Coturnix: Male to Female Ratio

[FirstTimeClucky]

A few months ago, someone gave me a box of mixed sex quail. I ended up with three roos and 4 hens. The roos were fighting constantly so I took two of them out and left one with the four girls. I put the two "bachelors" are in a cage of their own until I could find more girls for them. They're doing what they do best: seeing who can breed the other the most.

I finally found someone who was getting rid of two hens, so I took them in. Now I have 6 hens and three males. The new hens are in a spare quarantine cage for now.

So I'm now wondering if they could all live together in one big cage, or should each male + 2 hens be caged separately? I want to minimize fighting and stress for them.

 

[DK newbie]

I wouldn't attempt keeping them all together. Even in large aviaries, it's likely to cause trouble eventually. Some people seem to make it work, but then they usually have more than 2 hens per male - maybe 4-6 hens.
Even in separate cages 2 hens per male is likely too little - the males are likely to over breed the hens. In planted aviaries where the hens can get away, it's usually okay - otherwise I'd go for at least 3-4 hens per roo. The males that have been without hens in particular are likely to be very violent breeders at first and the hens might end up terrified of them and possibly scalped.

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

I wouldn't attempt keeping them all together. Even in large aviaries, it's likely to cause trouble eventually. Some people seem to make it work, but then they usually have more than 2 hens per male - maybe 4-6 hens.
Even in separate cages 2 hens per male is likely too little - the males are likely to over breed the hens. In planted aviaries where the hens can get away, it's usually okay - otherwise I'd go for at least 3-4 hens per roo. The males that have been without hens in particular are likely to be very violent breeders at first and the hens might end up terrified of them and possibly scalped.

It looks like I don't have many options. I was trying to get those two males out of their "bachelor pen" because all they seem to do is crow, wrestle and breed each other. Both are looking pretty tattered now. Do people with extra males normally just put them together in a cage? (I know they probably get slaughtered for meat, but I have no intention of eating my quail because I'm vegetarian). I don't want to consign them to a life of nothing but crowing, bullying and being bullied in a cramped cage.

Also, I don't have unlimited space for multiple cages. Right now I have the 2 males in a plastic tub, with the 2 new females in their own tub. This setup was intended for temporary quarantine only. The tubs are not big enough for permanent housing. I built the main cage, it has more than enough space for its current occupants. My plan was to enlarge that cage when adding more birds. If necessary I would add a partition to separate the birds into two groups.

In my main cage with 4 females and a male, the biggest hen is already bald, she seems to be the male's favourite. I already put some artificial plants in a corner of their cage to provide a hiding spot for the the hens, and this is where they lay most of their eggs.

I do have quite a few spare large fake plants and some big pieces of cork bark curl. It would be easy to provide them with more hiding places. I know they need their hiding spots to be open ended so that a hen won't get trapped inside by the male.

I'd like to get more hens but they're nearly impossible to find in my area at this time of year. I'm still keeping an eye open for them. In the meantime, once the hens' quarantine is finished I will try an enlarged cage with more hiding spots and some supervised introductions.