Quail suddenly became human aggressive then calmed?

[Roomi the quail]

*It's a LONG thread*

So I hatched my coturnix quail hen Roomi in March. She was a lone chick and extra dependent on me, following me around everywhere&crying for mama when she couldn't see me, etc. Since meeting with her own kinds was very traumatic to her(my fault because they weren't properly introduced) she seemed to be satisfied with human presence only. Or so it seemed.

Normally I would let her roam about my room freely several times a day but I had an important test coming up a week ago so somewhat neglected that task because I stayed at school late at night, coming home only to sleep and to go out again.

Just the day before the test I came home and turned on the light of my room, and she wasn't doing her usual things like dozing, pecking at food, running along the cage wall, or grooming her feathers. She let out a series of war cries that I've never heard before and tried to charge at me through the cage bars. When I let her out she repeatedly jumped to attack my hands or eyes, at one point she bit the back of my hand so spitefully that she was hanging in the air for some seconds.

I figured it was stress of confinement. I blamed myself and spent extra bonding, free-ranging-in-my-room-and-getting-treats hours everyday after that to no avail. Then yesterday she had a big accident. She suddenly took flight straight up, banged her head hard on the ceiling, and banged her body once more on the desk when she fell down. After the accident she laid a shell-cracked, non-printed white egg and there was little blood on her poop right afterwards. I held her till she got out of shock and made her eat some bird tonic. She called for me a lot too, so I sat next to her cage and responded every time that happened.

Today I was relieved to discover that she is OK and she laid her egg fine this morning, but what surprised me is that she just went back to my docile pet like nothing aggressive has happened. She would jump on my lap and sleep in my hands as usual, which is so relieving but I'm curious. Has anyone ever experienced this kind of Jekyll&Hyde behaviour? Is it really possible that she understood my caretaking after she was injured and 'forgave' me? I hear tales of roosters gone mad with the wind but never the quails, and not the way around...

 

[RosieR]

Oh how strange! Quail are flock members and if you are her only flock them I can maybe understand why she was acting strangely while confined.
Perhaps the extra bonding while she was injured repaired your relationship?
My dog won’t “talk” to me after I leave him in someone else’s care for a few days, maybe she was feeling a similar resentment? Quails can be very aggressive to one another so that’s how she chose to express herself?
Just thoughts, I have no idea lol

 

[Erkenstein]

She's probably just fully mature now and instincts and hormones are taking over. Some birds that I raise from the egg get territorial and growl at me a bit; others suddenly start attacking their nest-mates. I don't think they have the brain to hold a grudge since I'm just Food Guy.

 

[cosmosue]

Food guy ^ lol

Well maybe they are smarter than we think and maybe she was upset with you since you are her “mate” or only friend.

I’ll tell you what, the last time I had my Amazon’s beak trimmed and groomed he refused to even LOOK at me for DAYS!!! Would not talk to me, would not look at me, ignored all my advances at friendship...

Now he has entered into total hormone phase so all bets are off until THAT is over. They don’t call them the “hot 3” for nothing and I have 2! The Blue Front and the DYH lol. My once best friend HATES everyone - growls, curses more than ever, tries to attack through the bars at which the blue front will get between him and the bars as if to say “back off the mommy” as the blue front hasn’t completely entered “puberty”...

I love them I do... but my goodness they can really turn into totally different animals while they have their hormonal phase.

Maybe your little friend is having some hormones too like the other posted suggested

I noticed today that all of my “tamed” quail that I moved outside just not even a week ago, hate me. Run from me. So sad I had them so docile, but I knew they couldn’t stay inside and needed to live outside to “grow out” so I gave them up to “be wild” and when my California valley hatch I’m going to work on bonding with them more, as they are more for pets and won’t be food.

But it is definitely possible to make friends with quail, my kids are great at it, I dunno they just love to handle them and play with them (of course I have to make sure they are gentle) but the quail end up being very docile after a while...

I told my sister if she wanted any I would separate them now and let my kids play with them every day to tame them down LOL!

I’m sorry I’m going WAY off topic here.

Strange behavior but if she’s loving you again I’m glad

 

[Roomi the quail]

Oh how strange! Quail are flock members and if you are her only flock them I can maybe understand why she was acting strangely while confined.
Perhaps the extra bonding while she was injured repaired your relationship?
My dog won’t “talk” to me after I leave him in someone else’s care for a few days, maybe she was feeling a similar resentment? Quails can be very aggressive to one another so that’s how she chose to express herself?
Just thoughts, I have no idea lol

Thx everyone who replied! Well quails really are strange animals. My friend told me that she trimmed her 4 yr old quail rooster's overgrown toenails like 3 and a half years ago, and that one still refuses to let her step near him even now - which made me feel grateful for my Roomi's quick forgiveness/forgetfulness. Just like your dog, apparently

 

[Roomi the quail]

She's probably just fully mature now and instincts and hormones are taking over. Some birds that I raise from the egg get territorial and growl at me a bit; others suddenly start attacking their nest-mates. I don't think they have the brain to hold a grudge since I'm just Food Guy.

