Boys: Gone or Drained?

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Here is a weird one...

I went out to my main coop to sex my birds today, as I've noticed a few of them looking kind of ragged.

I had around 30 birds in about 64 square feet. they are varying ages. I get 7-8 eggs per day from the mature girls and I THOUGHT I had at least 2 mature males in there.

So...when sexing them, I found several with a lot of broken feathers. To the point that one had a bloody spot on it's wing.

But...I found no boys. Mayyyybe a little foam from 1 or 2, but not what Im used to seeing.

Now, it's been raining like crazy here, and I'm just getting my birds back in order. The cat killed a couple in that coop back on March 6th, but I sacrificed a couple eggs I set to hatch since then, and they are fertilized.

Another option is that there is a small hole in the space above them that leads into a shelf I use as a brooder, and I left the back door of that open for a day or two to air out. I suppose the boys could have flown up through the hole and out the back...but then why wouldnt they be wandering around outside the coop trying to get back in? The male quail I've had who escaped always came back to try and get back in with the girls. I suppose the cat could have gotten them once they got out, but that's a lot of steps. They would have had to fly up, then accidentally get through a narrow opening. Then onto a shelf, and instead of flying back down to the females, out the back...and then get eaten by a cat.

Not impossible. But a little improbable.

So, that leaves me with the suggestion put forth by my kid's boyfriend: maybe they were just out of foam?

Is that something that can happen, when males have plenty of girls? Is it possible some were boys, but out of foam??

(I really should have used zip ties in their ankles.)

Honestly, I haven't heard any crowing in a while.

I'm just so annoyed because I had a whole set of younger ones that were almost mature and just got killed by my cat. (long story.) So if I need new roosters, I'm going to have to wait a while for them to mature. How frustrating!!

What do you guys think? Should I assume they flew the coop? Or is it possible they were just "out" of foam? (It was about 6 pm, and most of my girls lay their eggs between 4 and 5 pm. if that makes a difference.)

Thanks.

I'm feeling very dumb right now.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Thirty birds and just 7-8 eggs? I'm going to guess that they either aren't mature enough or there isn't enough light for hanky-panky. You probably have more males than you think.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Thirty birds and just 7-8 eggs? I'm going to guess that they either aren't mature enough or there isn't enough light for hanky-panky. You probably have more males than you think.

Yeah, most of them aren't mature yet. Though yesterday I got 10 eggs, so a fair number are.

One issue is that the rain really took its toll. I think it out strain on the flock, and maybe that's why the mature boys (if they exist), aren't as foamy as usual.

During the worst of the rains, it was very dark in the coop, in part because I was covering it to keep it dry. Went from getting 10 eggs a day down to 5-6. It's sunny again now, but...I feel there is a delay between better light and fertility.

 

[Quailobsessed]

There's probably more males in there. Some won't start producing foam until they are more mature.