I would be worried that being tamed up now that she wouldn't know what to do with herself in the wild. Keep her and get her a buddy. On a side note, I would check with your state game agency to make sure you won't get fined for keeping a wild caught animal without the proper license.
As far as the foam concept goes, don't trust it. If a roo has bred a hen that hen can expel foam for a couple days after. The hen can stay inseminated for up to a week after being mounted. Vent sexing is a better bet.
There are two almost certain traits about coturnix:
If it crows: roo
If it...
OK, the first one is most likely a hen. #2 looks more like a roo. #3 is a roo. #4 looks like a roo but would need a better picture. The booboo on his head could very well be flushing injury or he got whooped proper. If you have them outside and it is that cold the primary thing missing is light...
I have two hens that lay 20-22g eggs just about every other day. If you crack that open I would almost bet ya a Mearns quail that its a double yolk. I have tried to incubate 9 so far and never had one hatch. My own personal opinion is the yolks come down too close together and the shell...
If they are bobwhites, you have awhile till they start doing anything interesting. They can be little spazoids most of the time. They will mature around 16 weeks. If they are coturnix, they get fun very young. My cots start crowing between 3 and 4 weeks old, and usually start laying eggs at 6-8...
I found your first mistake...."Feed store guy". They usually know slightly more than a Wal-Mart door welcomer. Your best bet would be to take a picture and post it. JJ is one of the best sources for info on here.
I have only had about 300 total quail, and I hatched all but 12 of them. Out of those only one hen was broody, so ya, it is rare. If you want to feed the addiction buy or build an incubator and hatch ya some.
I developed this method for sexing coturnix for people who don't want to go around lookin at bird butts. Get you a can of mealworms, toss em in the pen. The roos will pick up a worm and start chattering, kind of a low giggle. The hens will run over and take it from him, at which time he usually...
Strange about the odd looking thing near the vent. I found this on one of my hens before I came into work tonight.... One other thing I noticed.... Someone had just taken a MASSIVE dump in the sand box. I didn't know if maybe that was normal after passing a large egg.
Or maybe it was the poo...
Imagine all the little quail in the pen dancing to Macho Man by The Villiage People.....Once quail running around dressed like a sailor....O the possibilities are endless... Thanks for the replies
I have seen it on here somewhere, but I am search engine stupid. I had heard that a string of Christmas lights on for 14 hours a day will keep them laying. I plan on giving them heat lamps, just wondering how to best go about keeping them in light. Thanks for any info. Steve
Haven't even eaten quail one yet, but I can tell you this; hands down the best egg I have ever had. I am just now starting to hatch them so we will see how the eating thing goes.
I think I know the answer but figured I would ask. I have a hen laying double yolks and I have yet pinpointed the culprit. I have narrowed it down to one cage though. The question: Is it a bad idea to try and hatch these eggs? I have never heard of any kind of bird twins, and figured there...