button quails and sexing

[jack & mommy's duckies]

Ok I've been reading some posts about how to sex button quails. Mine are now 3 weeks old. Can I sex them now with the coloured vents or do I have to wait longer. I want to start splitting them up and getting rid of those I dont' want to keep.

And great tips for a first time owner/sexer...lol

later i'll take some pictures to get help on names of colours....they are very cool.

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

The easiest way to sex button quail is to start watching for that white ring or bib on the throat as the feathers start coming in. Most males have bibs and most buttons with bibs are male. So far, I've had only one exception out of about 5 hatches. I keep babies together until I am sure of gender because they are far less likely to fight if they are with the group they grew up in. I've also found that young females should not be paired with adult males due to aggression, so I just let each group of chicks mature together and then separate them into breeding groups, etc.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
The only sure-fire way to tell the sexes is by the color of the vent feathers, bibs is not an indicator of sex. True that some of the colors have only-bibbed males, but some of the colors (silver being one of them) can have bibbed females as well. And then there are colors where neither male or female get bibs, white is an obvious one, but anything blueface also does not get a bib. Some silvers and (obviously) whites do not get the colored vent feathers, but if you have one with colored vent feathers and no bib, it's a male.

Buttons should be in pairs, male and female preferred though they can be in same-sex pairs. You can keep same-sexed birds in groups together but you should have male/female pairs singly in individual enclosures.

 

[Stellar]

Same sex is not recommended, especially males. The birds will turn eventually and bloodshed will result.

 

[warmfuzzyfeeling]

They're just so darn aggressive! Usually, 1 male and one female will be OK. But, I have a hen who compulsively cannibalized every mate I introduced to her until I tried putting her in a colony (1 male and 3 females). Now, she's sweet and docile. I have a male who will brutalize hens he's not fond of (currently paired with a hen he likes). I had two brothers who got along great until one flew off--seeking his fortune in the wide world--when I opened the cage door. The remaining male will murder any female that I introduce--and now wears a RED leg band in his own private apartment. I know that some people keep these birds in colonies, but that has to be the exception. It really reminds me of raising Bulldogs--you have to constantly be on your toes about rearranging living quarters to prevent fights from breaking out...

P.S. Sorry if I was misinforming about "bib-sexing". Must just be the colors I happen to have that are so reliable for this method.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Most of the colors are, but not all of them. Plus, some people are confused about what a 'bib' actually is. The wilds, redbreasts, cinnamons, and golden pearl males all get bibs, and as far as I know the females don't. Silver males get bibs, and sometimes silver females do too.

But I remember a post not too long ago that had a red-breasted female that the owner thought was bibbed because she had a 'clear' blond area below her chin that they mistook for a bib. That's why I always correct when someone says that 'bibs' are a sexing tool. Bluefaced males don't get bibs, so if the bib was a way to sex buttons then I guess all bluefaces are female, even if they don't lay eggs

ETA: as far as having groups of males, I think that depends on the birds. I've got some that have been together their entire lives and don't have any troubles with the males fighting. Mine have been in colonies, though I'm slowly thinning my extra males out. One pen I had at one time had 4 females and 5 males, but due to too-close breedings all the females died around 1 year old. Those males all lived together for months without any fighting, and have since moved on to greener pastures somewhere in Texas

 

[Stellar]

These birds are not meant to be in colonies. They are monogamous. I too have had a female that attacked 3 males before finding her mate.

 

[Bryam]

I have had great success putting 3 girls with a boy! Everybody was happy!!!

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Most of the colors are, but not all of them. Plus, some people are confused about what a 'bib' actually is. The wilds, redbreasts, cinnamons, and golden pearl males all get bibs, and as far as I know the females don't. Silver males get bibs, and sometimes silver females do too.

But I remember a post not too long ago that had a red-breasted female that the owner thought was bibbed because she had a 'clear' blond area below her chin that they mistook for a bib. That's why I always correct when someone says that 'bibs' are a sexing tool. Bluefaced males don't get bibs, so if the bib was a way to sex buttons then I guess all bluefaces are female, even if they don't lay eggs

ETA: as far as having groups of males, I think that depends on the birds. I've got some that have been together their entire lives and don't have any troubles with the males fighting. Mine have been in colonies, though I'm slowly thinning my extra males out. One pen I had at one time had 4 females and 5 males, but due to too-close breedings all the females died around 1 year old. Those males all lived together for months without any fighting, and have since moved on to greener pastures somewhere in Texas

Really? Do some female silvers have the double stripes? :O

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Same sex is not recommended, especially males. The birds will turn eventually and bloodshed will result.

not true. I gave a male pair to my art teacher (as well as a male and female pair) and the male pair get along so much better! male pairs are not a problem if the truly are a pair. (if they truly are bonded)

I have had great success putting 3 girls with a boy! Everybody was happy!!!

was.....