Hi all,
Recently I bought some coturnix eggs from a breeder. I placed my order online but went to pick up the eggs at her house. When we were discussing the sale, I mentioned that there are a few colors I am most interested in breeding, and asked if I could just buy those specific colors. She replied that she didn't have the specific colors separated, but made it sound like she had similar colors mixed (brown and golden, tuxedo and dark range). When I got to her house, I found that she had all the colors mixed in the same cages. Browns, white, golden, tibetan, tuxedo, all in the same cage. Obviously they were all breeding together, indiscriminate of color. My question is, can I go about separating them back into colors that will breed true by separating the offspring, or am I just stuck with "surprise" birds? How many generations would this take, if it is possible, and what would be the best way to do it? I am really just a hobby breeder, so it's not terribly important, but I really would like to focus on specific colors.
On a side note, even though a lot of the eggs had hairline cracking in them, they are developing beautifully, and are very large eggs compared to what my current birds lay. My hatch is due August 17th and we are excited to see what we get.
Thanks!
Recently I bought some coturnix eggs from a breeder. I placed my order online but went to pick up the eggs at her house. When we were discussing the sale, I mentioned that there are a few colors I am most interested in breeding, and asked if I could just buy those specific colors. She replied that she didn't have the specific colors separated, but made it sound like she had similar colors mixed (brown and golden, tuxedo and dark range). When I got to her house, I found that she had all the colors mixed in the same cages. Browns, white, golden, tibetan, tuxedo, all in the same cage. Obviously they were all breeding together, indiscriminate of color. My question is, can I go about separating them back into colors that will breed true by separating the offspring, or am I just stuck with "surprise" birds? How many generations would this take, if it is possible, and what would be the best way to do it? I am really just a hobby breeder, so it's not terribly important, but I really would like to focus on specific colors.
On a side note, even though a lot of the eggs had hairline cracking in them, they are developing beautifully, and are very large eggs compared to what my current birds lay. My hatch is due August 17th and we are excited to see what we get.
Thanks!