Do hope she would grow into a calm, proudly mature quail, because she is getting more childish and dependent it seems. She's making tiny murmuring chirps she used to make when she was a chick, wanting me right there in front of her cage whenever lightening flashes and thunder rolls. On second thoughts I suspect this heavy rainstorm has been the reason of her recent flighty, wild, aggressive behaviour. She lives inside my room but somehow feels the typhoon having its toll or something? I agree with your last sentence though.

 

[Roomi the quail]

Food guy ^ lol

Well maybe they are smarter than we think and maybe she was upset with you since you are her “mate” or only friend.

I’ll tell you what, the last time I had my Amazon’s beak trimmed and groomed he refused to even LOOK at me for DAYS!!! Would not talk to me, would not look at me, ignored all my advances at friendship...

Now he has entered into total hormone phase so all bets are off until THAT is over. They don’t call them the “hot 3” for nothing and I have 2! The Blue Front and the DYH lol. My once best friend HATES everyone - growls, curses more than ever, tries to attack through the bars at which the blue front will get between him and the bars as if to say “back off the mommy” as the blue front hasn’t completely entered “puberty”...

I love them I do... but my goodness they can really turn into totally different animals while they have their hormonal phase.

Maybe your little friend is having some hormones too like the other posted suggested

I noticed today that all of my “tamed” quail that I moved outside just not even a week ago, hate me. Run from me. So sad I had them so docile, but I knew they couldn’t stay inside and needed to live outside to “grow out” so I gave them up to “be wild” and when my California valley hatch I’m going to work on bonding with them more, as they are more for pets and won’t be food.

But it is definitely possible to make friends with quail, my kids are great at it, I dunno they just love to handle them and play with them (of course I have to make sure they are gentle) but the quail end up being very docile after a while...

I told my sister if she wanted any I would separate them now and let my kids play with them every day to tame them down LOL!

I’m sorry I’m going WAY off topic here.

Strange behavior but if she’s loving you again I’m glad

AMAZON PARROTS ARE THE DREAM OF MY LIFE. That being said, I have to make yet another confession that I chose to hatch quail because they are supposed to be 'simple' and altogether 'very easily managed, not a bit handful' pets. Guess every creature has some mysterious sides in its unique personality. Now I'm pretty positive that typhoon landing on Korean peninsula is behind all these, but hormones could be it every time. Hormone, lack of sleep, some softest sounds that tick them off, queasiness before egg laying, having a bad feather day... who knows? I'm realizing again how sophisticated those birds are compared to my guinea pigs(who are laid back all the time).

 

[cosmosue]

AMAZON PARROTS ARE THE DREAM OF MY LIFE. That being said, I have to make yet another confession that I chose to hatch quail because they are supposed to be 'simple' and altogether 'very easily managed, not a bit handful' pets. Guess every creature has some mysterious sides in its unique personality. Now I'm pretty positive that typhoon landing on Korean peninsula is behind all these, but hormones could be it every time. Hormone, lack of sleep, some softest sounds that tick them off, queasiness before egg laying, having a bad feather day... who knows? I'm realizing again how sophisticated those birds are compared to my guinea pigs(who are laid back all the time).

Amazons are quite the characters and not as needy as some other parrots, not as prone to feather plucking and don’t give a crap if I am busy during the day, they have each other, they were not raised together I carefully introduced them after a year of side by side cages they are now best friends. People say it can’t be done mixing two Amazon’s two different ages that did not get raised together but it can be done because I have done it. They are besties now. No fights. Never any fights actually once they had lived side by side for a while.

They are very funny birds. I get yelled at a lot, we have “conversations” and we sing Copacobana together.

Sorry I did not mean to hyjack the thread. I’ll just leave this here lol. There is a couple others on my channel. Crazy bird lady that I am...

 

[RosieR]

Amazons are quite the characters and not as needy as some other parrots, not as prone to feather plucking and don’t give a crap if I am busy during the day, they have each other, they were not raised together I carefully introduced them after a year of side by side cages they are now best friends. People say it can’t be done mixing two Amazon’s two different ages that did not get raised together but it can be done because I have done it. They are besties now. No fights. Never any fights actually once they had lived side by side for a while.

They are very funny birds. I get yelled at a lot, we have “conversations” and we sing Copacobana together.

Sorry I did not mean to hyjack the thread. I’ll just leave this here lol. There is a couple others on my channel. Crazy bird lady that I am...

They are adorable!

 

[cosmosue]

They are something alright... hahahahaha