Aussie Finch Forum

Just had babies hatch, would there be a problem If I were to separate the cock from the hen and the chicks, I have a suspicion that he may be the culprit who kid the last clutch. I was going to move the hen and the chicks in with my spare hen??

From back in the day when I had quail if you are sure it's the male doing the deed then I would indeed move him.
But I always found my best breeding results were when the male helped out with raising the chicks..........not all males are good at that but get a good one and you'll rear dozens more than with just the hen alone.

Guess "mass production" is to blame for a lot of it but be sure your male IS the culprit before removing him as 2 parens are far better than 1 in the case of quail!!

Often very old males are great for this as they appear to develop female traits and are brillaint at rearing chicks and will follow hens around and "steal" their chicks and raise the lot.

There will be no problems removing the cock, especially if you think he is a killer.
I have had some killer males, and also some really sweet ones that would help out mum and look after babies.

I wouldn't put the hen and chicks in with the other quail hen (or any other quails). I've found the chicks are not the smartest creatures - they'll follow any quail that's near them and then can get separated from mum, with potential for disaster. I agree with Jayburd - remove the cock.

Thanks for the tips so far he looks like he is helping more then anything else. Had two sick looking chicks die today, one never moved from the nest. Is there anything specific I should look to feed the chicks or with cock and hen look after them??

We used to put a coffee lid full of crushed guinea pig or chook pellets on the ground near the parents - ground up to a near powder they luv it. Also turkey starter pellets if anti-biotic free. Crumbled plain or madeira cake...........crushed milk arrowroot bikkies...all are appreciated..........just make sure they always stay dry.
If you have it live food in the form of maggots, mealies...........or even some home found stuff like spiders and other bugs!!!

Good luck with them.