I logged on looking for fighting behavior solutions between 8 week olds in a grow out cage (Still building my "Rabbit Bonker" so I'm still not ready), but found this thread.
We also raise Quail (besides chickens for eggs and Tilapia in Aquaponics systems) and had to share:
Just one week into our first home laid, home incubated Quail hatch. I "helped 2 chicks out of their shells while hatching (MANY consider this breaking a cardinal rule, following the "Let mother nature take its course... there's a reason they're not supposed to live"...) We lost four total out of 24 (not unusual and definitely not unusual consider the two pulled from eggs and the other two being runts.)
However, among our kits from our first Kindle a couple of months ago, we had a really tiny runt. Our hearts took over and we did some searching here on RT, found the "Goat milk" formula and started hand feeding the tiny guy. 8 weeks later, we can't tell the difference between the runt or the one we thought would grow to be a giant! =D
I've learned that it's all a personal choice and, especially armed with as much info as you can gather, you can't "do it wrong"... For us personally, we will continue to try and save our runts (as long as they are not suffering), do our best and recognize that in the end, Mother Nature will always have her way regardless of the outcome... We were glad we intervened with the kit and with the Quail, we'd probably do it again as a last minute attempt to help them if they haven't made it on their own at the end of the hatch period.
Good luck.
Richard & Tresa
(Found a solution to out fighting juniors... We have extra Quail Grow Out cages in the Breezeway. Modifying a feeder, hanging a water bottle and the fighting rabbit will have two more weeks until our Quail chicks need to move in... Then it's off to freezer camp. (Weird... we put our hearts and souls into these little creatures, doing the best to take care of them... and then we eat them! lol! (my dark side)