10 females/2 Males per cage. Will this work?

[Nabiki]

It really depends on the birds. That's the ratio I keep in all three of my pens, but they have a fair amount of space and places to hide. I've also had to experiment a bit to find two roos that will get along. I've had to replace some.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

It really depends on the birds. That's the ratio I keep in all three of my pens, but they have a fair amount of space and places to hide. I've also had to experiment a bit to find two roos that will get along. I've had to replace some.

If I just keep 1 male and 10-11 females would that not be good for fertility?

As far as housing goes inside my cages... if I divide the group to 1 male and 5-6 females in a divided cage... will they need an "indoor" section of the cage for a house? If so, how big of an area is enough? My current cage design is a 2x6-8ft cage with a 15 inch area at one end that is enclosed... but that was going to be for 12 quail (2 males, 10 female). (Does that make sense?)
I don't want to take up all their space with a house if I have to divide the cage, but since it will be outdoors I want to give them something.

 

[Nabiki]

I use dollar store baskets or cardboard boxes with entrances cut into two sides for hiding places. You're talking about putting 10 birds into 16 square feet, which isn't awful, but isn't enough space for 2 roos. I cover half of my pens with tyvek.

 

[SpotTheCat]

If I just keep 1 male and 10-11 females would that not be good for fertility?

As far as housing goes inside my cages... if I divide the group to 1 male and 5-6 females in a divided cage... will they need an "indoor" section of the cage for a house? If so, how big of an area is enough? My current cage design is a 2x6-8ft cage with a 15 inch area at one end that is enclosed... but that was going to be for 12 quail (2 males, 10 female). (Does that make sense?)
I don't want to take up all their space with a house if I have to divide the cage, but since it will be outdoors I want to give them something.

Mine don’t have an in door section the just have a plastic box (the box is the top of a closed cat litter box) and a old washing basket leant against the wall and their run is rainproof. But I don’t know what sort of weather you get so I don’t know if you need a indoor section or not.

I have not tried 1 male to 10 females, I think it would depend on the male, if you don’t mind having a few infertile eggs then it might work.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

Mine don’t have an in door section the just have a plastic box (the box is the top of a closed cat litter box) and a old washing basket leant against the wall and their run is rainproof. But I don’t know what sort of weather you get so I don’t know if you need a indoor section or not.

I have not tried 1 male to 10 females, I think it would depend on the male, if you don’t mind having a few infertile eggs then it might work.

Thank you! Can you tell if an egg is infertile before you incubate it?

 

[SpotTheCat]

Thank you! Can you tell if an egg is infertile before you incubate it?

Not unless you crack it open

 

[HillGuy]

I have 30 hens with 6 roos all together. Aviary has plenty of places to hide, break line of sight & "nest". Birds seem happy. They spread out, and it doesn't seems like there are that many birds. This cold weather stretch that makes their water freeze has been interesting. Need to swap out the waterers a couple times a day. When you bring in the new ones to change out the frozen ones, you get a sense of how many birds are in there. They all come out at once en mass for a drink and close in quickly. Glad they're quails & not piranhas.

 

[Urbanhomestead_ut]

I have 30 hens with 6 roos all together. Aviary has plenty of places to hide, break line of sight & "nest". Birds seem happy. They spread out, and it doesn't seems like there are that many birds. This cold weather stretch that makes their water freeze has been interesting. Need to swap out the waterers a couple times a day. When you bring in the new ones to change out the frozen ones, you get a sense of how many birds are in there. They all come out at once en mass for a drink and close in quickly. Glad they're quails & not piranhas.

Lol!
Well I'm in Utah.... so frozen water will definitely be a thing for us. Have to tried the heated waterers?

 

[HillGuy]

Thought about it, but the only way to get power over there would be to use very long extension cords or run a proper electrical setup over to it. Don't want the fire hazard with the extension cord and don't want to deal with the township on an electrical permit. I suppose I could do it without a permit, but here in the People's Republic of NJ, it's not worth the risk. Taxman comes around too often looking for untaxed home improvements, and I don't want the headache. For lights, I found some good solar powered lights with timers on amazon.

My main waterers are 5 gallon buckets with poultry nipples. I have a light colored one for hot weather and a dark one for cold. I've found putting warm/hot water in the bucket makes a big difference for extending the time. During these really cold stretches I use the standard store bought waterers with warm/hot water and if there's snow, I give them some snowballs that they peck apart.

 

[MadamContrary]

I have ground pens with 17 square feet per pen, if your males are hatched and raised together they usually do fine. As everyone else said having cover it very important to avoid scuffles. It's not just the males who will fight over territory, especially during breeding season. Over the winter I had 21 males from several hatches all housed together in two connected pens with no issues, however my hens were kept in a separate yard far away from them and it wasn't breeding season.
Are you buying chicks, hatching, or buying adult birds?