A lonely extra male - questions about how to proceed.

[Crowdango]

First, a bit of background info:
I'm new to keeping quail. We got seven 4-ish week old chicks to start, figuring we'd probably have a couple of extra males to deal with. I intended to cull them--I cannot cull them. They quickly became pets. The first extra male we found a home with a relative, who got him some ladies of his own and will live a nice happy life. One quail died of unknown causes, no injuries.

Thought we had it all figured out from there, with one male and the remaining 4 hens... but no. One who kept getting beaten up turned out to be male as well, so we separated him and cared for his injuries - he got completely scalped, to the point where I had to cut the flap of skin off his head because it was just... hanging there. He's doing fine now, in his own little pen on the ground next to the main pen. Won't crow as long as he can see the others.

And here are my actual questions:
I've been trying to find some hens to introduce him to, but I haven't turned up any results. I'm considering buying some hatching eggs, because I'd like to try that at least once (and propagation is not actually in our plans until this batch is old and due to be replaced).

• Would my lonely male (Burger, as I call him) be alright living in relative isolation until the chicks are old enough to join him? Or is he likely to be damaged from lack of social interaction? Is it kinder to cull him than to keep him separated?
• Can I even introduce younger chicks to him without inciting a quail war? I would wait until they were 4-5 weeks old, and plan on introducing them to the bottom 'apartment' of my two-floor rabbit hutch style cage all together, so it's a new area for all of them.
• My hope is to end up with 4-5 females from the clutch... I'm assuming it's approx a 50/50 hatch ratio, typically? So I'm thinking maybe of ordering a dozen eggs? I know I'll need to get rid of some males, but it somehow seems like it would be easier to do so with ones I'm less attached to. Again, I just can't cull them. I wish I could. I don't know where to take them or how to find someone who'd be able to process them, either.

Thanks in advance for all your help - I've been referencing this forum a lot since I got these guys!

 

[muddy75]

First, a bit of background info:
I'm new to keeping quail. We got seven 4-ish week old chicks to start, figuring we'd probably have a couple of extra males to deal with. I intended to cull them--I cannot cull them. They quickly became pets. The first extra male we found a home with a relative, who got him some ladies of his own and will live a nice happy life. One quail died of unknown causes, no injuries.

Thought we had it all figured out from there, with one male and the remaining 4 hens... but no. One who kept getting beaten up turned out to be male as well, so we separated him and cared for his injuries - he got completely scalped, to the point where I had to cut the flap of skin off his head because it was just... hanging there. He's doing fine now, in his own little pen on the ground next to the main pen. Won't crow as long as he can see the others.

And here are my actual questions:
I've been trying to find some hens to introduce him to, but I haven't turned up any results. I'm considering buying some hatching eggs, because I'd like to try that at least once (and propagation is not actually in our plans until this batch is old and due to be replaced).

• Would my lonely male (Burger, as I call him) be alright living in relative isolation until the chicks are old enough to join him? Or is he likely to be damaged from lack of social interaction? Is it kinder to cull him than to keep him separated?
• Can I even introduce younger chicks to him without inciting a quail war? I would wait until they were 4-5 weeks old, and plan on introducing them to the bottom 'apartment' of my two-floor rabbit hutch style cage all together, so it's a new area for all of them.
• My hope is to end up with 4-5 females from the clutch... I'm assuming it's approx a 50/50 hatch ratio, typically? So I'm thinking maybe of ordering a dozen eggs? I know I'll need to get rid of some males, but it somehow seems like it would be easier to do so with ones I'm less attached to. Again, I just can't cull them. I wish I could. I don't know where to take them or how to find someone who'd be able to process them, either.

Thanks in advance for all your help - I've been referencing this forum a lot since I got these guys!

I didn’t see where your location is, but I’m assuming US. If you are having trouble culling extra males and/or rehoming…..I would recommend either ordering hens for your extra male from myshire farm or trying to find some locally (Craigslist, pet stores, sometimes here) vs hatching and having more males to deal with.

 

[Crowdango]

Sorry, yeah - I'm in NH, USA.

After talking it out with my partner, I think what we've decided is that if I can get up the stomach to process this male, we'll hatch some eggs. If it's too upsetting or I just can't do it, then we will not.

The idea of having a meal I grew completely at home is really appealing, and I'm not actually a squeamish person - it's just the idea of killing an animal, even for utility, just makes me all softhearted. :'|

 

[vall]

Burger will likely mate anything that moves no matter how old it is. I would not introduce females until they're nearly mature.

Shipped eggs are expected to have a 50% hatch rate, so you'd want to order extra if you go that route.

The first one you cull is difficult. After that, it gets easier.

 

[muddy75]

Sorry, yeah - I'm in NH, USA.

After talking it out with my partner, I think what we've decided is that if I can get up the stomach to process this male, we'll hatch some eggs. If it's too upsetting or I just can't do it, then we will not.

The idea of having a meal I grew completely at home is really appealing, and I'm not actually a squeamish person - it's just the idea of killing an animal, even for utility, just makes me all softhearted. :'|

You are not alone….processing can be difficult! But quail are actually a good place to start a self-sustaining lifestyle as they are one of the easiest to dispatch humanely and egg to table very quickly. @Nabiki has a very good processing article on byc.

 

[Crowdango]

Well, I did it. Burger is now in the freezer and will make a lovely snack someday soon. It wasn't nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be (thanks to that guide!), but if/when I need to do it again, I will... certainly remember not to let the body go once the head is off, haha... very messy. I also definitely need sharper shears - it took two cuts and it makes me really, really sad to know that it wasn't as quick as it should have been.

 

[muddy75]

Well, I did it. Burger is now in the freezer and will make a lovely snack someday soon. It wasn't nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be (thanks to that guide!), but if/when I need to do it again, I will... certainly remember not to let the body go once the head is off, haha... very messy. I also definitely need sharper shears - it took two cuts and it makes me really, really sad to know that it wasn't as quick as it should have been.

Congratulations on taking care of bizness!!!! @Nabiki @Kiki or @RoosterML may have some suggestions on good shears. For processing, we like the outdoor edge game processing kit. It has a great set of shears and several knives. But for quail dispatch, we use the twist and pull method.

 

[Kiki]

Congratulations on taking care of bizness!!!! @Nabiki @Kiki or @RoosterML may have some suggestions on good shears. For processing, we like the outdoor edge game processing kit. It has a great set of shears and several knives. But for quail dispatch, we use the twist and pull method.

 

[RoosterML]

Here are the two I use they both work well

 

[Cazook]

I also definitely need sharper shears - it took two cuts and it makes me really, really sad to know that it wasn't as quick as it should have been.

As long as you went through the bone on the first cut the spinal cord would have been severed. I've found sometimes it needs 2 cuts to go through the skin at the other side, but by then the quail is already gone.