Button Quail problems, male or female?

[bitslittle]

I am new to button quail however I have been doing quite a bit of reading... I currently have 8 buttons and 3 of which I am sure are males. One pair has started to lay so that solves that question. Another pair get along fine so that's great...

Problem is I have three that I'm having difficulty telling if male or female. Before I split them up they tore into the head of a black and white speckled one, she (I believe its a she) is still recovering. There are no red vent feathers.
Than I have two that look like males but they get along as if male and female. One is smaller than the other and the smaller one does crow (wind sound) the other bigger one has a bib and red underside but I have yet to hear it crow. The bigger one also allows the other to mate with it.

I tried putting a dull brown with a cream front in separately with one and than the other as I assumed they were both males. When I first put "her" in "she" allows one mating to happen than the cage is in an uproar and she chases the "male" pecking and with out stopping for a second. also making a lot of sound (not the crowing wind sound).

I will try to get pictures soon, probably would help but if anyone has any ideas I would be happy to hear them

 

[buttonquailtx]

Pics will help.

With white and splash, vent sexing is the only reliable method. Vent sexing is easiest when hens are laying.

I keep all my bachelors in one cage with very little problems. The main problem I have with my bachelors is the constant crowing as they look for hens.

If you have 2 "males" and one is letting the other mount, then you probably have a pair. But I guess it's possible for 2 birds of the same sex to bond. It happens in larger birds.

Color sexing is not always accurate for whites, slates, some tuxedo, and ivories. The males don't have bibs or red vent feathers. (Tuxedos may or may not have some red feathers to show they are males)

Some females have lighter throats that may look similar to a males bib. The difference is that a male will have a sharp line on their bib, and it will be pure white. Females with "bibs" have less or no defined line in their bibs, and their bibs tend to be cream colored, not pure white. And double factor blue face hens often have a white patch on their throats.

 

[bitslittle]

Thanks for the info.... I guess I just needed to be patiant! I apear to have 4 pairs Perfect! The white-black one was the last to start laying and the two that were togeather were both males. I have gotten about 40 eggs in the last 2 and half weeks! man these birds lay!

Will buttons ever hatch thier own eggs? Two of the pairs have laied about 15 eggs each.

 

[kyliewylie]

It is super difficult I am in the same boat as you!