males in the pen helps out. The biggest bully becomes my lunch.

[@lindaw2418]

I’m listening to all your videos to start quailing 🥰. How many male quail to females do you have in 20 square feet?

[@barbarav847]

I wonder if there is less aggression if they got a run for a bit of extra space and interest/distraction? Or if that does not really make any difference?

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I think it can make a difference. There will still be some fighting that goes on. It is just the nature of these birds. But if they can get away into hides and things it might minimize the damage that is done.

[@barbarav847]

@@Slightlyrednecked so much the better, tried the vinegar and it worked for all of 3 minutes..

[@pietroscarpa2384]

Recently my rooster started to attack 1 specific female. I had to separate her otherwise she would have died I think. She is very afraid now and al beaten up. She don't wants to be around the other quails anymore. I have one rooster and 5 females.

[@nestyhesty]

One of my females is getting beat up unlike usually males. What is happening?

[@leeyu8821]

Your channel name😂

[@leeyu8821]

Tis great, lol

[@Gregchodgins]

I just got an 6 adult quail. The 5 hens beat up my 1 male and I think he might have lost both eyes unfortunately. I'm just getting started so seeing that really sucked

[@A_Good_Person1984]

I have 4 buttons, 2 of each gender, I came here since a males picking on the other male

[@katiemcdonald5988]

My 5 hens are going through this just now, just constant chasing and pecking. So best just to let them sort it out between them?

[@icecube9721]

my quail decapitated the others

[@adess2428]

Could you help me I have crossed my doe several times but it is not pregnant

[@shelbysquash6018]

Hey what if a male pecked an other birds eyes out, what do you do then?

[@roxannedodds6]

I separated my 3 week old quail out to hens in one cage and males in the other. The cages are stacked 3 high. the top cage is the girls the next cage is the males and the bottom cage is a few older ones. They are now 5 weeks old and the males have started to lose the feathers on their butt between their wings. Are they fighting or is this something else? They don't have any pecking on their heads at all. or are they just stressed? Tthe other cages are fine.

[@nicolipotatski6288]

I love your shirt. :)

[@bhaskargangaraju2204]

My quails suddenly fighting today continuously is this is the reason ??

[@Slightlyrednecked]

It is indeed. They get aggressive when they first come into the breeding season.

[@michellecarpenter8981]

I have learnt so much from your videos. I'm in the UK and keep quail as pets, not to eat but I still find your videos fascinating. You present them in a really interesting way too! Thank you.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you for the kind comments. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying my videos.

[@anishastoneystars1685]

Long time watcher love that ur making more vids .....I have a question my alpha male has been in the sandbox and not letting any of the newer birds in .....still watching and deciding how I want to play this ....

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you so much for watching my videos. As for the male hogging the sandbox. I think I would just let them be. He will most likely get tired of defending it and give up on that after a few days.

[@katrinakrakow5961]

Your videos are so timely! Went out yesterday and all but one female has lots of feathers off their heads--one is scalped (but appears to be behaving normal--eating, drinking, moving around). The male is also unscathed. Guessing this is a female aggressor (with some male breeding impact) like you said in your other videos. I was going to wait and see what's happening after today to see if I need to do anything. So far they are all behaving normal. At what point should I separate either the scalped female or the female with in-tact head feathers (the presumed aggressor)? I have one male and five females. They will be released into their quail run this evening (which I assume will be better to combat aggression?). Edit: the male is not unscathed, he has a little bit picked on top--it's two females that are unscathed.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

It is always a little tricky to decide when to intervene. If the feathers are just gone on the back of the head, that is probably just from breeding. If it is on the side of the face or down the neck then it could be aggression for sure. I would watch it for a day or two, if it doesn't seem to be getting worse (there is no additional damage) then they are probably fine. If it is getting worse then you may need to step in and try to identify the aggressor. I hope that helps.

[@drno8791]

I have a hen with sporadic reproductive issues. She gets aggressive from time to time. Some fighting could be due to vent issues.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

That could be the issue. It is hard to say for sure but seems like a good guess.

[@katrinakrakow5961]

Have you heard of reintroduction issues if a bird a is separated caged alone within a quail run? Might reintroduction be easier? I am thinking of a plan for if I need to separate for some reason. Thanks!

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I think that is probably the best way to do it honestly. There could still be issues with reintroduction but if you have a small cage inside your run with the other birds it will be less likely that you will have issues.

[@arth8373]

Hi Chris, if I dispatch my female quail hens who lay daily. Is it possible to find an egg inside when cleaning them out. Also would they taste any different then a male quail?

[@Slightlyrednecked]

it is very likely that you will find eggs inside when cleaning them. They will be at different stages of development though and some will not have shells on them yet. I have never noticed any difference between male and female birds once they are processed and cooked.

[@myberryownhomestead764]

I was wondering why one of my male quail died. He looked in pretty bad shape, and before I could dispatch him, he died in my hand. ☹️

[@MaryGatdula]

😬😪

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I am so sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, that is just part of raising animals. Sometimes things like that happen.

