Button Quail Butt Pecking

[Rii]

I have a problem with my adult button quail and I don’t know what’s causing it or the best way to fix it!
I’ve got 3 adult button quail together, 1 male and 2 females. The dynamic seems very peaceful, my male is paired with one of the females (cheryl) and mates with her and basically ignores the other female. They all sleep in a group together and have dust baths together happily. There’s no chasing or aggressive behaviour between any of the 3.
However, in the last week the male has been pecking Cheryl on the butt! To the point where she now has a bare butt (by butt I mean lower back/tail, not vent). There’s no blood at all, but she’s missing a good chunk of feathers. I can post a pic if needed.
I’ve watched him in the act and it doesn’t seem to be a mating thing, they’ll be standing next to each other and out of no where he’ll give her a little peck, she does a little hop in shock and then they resume hanging out like nothing happened, there’s no running, chasing or visible signs of distress. He mostly pecks Cheryl, his girlfriend, I have seen him occasionally peck the other female in the same spot, but a lot less and she’s not missing any feathers.
What could be causing this behaviour? Is there anything I can do to fix it?
I do have a bunch of 1 week old chicks in brooder so I can swap out this male with another if I need to, I’d prefer to try and fix the problem because other than the pecking they seem like a good pair.
Has anyone else experienced this and have any recommendations?

 

[Nabiki]

Are they getting enough protein in their diet?
How much space do they have?
Do they have enough hiding places?

 

[Rii]

Are they getting enough protein in their diet?
How much space do they have?
Do they have enough hiding places?

I believe so, they’re on gamebird crumbles which are 24% protein & some finch seed mix. Females get calcium grit as well.
Enclosure is 5.4ft x 2ft. They’ve got an enclosed hide area on one end and clumps of grass growing throughout the enclosure (it’s wire & outside) that provide cover & a way to get out of each others line of sight.

 

[Nabiki]

I would stop the finch seed mix, but it sounds like it's not lack of protein causing him to pick at feathers. They have plenty of space and ways to get away from each other. It sounds like he's just mildly irritated with the extra girl. It might help if you add another male for her from the chicks when they get big enough.

 

[Rii]

Will do! Is the finch seed to high in fat?? Or just not beneficial so a waste of time?
I’ll try 2 pairs as I know they often go better in pairs, I just thought it was strange as it’s his “girlfriend” that he’s pecking, not the lone female.
I might remove the male for the moment to give the girl some time to regrow some feathers before it gets colder outside.
Is there a technique you’d recommend when it comes time to introduce the new male & reintroduce the original male??
Thank you for all your help too, I really appreciate it!

 

[CliftonQuail]

The game bird crumbles with supplemental calcium should be all the nutrition they need.The first finch seed product I found shows 15% fat with only 14.5% protein. Maybe as an occasional treat, but certainly not more than 5 - 10% of their overall diet.

Regarding introduction of a new bird or reintroduction of the original male after a hiatus, it's usually recommended to remove all the birds, clean and rearrange the enclosure and then put them all back in after dark so they wake up to a "new" home and all on even footing.

Another, probably less desirable, option would be to put the males in separate cages inside the overall enclosure so they can interact with each other and the hens without actually being able to touch. Do that for a few days, then release them and watch to make sure there's no excessive aggression.

 

[Nabiki]

Will do! Is the finch seed to high in fat?? Or just not beneficial so a waste of time?
I’ll try 2 pairs as I know they often go better in pairs, I just thought it was strange as it’s his “girlfriend” that he’s pecking, not the lone female.
I might remove the male for the moment to give the girl some time to regrow some feathers before it gets colder outside.
Is there a technique you’d recommend when it comes time to introduce the new male & reintroduce the original male??
Thank you for all your help too, I really appreciate it!

The finch seed is basically junk food for them, and while okay as the occasional treat, probably shouldn't be part of their daily diet.

When you do introduce the new bird, as @CliftonQuail said, removing all of the birds, cleaning and rearranging their home and putting all of the birds in after dark will put them all on the same level rather than putting a new bird into an established group.

 

[Carterborchers]

I have a problem with my adult button quail and I don’t know what’s causing it or the best way to fix it!
I’ve got 3 adult button quail together, 1 male and 2 females. The dynamic seems very peaceful, my male is paired with one of the females (cheryl) and mates with her and basically ignores the other female. They all sleep in a group together and have dust baths together happily. There’s no chasing or aggressive behaviour between any of the 3.
However, in the last week the male has been pecking Cheryl on the butt! To the point where she now has a bare butt (by butt I mean lower back/tail, not vent). There’s no blood at all, but she’s missing a good chunk of feathers. I can post a pic if needed.
I’ve watched him in the act and it doesn’t seem to be a mating thing, they’ll be standing next to each other and out of no where he’ll give her a little peck, she does a little hop in shock and then they resume hanging out like nothing happened, there’s no running, chasing or visible signs of distress. He mostly pecks Cheryl, his girlfriend, I have seen him occasionally peck the other female in the same spot, but a lot less and she’s not missing any feathers.
What could be causing this behaviour? Is there anything I can do to fix it?
I do have a bunch of 1 week old chicks in brooder so I can swap out this male with another if I need to, I’d prefer to try and fix the problem because other than the pecking they seem like a good pair.
Has anyone else experienced this and have any recommendations?

 

[Carterborchers]

I have a problem with my adult button quail and I don’t know what’s causing it or the best way to fix it!
I’ve got 3 adult button quail together, 1 male and 2 females. The dynamic seems very peaceful, my male is paired with one of the females (cheryl) and mates with her and basically ignores the other female. They all sleep in a group together and have dust baths together happily. There’s no chasing or aggressive behaviour between any of the 3.
However, in the last week the male has been pecking Cheryl on the butt! To the point where she now has a bare butt (by butt I mean lower back/tail, not vent). There’s no blood at all, but she’s missing a good chunk of feathers. I can post a pic if needed.
I’ve watched him in the act and it doesn’t seem to be a mating thing, they’ll be standing next to each other and out of no where he’ll give her a little peck, she does a little hop in shock and then they resume hanging out like nothing happened, there’s no running, chasing or visible signs of distress. He mostly pecks Cheryl, his girlfriend, I have seen him occasionally peck the other female in the same spot, but a lot less and she’s not missing any feathers.
What could be causing this behaviour? Is there anything I can do to fix it?
I do have a bunch of 1 week old chicks in brooder so I can swap out this male with another if I need to, I’d prefer to try and fix the problem because other than the pecking they seem like a good pair.
Has anyone else experienced this and have any recommendations?

I’ve experienced this, but with toe pecking. I have a mated pair (Leo and Speckles). Things were fine for MONTHS, they were a happy, cuddly couple. Then Leo just started pecking at her toes out of nowhere. He isn’t mistaking them for mealworms. He ducks his head down, and will stalk her feet. Speckles is terrified of it, and rightfully so. It got so bad that two toes self-amputated, and she was in a lot of pain. I tried taking her to the vet to save them, but the antibiotics didn’t work. I separated them, but neither will accept another mate. They just call back and forth to each other all day long. I will allow nighttime visits on occasion because they seem to miss each other and are sleepy so just cuddle up (after mating), but when I forget to remove Leo in the morning, I usually find speckles hiding in a bush or up on a box to stay away from him.

 

[Rii]

Thankyou @Nabiki & @CliftonQuail for the info & advice! Hopefully I’ve got at least 1 male in the brooder and when he’s of age I’ll introduce the males after cleaning and rearranging & hopefully that helps the dynamic and stops the feather pecking! Fingers crossed