Mixing young with established quail

My bobwhites are 6 wks old and in a divided brooder box.  The other side are 6 month old quail 1 male and 4 female.  Today I took away the divider and the male pecked 2 of the females and drew blood....WHY?  None of the 6 wk old bob whites were hurt.

Welcome to permies Lisa!

Our quail are quite territorial too.  We have been calling all the over aggressive males.  If they draw blood they get eaten.  I don't know of anything to stop them.  Clipping their beak flat will help keep them from hurting others, but will not stop them from trying.

When I was young we had wild bob whites all around the farms.  We called the males in by whistling bob white.  The males always come in alone.  I often wondered if in the wild the males are solitary or not?

I feel bad that what my mind goes to is wondering if the male is looking for new mates now that there's more selection.   No reason for this but that The First Wives Club flashed through my mind when pondering.   Even I don't understand how my mind works.