[@lightnsalt8166]

Thank you for sharing. These birds look so cute & I was surprised just how structured their order can be. I think they have been watching too many prison movies !!😂😂

[@Slightlyrednecked]

lol. You may be on to something there.

[@lightnsalt8166]

@@Slightlyrednecked cheers mate, I love these little creatures Jesus has made. Thanks for sharing & also for understanding my humour. God bless & keep up the fantastic work.

[@jbid9999]

Thanks

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you for watching.

[@jessicapabon2105]

I live in Texas I have quail in my garage they're large rabbit cages I have three Quail per cage just a couple days ago I noticed one of my little quails completely bloodied in her head she healed up nicely I have noticed that there is an aggressor in the cage she's of course larger than the others and I noticed her chasing the others and like almost putting yourself on top of the others and forcing them down and then packing at them. Are these breeding is she acting like a rooster when she's a hen? This just happened a couple days ago so I separated her I'm really freaked out for the others but I know there's a pecking order I just don't want to mess things up with her either. But I wanted to check with you just in case before I put her back. I don't have another cage to put her I only have two big cages and that's it. Again this just started a couple of days ago. The others will come to eat and she'll chase them off and then sometimes I'll find one of the smaller ones hiding her head underneath the sandbox/nestbox I have in there and she'll hide her head and I expect her to be dead but then she's does just fine the next day. Any help please would be wonderful

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I am so sorry for the slow response. Sounds like aggression to me. You sometimes just get a bird that is a little crazy. Sometimes they calm down but I usually cull those birds as I believe that aggression can be a hereditary trait and I don't want to breed that into my future birds. I would give her a little more time (especially if you removed her for a time and then reintroduced her) and see. if the problem continues I would cull her if it were me.

[@jessicapabon2105]

@@Slightlyrednecked no worries I truly appreciate your feedback and information that you were so kind to provide. I will give her a second chance in life lol. Today I will be removing everything from the cage and giving it a good clean and putting them back. She's actually one of the biggest of the females but they all range about the same age but I can't be sure of it because I got it from a farmer and to me there were a couple that were a little larger than the others so I kind of don't quite believe that they're all the same age if you know what I mean. There is one I call Prim and she had out of nowhere started coming after my hand when trying to add food into the container and packing at it like being a bully and then I would just turn around and sure away but now I actually turn around and pick her up in between my fingers and take her out of the cage and all of a sudden she's like as calm as get-go and she's very calm is she just is a bully when it comes to food I think she's like food rage or something LOL but she is a character but other than that I can handle her and she's very calm once I handle her.

[@jbelme1]

One of my roosters had a pecked eye yesterday. Quail are not at all affectionate or tolerant of each other. Note on high cages. I had a hen spook a few weeks ago and she broke her hip(?). My hutch is 2 1/2 feet high and she hit hard. Next cage I build will be exactly like yours instead of almost like yours.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Pecked eyes are pretty common actually. They can be very brutal indeed.

[@BigDmike24]

Savage's

[@daviebaggins]

Hey ive got a question. What are your thoughts on supplemental calcium for quail hens? I just gave some to my hens for the first time at 8 weeks and their going crazy for it.

[@Slightlyrednecked]

It probably isn't necessary unless your feed has less than 1% calcium in it. But if you do offer, make sure to offer it in a stand alone container and don't mix it in with their feed. They will self regulate how much they get. If you mix it in with the feed they may get too much and that isn't good either.

[@daviebaggins]

@@Slightlyrednecked thanks!!

[@charisjewelrysa7459]

my huch was left open and I had 5 quail but 1 is gone will he come back

[@Slightlyrednecked]

I am sorry to hear that. i doubt that he will return on his own. But he probably won't go far so you may be able to locate him. As long as a neighborhood cat or dog doesn't find him first.

[@charisjewelrysa7459]

@@Slightlyrednecked ok

[@BigDmike24]

Try a recall cage. Seems to work pretty good. $100 bucks on Lion country supply. (Bird hunting dog and quail supply). I also in process of making 1 myself. I know that's expensive. You put 2 quail in there and set it in the yard close to your pen and likely your escapee will climb in..

[@scantrahan]

cars, pencils and spoons can also be used to murder someone, but they were all designed to do things BESIDES killing people, feryerhelth

[@huntingwithpride]

Hey Chris what kind of camera do you use for outdoor cuts? You and Terry killing it eith the HD quail vids haha!!

[@Slightlyrednecked]

Thank you so much. I am using a Canon 90D right now.

[@user-hb4io8kf2k]

I have two female quails that've been together for 6 months now, they're young and healthy, laying eggs everyday. Suddenly today one of them laid one healthy egg, and after a couple of hours it laid another legg but without a shell. And after a couple of seconds of laying that second egg, the quail became too aggressive toward her friend, begin to shout and to pick on her friend. I don't really understand what happened and why she laid an unhealthy egg and why after that, she became aggressive. Hope you can help and sorry for the long comment.

[@ThatStevenLouis]

As soon as you took him out someone else stepped in on his piece of action... You'll have your day champ, hang in there big fella 💪🏾

[@Slightlyrednecked]

You may be right. But I doubt that he has been doing much breeding lately. He is working on healing up right now.