A PSA about Quail Roos and Population Control

[Bluemonster107]

I am soooooo guilty for this topic!! In my head when starting out I knew I would need to cull ... fully aware and fully ready to take it on!!
And then the chics were here being all cute and personalities and all... and then I was like “ugh!!! I can’t do it”... I think I really could if I felt more confident about it... like someone near me to show me.. like walk me through it....
So for now.. I just have been giving them to friends for their large reptiles to Eat

 

[mixedUPturk]

I am soooooo guilty for this topic!! In my head when starting out I knew I would need to cull ... fully aware and fully ready to take it on!!
And then the chics were here being all cute and personalities and all... and then I was like “ugh!!! I can’t do it”... I think I really could if I felt more confident about it... like someone near me to show me.. like walk me through it....
So for now.. I just have been giving them to friends for their large reptiles to Eat

I saw your post for four males the other day, start with those! If ud like to PM me i would hold ur hand from afar

 

[CoturnixComplex]

@Bluemonster107 it happens to the best of us! I have had birds sitting on "death row" for ages Ocassionally I go to do one and then I'm like NOPE guess not that one.

I'm so glad you found a home for your boys! I'm close enough, but I also have too many males of my own.

 

[Nabiki]

We need to have a norcal butcher party in the fall

I would love to do that since I've been psyching myself up for the task, but I don't think mine will be ready to cull until closer to December.

 

[chick-n-quail mama]

I bought 3 adult quail. Asked for 2 hens and 1 roo. Accidentally got 2 roos and 1 hen. After the one roo got the poo beat out of him, we realized our problem, so he's been in solitary, but getting lots of attention, until recently when I moved my 6 weekers outside to the grow pen. About to have to cull a lot of males, but seriously. This is a given if you hatch or have a mixup like we did. I'm taking a load of the boys with me to NOLA so me and my mom can have some good eating and she can hands on teach me how to process them. It's part of responsible husbandry.

 

[BELLAPURPLEWOW]

I have noticed there has been a bit of a rush of people concerned with what to do with all their extra male quail lately, and unfortunately some people are realizing they're not able to keep them all far after getting attached to them.

If you hatch quail, you will end up with 50% males.

If you have coturnix, you MUST be willing to process ~75% of your males. There is just no other good solution. Bachelor pens don't work like they do with chickens and keeping them in solitary their whole lives is good for nobody.

For buttons, you will need to have separate cages for every M/F pair at maturity you plan to keep.

Nobody hatches chickens without thinking about how to handle the roosters. Same principle here.

If this isn't a possibility for you, hatching is probably not the right choice. Look for local adult sexed birds!

In the wild, this would be taken care of by nature. But by taking hatching into your own hands you are choosing to take on the responsibility of population control. It's good thing to think about and plan for BEFORE you hatch. It is a bummer seeing stressed birds and heartbroken owners

Hello I have a question! I thought that as long as the males are raised together you could keep them in the same enclosure with other females. I checked on mine yesterday to find a male dead. It looked like he had been attacked and I don't know why.

 

[ChristineR]

If you have coturnix, you MUST be willing to process ~75% of your males. There is just no other good solution. Bachelor pens don't work like they do with chickens and keeping them in solitary their whole lives is good for nobody.

For buttons, you will need to have separate cages for every M/F pair at maturity you plan to keep.

What about California/Valley quail (or really any quail species) in an aviary?

Or even say, 2 pairs in 100 square feet. Would that be okay?

 

[Bluemonster107]

I saw your post for four males the other day, start with those! If ud like to PM me i would hold ur hand from afar

Lol... you are too kind
Actually a friend is getting those 4 today..
But yea.. I need someone with me.. at my sink saying “okay and go” lol
I will say the more jerk-ass some are... I am finding i really could do it!! Haha

 

[mixedUPturk]

Lol... you are too kind
Actually a friend is getting those 4 today..
But yea.. I need someone with me.. at my sink saying “okay and go” lol
I will say the more jerk-ass some are... I am finding i really could do it!! Haha

Im glad you found an outlet for those and if thats working? i wouldn't fix it but i mean it if your at the sink and just need a little push cuz hes a jerk Anyway... i can totally do that. Managing your flock like this is in Everyones best intrest. If you already understand that then the next hurdle is actually taking a life. I see your question up there i like to hold them upside down but if your left handed might not work for you. I also skin them like that vid shows takes no time. I put the head between my index and middle fingers and cut right above my fingers. The first couple of times i did it i would get about halfway through and want to put the birds back together again

 

[el dorado quail]

We need to have a norcal butcher party in the fall