Alpine making song up?

[Alpine Bobwhite]

My male Normal Bobwhite actually NEVER does the bobwhite call!

I was wondering if he has made his own up, or copied and changed the female's call? Can they so this?
They are meant to sound like: "Bob-WHITE" but Alpine does it more like "wow-WIT"??

Also do Bobwhites need breeding specifications? If so please share them and the layout of your place
Alpine's mate is a Mexican Speckled, and I was wondering if this will generate a different mutation??

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

And if you can suggest anyone who might know??? @007Sean

 

[007Sean]

It's not uncommon for them to have a "different" sounding call. Mine sometimes make a sound like 'what whippa will',

Lots of ground cover, brush, native plants in the aviary will help with the quail becoming broody....but they may or may not try to raise a brood. If this is what your trying to do, then it's best to have 1 or 2 pairs only in a fairly large aviary.

A cross between a Northern Bobwhite and a Mexican Speckled will give you approximately 50/50 Bobwhite phenotype and Mexican Speckled phenotype.
Mexican Speckled are a color variation of the Northern Bobwhite.
HTH

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

It's not uncommon for them to have a "different" sounding call. Mine sometimes make a sound like 'what whippa will',

Lots of ground cover, brush, native plants in the aviary will help with the quail becoming broody....but they may or may not try to raise a brood. If this is what your trying to do, then it's best to have 1 or 2 pairs only in a fairly large aviary.

A cross between a Northern Bobwhite and a Mexican Speckled will give you approximately 50/50 Bobwhite phenotype and Mexican Speckled phenotype.
Mexican Speckled are a color variation of the Northern Bobwhite.
HTH

Thanks very much!

He also might not even know the real bobwhite song, I've played it to him before and he does nothing. He was rescued along with the other quails from a shipping container so he might have never heard the song.

I'm in England, so the native plants won't be very native!
Usually, if we put greenery in the rabbits eat it Do you think they'd like evergreen branches?? The bobwhites I mean.

Do you know where they will nest and what they will nest in?
If they do have chicks I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll look like!
They have a few places that they can nest, a cardboard box, I'm just worrying that it'll get damp and collapse!! They also have some willow nests that I and my mum wove. They have been in my mum's one but not in mine which has a smaller entrance hole.

 

[007Sean]

Thanks very much!

He also might not even know the real bobwhite song, I've played it to him before and he does nothing. He was rescued along with the other quails from a shipping container so he might have never heard the song.

I'm in England, so the native plants won't be very native!
Usually, if we put greenery in the rabbits eat it Do you think they'd like evergreen branches?? The bobwhites I mean.

Do you know where they will nest and what they will nest in?
If they do have chicks I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll look like!
They have a few places that they can nest, a cardboard box, I'm just worrying that it'll get damp and collapse!! They also have some willow nests that I and my mum wove. They have been in my mum's one but not in mine which has a smaller entrance hole.

Here's a link to a thread I did a few years ago. You might get some ideas from this thread on how you may improve you're 'odds' at getting the birds to nest and raise a brood.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/awesome-surprise.1422275/

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

Here's a link to a thread I did a few years ago. You might get some ideas from this thread on how you may improve you're 'odds' at getting the birds to nest and raise a brood.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/awesome-surprise.1422275/

Thanks! Too bad that the chicks died They were so cute!
You have a lovely enclosure for them, that's always what I'd like to do, make it natural, and observe their behaviour. I like things to look wild, that's why I rather not having sawdust everywhere!

Do they need a box to nest, or will they do it anywhere under plants and stuff?

Looks like we might need some ground cover! We have a small red box thing that one side is kind of dipping in, so when upside down there is a hole. I put it in a dip in the ground, and the female Mexican Speckled was seen coming OUT of it! Trying to find plants in the garden that can be pulled up, or are dead but would be good.

We get about one Bobwhite egg per week, I'm wondering if they are fertile because we have two that we haven't boiled at the moment. I'd kind of like to get an incubator and hatch them possibly doing the BYC hatch-a-long!

 

[007Sean]

None of my birds use nest boxes, I tried it but had 'no takers'! They lay eggs where ever and when ever....sometimes they may lay repeatedly in the same spot.

You can crack one or both of them open and see if they are fertile, if they are you will see what everbody calls a 'bullseye'. You see this and it's fertile. Other than doing that, you'll have to wait 5 to 7 days after you began incubating to candle the eggs and look for veins or what some people term 'a spider'....here's a few pics of what to look for:

HTH
ETA- if you see just a white dot it's not fertile, this is called a blasto disc.
If you see the bullseye, it's fertile and it's called a blasto derm.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

None of my birds use nest boxes, I tried it but had 'no takers'! They lay eggs where ever and when ever....sometimes they may lay repeatedly in the same spot.

You can crack one or both of them open and see if they are fertile, if they are you will see what everbody calls a 'bullseye'. You see this and it's fertile. Other than doing that, you'll have to wait 5 to 7 days after you began incubating to candle the eggs and look for veins or what some people term 'a spider'....here's a few pics of what to look for:
View attachment 3403661View attachment 3403662View attachment 3403663View attachment 3403664
HTH

Okay, thanks!

We get about one bobwhite egg per week, no more and that's only one so its probably only one laying. Do they only lay if they have a mate? The one we get per week is usually under the rabbits hutch.
I covered the willow dens with straw and now they like climbing on them!

 

[007Sean]

Okay, thanks!

We get about one bobwhite egg per week, no more and that's only one so its probably only one laying. Do they only lay if they have a mate? The one we get per week is usually under the rabbits hutch.
I covered the willow dens with straw and now they like climbing on them!

No, they don't need a mate to lay, only if you want fertile eggs, then a mate is needed.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

No, they don't need a mate to lay, only if you want fertile eggs, then a mate is needed.

Here's some pictures of Nutmeg, the Mex Speckled, Alpine and the two willow huts.