What to do with a killer quail

[Paddington]

Hi Everyone,
So here is the situation: I have an aviary that is 7 feet long, 2 feet wide and roughly 5 feet tall. Inside are 4 gouldian finches, two canaries and two button quail. Yesterday evening I heard my wife calling to me frantically and I came down to find that one of the gouldian finches was lying dead in a shallow bird bath tray. I fairly quickly identified the culprit as being the male button quail as he had some of the finch's feathers on him and was starting to act aggressively towards the hen.

I had noticed the male had been a little aggressive towards the hen yesterday but as I have only had the pair for 4 days now, and it did not involve chasing or pecking I was not overly concerned. I had noticed a trend whereby he would become more aggressive in the evenings. I do know the male is very young only 4-5 months old. They also have places to hide in the aviary, a bird house and a hollowed out log. I do feed them a game bird crumble as well as mealworms to supplement their diet.

Following the attack I quarantined the male, but given he was calling frantically I placed his cage in the aviary so he could be near the hen. I am a little at a loss of what to do now. Here are my questions:

1: Is this a common experience with male quail? Or is it an adolescent phase?
2: Will he calm down as he gets older? Or should I look at finding a new male?
3: Is there any way to screen for aggressiveness in males before buying them?

I talked to the breeder after the attack and she was quite shocked. My current working theory is that I simply have bad luck and have ended up with an overly aggressive male but I am eager to get any advice that I can.

[lovezebs]

Paddington

Although I have no experience with Quail, I have heard from other people that males can be quite aggressive with other Quail, and with other birds as well. This is something to take into consideration before adding them to your collection.

If your boy is aggressive at such a young age, I would imagine he would get more so rather than less as he matures and becomes more territorial and protective of his harem.

[Babs _Owner]

Paddington

I have read a few on the forum having problems with quail in their aviary killing adult finches and especially the fledglings.

[Flight Feathers]

Hi there, I have never Come across this problem before. My male quail does not even mind the finches sitting in his nest and picking their way between the eggs. I have kept him in a cage with one of my finches and they'd sit on the ground together. I have had the odd bird try to attack my quails but never had my quails attack another bird. Would getting another Chinese quail female or two help your situation? I have heard males can get a little aggressive towards one female.

[debbie276]

I also have heard many times over the years the quail can be an issue mixed with finch. I personally would not take a chance mixing the two species.

[wildbird]

I would get rid of the quail.