Celeris wrote:
MisterGribs
The wild coloration roo is my favorite of the three! He's been named "Jeeves," since his little bib makes him look so much like a little butler. The silver, in the middle, is named Lore, and my little cinnamon tuxedo, on the far right, is Speedy (bet you'll never guess how he got that name.
) I picked up three young hens for them on Monday--I'll have to post pictures of them when I'm on my other computer. I was able to pair Jeeves with a wild female and they are just an absolutely stunning couple. The most well-adjusted, too. Lore and his girlfriend are, well, potentially in need of counselling. I think I may have a situation similar to yours on my hands there, though--I think she's not fully mature just yet. The other two are laying consistently for me, but she's not. And, as far as I can tell, she's not egg bound. So I think their spats may be her rejection of his advances.
Oh goodness, love hearing about your roo's shenanigans! Sorry that he's figured out to pluck your leg hairs, though--that can't be pleasant! My three roos have been extremely docile, with each other, their mates, and me. My husband hasn't handled them much, though, so maybe it's the testosterone thing?
Love all the pictures of your quail kids! So glad they have you two to love all over them!
Are you guys planning to try to hatch out any more, since you only got the two? I am thinking that, in the future, I will probably hatch some from my pairs.
It definitely is the testosterone, but I have some good news for you, it won't last! They're really really bad when they're going through the change, but he has calmed way down and is back to his old sweet self. I think it's just a pecking order phase, and once they've established who's boss (ME!!!
) they just accept their places and get along.
As for the rejected advances, I figured something out to help mine quite a bit that solved the problem almost completely:
1. Don't let him chase the hen. Pick her up. If he's holding on to her, grab her feathers at the point where his beak is, and pry them away. The more he tries to force her, the more she will hate him.
2. They have a natural courtship behavior that they can't always effectively carry out in captivity. The rooster will pick up a piece of food, the rarer and more delicious it is the better, and pretend to eat it while making a pt-pt-pt-pt sound to attract the hen. He will tease her with the food, playing keep-away for a little while and then let her take it. If he's trying to force her, pick her up, and offer the roo a special treat; just one, so she can't just pick up her own. When he starts too cluck, put her down.
Rinse and repeat, and eventually they will get along. he will stop chasing her as much, and even when he does, she won't run so hard.
Diglett was a late layer. We just now got some eggs, and she's laid two a day so far! She also acts broody, and turns the eggs, but doesn't sit on them. I don't really let them accumulate into a clutch.
I WOULD LOVE TO HATCH SOME BABIES but Heta is like 'Absolutely not.' She doesn't want to get overrun with birds, and she's the smart one in this instance, I guess one of us has to be reasonable. Plus, there's no guarantee we'll get a hen, and I would have to kill a perfectly lovable rooster which I don't want to do.
Our living arrangements with the birds are just perfect as of now, I'd hate to fix something that isn't broken!