'Li'l Peck R's

[cavalryduke]

Okay.  As of tomorrow the two baby quail that hatched from the abandoned nest I have started to peck each other today.  They got to pecking each others toes so bad they have been bleeding.   I tried to seperate them and they went berserk, calling frantically and running around.  What can I do to get them to stop.  Will putting them in a pen with a glass partition help?  I got them mealworms but they're not too interested in them yet.  I showed them (I use my finger and I think they think it's mom)and peck and scratch with it and they run up and start pecking at where I'm scratching in the starter feed  but show no real interest in the worms.  What can I do?  i don't want them pecking the crap out of each other.  HELP!? :?  

[CharlieHorse]

What kind of quail are these?  I have bobwhites and I have never seen one that would even let you get remotely close to it from the moment they are born, let alone come up to my hand scratching around in feed or anything else to that matter. But, I think that you have no choice but to seperate them somehow until any wounds are healed at least. How old are these birds? I wouldn't put them back together until they started eating well. Give them some lettuce, grass clippings, and all other sorts of greens to peck at, i've even read where people give them boiled eggs. Put some pine limbs in brooder/pen configured in such a way to provide some cover so they can get away from each other. I am just assuming that these are very young and are in a brooder? If you are using a lamp to brood with it would be hard to control the amount of light. This is why I use a 2 foot baseboard heater and have a small bulb on a dimmer, I keep the light to a minimum and have never had any pecking/cannibalism problems. I am a firm believer that alot of light promotes pecking in brooders. I also turn the lighting completely off at night..............they don't have light at night in the wild, of course this would be hard to control if you're brooding with a bulb.

Just my thoughts.

[cavalryduke]

Sorry.  I was in such a hurry I forgot to put they are four days old today.  They are Gambel Quail and hatched out from a batch of eggs that the mama abandoned.  She had ten to start and 3 hatched and she took off as the fourth one was hatching.  There was something wrong with the fourth and it died two days later.  I figured the other eggs wouldn't hatch and low and behold, the next morning two more did.   These li'l guys.  As I said, these run up and peck around when I put my finger in the mash and scratch.  I have put pine boughs in there and as it stays good and hot at night here now, well into the 90's, I turn the light off.  I have given them some prickly pear, which birds in the wild love, as well as the mealworms, chopped up egg, which they didn't touch, and a few other veggies I've had here.  Nothing.  I have a much larger cage I'm putting them in today and will try and seperate them with some plexiglass to see if that will help.  At least they will see each other.  Do you know how old they have to be before you can turn them loose and hope they join a covey?  I read different ideas on that one.  When I have them out I put food out for the wild birds up close to where they are so they can see the wild birds and get used to them.  I was sooooo hoping the mom would come back but she never showed up after the first three.  sigh  Thanks for the reply.  I just want them to grow up and be able to go free.

[CharlieHorse]

I turn my bobwhites loose at 5 weeks and have had great success in doing so.    Good Luck

[quailfriend]

If they are still pecking each other give them some green leaves to distract them also if you are using light to brood them try a red light bulb that also helps reduce pecking, at least thats what I've heard