Breeding Plans... Suggestions wanted!

[MageofMist]

So, I have a rare docile button quail. His morph is a regular tuxedo, but the thing that makes him rare to me is that he'll just rest in your hand completely content while with the other quail which I have raised exactly the same way as him from eggs, you have to keep hold of them or they'll fly off.

The dilemma is... I wish to breed him with the pinkish caramel/cinnamon (no idea what she is) as she is also more docile and rested on my lap after being treated for an infected toe and being offered mealworms. But at the same time, I have a silver tuxedo hen I would also love to breed him with in order to get more tuxedos... But she is super wild and literally poops all over you and sheds her feathers like mad when you handle her in hopes you'll lose grip or let her go.


Here's a pic of the pinkish caramel/cinnamon and the silver tux hen, with their current mate and another female of the male's morph who's in the harem, who's also quite wild.

This is the dilemma I am facing and am hoping for some suggestions. I would stick both hens with him when he is old enough, as he is still quite small compared to them, but that'd leave the male who's used to 3 hens having just 1 and I don't wanna put all the pressure on her. So, which of the two ladies should I put him with? Should I aim for more docile and pet-like birds with less chance of tuxedos? Or should I aim for tuxedos with less chance of more docile and friendly birds? I would like to hear your suggestions!

 

[DK newbie]

I wouldn't worry about leaving a male with 1 hen at all. I have much more success keeping them in pairs than I have in trios. I had a roo that plucked the back of his hens head while mating with her and I thought it would help if I gave him 2 more hens, so I did. One he ignored, the other was quickly just as plucked as the original hen and the original one didn't regrow any more feathers. So my conclusion is if the hen looks rough it's got more to do with the males' way of mating it than it has to do with the number of hens.
If you really only want to move one hen to the new male, my priority wold be for tame offspring. You can always get a tuxedo - a tame button is a different story entirely.

 

[MageofMist]

I wouldn't worry about leaving a male with 1 hen at all. I have much more success keeping them in pairs than I have in trios. I had a roo that plucked the back of his hens head while mating with her and I thought it would help if I gave him 2 more hens, so I did. One he ignored, the other was quickly just as plucked as the original hen and the original one didn't regrow any more feathers. So my conclusion is if the hen looks rough it's got more to do with the males' way of mating it than it has to do with the number of hens.
If you really only want to move one hen to the new male, my priority wold be for tame offspring. You can always get a tuxedo - a tame button is a different story entirely.

All three of the females in with the male show no signs of being over-mated... In fact, I have never personally seen him mount a hen, but the eggs from the hens I put in the incubator hatched... So I know he has been doing it.

And that is true, and who knows, if I get lucky with genetics I may end up with a caramel/cinnamon tuxedo from the pairing which I'd imagine would look pretty.

 

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Really nice looking birds! I've often wondered what would happen if someone bred buttons for tameness, so i'd say go for it! Like DK newbie said, you can always breed more tuxedos.

 

[MageofMist]

Really nice looking birds! I've often wondered what would happen if someone bred buttons for tameness, so i'd say go for it! Like DK newbie said, you can always breed more tuxedos.

When he is big enough, I will put him in with the pinkish caramel/cinnamon. ^^ I had him out with some of the younger quail, about 4 weeks old earlier who I am handling in order to keep as tame as possible and thought on using him as a role model... I was a little concerned at first, as he never seen them before and I know how these quail can be, but he took right to them and started preening them and letting them snuggle under him. He'll be a great dad.

Tuxy is mature, just in the cockerel state instead of the mature rooster state... He was flirting with Rex's daughters, 2 Red Breasted hens and a Blue-faced hen who are in the large parrot cage down the stairs when I brought him down to show a friend in a video call, food peeping and revving up while sitting on my hand all content... The hens weren't quite sure on what to think about the small male flirting with them outside the cage and just stared.