Texas A&M Coturnix Quail question

I have heard that the Texas A&M quail are a mix between Bobwhite and Coturnix quail. Does anyone know if this is a fact or just an assumption? I just saw a post on Ebay for eggs and the seller says that they are a mix between the two species. I seems that there might be some truth to this since the meat is white; unlike the other coturnix breeds.

If this is a fact, would the laws that govern quail possession apply to these quail just like they do with Bobwhites?

I have about 20 birds that are beautiful and healthy. Some have not quit laying eggs since last Spring even though the temps are low and the days are short. They are certainly easy to care for and disease resistant.

Quote:
Nope they are not a cross (hybrid)they are a pure coturnix selectively bred by the Uni. of texas....if you selectively breed coturnix and are really careful you can get an awesome new thing just like they did.

A & Ms are not a true white coturnix either

Theres teh English white coturnix....which if i remember correctly IS a true white. English white coturnix are smaller than the A & Ms. English whites were used to put teh white meat gene into the A & Ms. In the begining stages of development A & M quails were just large jumbo brown coturnix....they infused them with white from teh English white coturnix, to make the meat more disireable.

also...bobwhite meat is dark meat i do believe.... edited here to add- i just found that bobwhite breast meat is white...however nope they still werent crossed to make this color


edited to add again, that Coturnix colors are not "breeds" people get confused by this and think that different colors are different birds....nope, just different colors. Just like you have black labradors, yellow labradors, chocolate labradors same thing with tuxedo coturnix, white coturnix, tibetan coturnix, golden coturnix and brown coturnix.

I talked with the head of the Texas A&M poulty wing last summer on the phone. He heard about my quail and called me up. He was explaining to me how to breed big birds and what qualitys to focuss on. He also said they no longer breed quail at the college..if I remember correctly. But yes the birds were developed there and they are pure coturnix.

Quote:
THANK YOU SAM!!! It's nice to hear from someone who talked directly with them! Now I have even more proof to what I had to gather up online by myself (which was a pain to find) LOL!

Texas A&M's

Fifteen years ago Experiment Station researchers and Extension poultry science specialists sought to improve the quail industry by genetically enhancing the blood lines of selected heavier meat birds. The resulting Texas A&M Gourmet Quail were developed by Extension specialists, including Fred Thornberry, who received several eggs from a Japanese quail producer.

For 2 years and six generations, Thornberry’s birds were crossbred with each other to eliminate carcass abnormalities and make them more uniform in size. These quail were genetically selected for large body size, conformation and increased meat yield at 6 to 7 weeks of age. With the goal of enhancing the quail for the gourmet industry, Thornberry was able to improve the birds’ breast musculature while maintaining their optimum egg production.

More recently, Extension specialist Lee Cartwright crossed the recessive white gene into the improved line to yield a large-bodied Japanese quail without the unappealing pigmentation in the skin and internal membranes.

There has never been a documented case of a hybrid coturnix x bobwhite and its highly unlikely there ever will be as 'new world' quail are closer related to partridge than they are to Coturnix.

Suz

I got news for you Suz658, a cross between a Bobwhite and Coturnix does exist, in fact, Stromberg's sells them commercially.

http://www.strombergschickens.com/stock/button_quail.php

Quote:
Strombergs buys them from a breeder who SAYS they breed them together. I emailed strombergs myself and asked and they said they'd give my email to the breeder. Never got a reply.

Quote:
Strombergs buys them from a breeder who SAYS they breed them together. I emailed strombergs myself and asked and they said they'd give my email to the breeder. Never got a reply.

Are you saying they don't?

Brad

Quote:
Not sure if that is what Niki is trying to imply but that is what I would say. I have never seen anyone with these birds or seen pictures. Also I'm sure somewhere in the history of gamebirds someone got a bobwhite and coturnix to breed but I feel those types of flukes occur everywhere in life. Animals crossbreed even though you would never picture it. Like a Donkey and a Horse making a Mule. And I would not argue with Suz about what bobwhite and coturnix can or cant do. She is a top notch breeder of both species and knows what she is saying.


thank you sam... my thoughts exactly

I'd put it into the fluke of mules breeding, all mules are sterile, however in history SOME mules have been fertile. So its kinda like that rule of thinking IMO.