Another newbie question about Cots

[mrwoodboat]

SO my cots are laying- non stop! I read about how old they are before they begin and it was spot on- thanks!!! Next question- how many eggs a day will a hen lay? I am thinking it is like chickens and 1 in a 22-25 hr period. IF this is correct, I have a lot to learn about sexing the birds cuz I thought I had 2 roos and 8 hens but yesterday, we collected 9 eggs...

 

[karlwakim]

Some hens can lay more than one a day. If you have 9 eggs a day that doesn't mean you have 9 hens.

 

[cotekim]

Mine lay about an egg a day. Sometimes every other day. It is rare to have 2 a day, but I have heard of it happening. Their little bodies take about 21 hours to make an egg. I keep mine in deep bedding so sometimes an egg will get buried in the pine shavings and I'll miss it. The next day I have more eggs than birds!

As far as sexing goes, the girls have black spots on their chests. The boys do not. The boys also get rust colored faces. I think it looks like Fred Flintstone's 5 o'clock shadow. Here's some example pics:

2 Girls
Boy
Boy
Girl

The boys will also crow starting at about 6 weeks. It sounds like this sort of Donald Duck sneeze sound. Only the boys will do it. The boys will also have foam come out of their vent if you squeeze it. The girls will only have foam come out if a boy just mated with them.

Congrats on your new eggs!

 

[mrwoodboat]

That helps so much, thank you!!! We are averaging 6-7 eggs a day. I am pretty sure out of my 10 cots in the one pen, I have 2 males- so far no issues between them but I imagine it is only a matter of time- I am building a 8' x 2' pen that will be divided into 2 pens to move the 10 into as I have another batch that is ready to move into the 2 x 4 pen instead of the brooder..

Another question- I have the some of the darker colored and some of the lighter colored cots- the males I have are the darker colored- do I need to try and find a lighter colored male? Or does it matter? I have eggs I am setting this Thursday from them so just wanted to verify it is acceptable...

 

[cotekim]

Yay for little eggs! It's fun, huh!? It's fine to have 2 roosters as long as the ratio of girls to boys is at least 3:1. Right now you're at 4:1 so you should be fine with them all in the cage together. Just keep an eye on them. If they start fighting each other, then you will have to separate them or cull one of them. As far as the colors go, Coturnix quail are equal opportunity maters. Just like humans, they come in different colors, but inter-hue mating is perfectly acceptable