Goodbye Sage

I got 4 quails almost two months ago. I bought them from one of the Guerras at the school, he picked out four for me, and I brought them home. I named them Sage, Willow, Basil, and Charlie. At first, I thought Charlie was a male, but she ended up being a female. As they started maturing, I learned that Willow and Charlie were both females while Sage and Basil were males. Sexing birds can be incredibly difficult, it’s basically a guessing game until they grow up enough to show clear signs. As time passed, Sage started becoming increasingly aggressive towards Basil and the females I had to separate him and keep him in a large bin to prevent him from hurting them. But every time I did, he would cry nonstop, calling out for the others. It broke my heart so I kept giving him another chance. But each time, he’d go right back to attacking them. On Thursday night after I got home from work, I found that Sage had gone after Basil again and this time he ripped out almost all of his wing feathers. That was the moment I knew I had to make a hard decision. I needed to rehome him for the safety of the others. He was very sweet to me, but he just didn’t do well with other quails. So I tried to find someone to take him in but everyone who reached out only wanted him for meat. It wasn’t the future I wanted for him, I felt like he deserved a chance to live a full life. Eventually, I found a sanctuary in Solvang that was willing to take him. They told me he’d be able to live in an aviary with other birds. As I drove him there, I couldn’t stop crying. It felt like I had failed him somehow like I should’ve been able to make it work. Letting go of him hurt more than I expected. But when I arrived, the lady who took him reassured me that she said he was going to be okay, that he’d be safe and cared for. And even though it still hurts to me knowing I have to give him away, I know deep down that I made the right choice for all of them.