coturnix quail: will an older rooster mate younger hens?

[TazClark]

i ask this because i need to cut down on the number of hens i have since i only have the one rooster (1roo - 9hens. fertility has been about 60%.) I KNOW i should have more roosters, but its currently not an option, so some hens have to go into the pot.

and it makes sense to butcher the oldest of the hens first and leave 5 the younger ones for my rooster to mate with. currently he's showing little to no interest in mating the younger hens, so im wonder if anyone knows if i butcher the old hens, will my rooster pick up interest in the young ones?

my rooster is approx 5months old and the youngest hen is 2months.

i realize i may just be overthinking things, but thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[RosieR]

It could be the younger hens are resistant to mating more so than the older? Your roo is still fairly young so he’ll likely mate with the young hens no problem. The young hens should learn to accept him if they are indeed resisting.
My youngest hen has a bit of a bald spot on her head since she is constantly running from my roo. The other hens squat for him usually and keep their feathers.
I have 4 hens and 1 roo and that ratio seems to work well for fertility.

 

[Erkenstein]

Maybe do some egg collecting for a hatch before you butcher your girls. Then if things aren't going right you can change out the male eventually.

 

[lomine]

I suspect fertility has more to do with age than numbers. It can take a while for young hens’ eggs to be fertile. With mine it’s usually around 12 weeks of age. I would wait another month before butchering anyone.

 

[TazClark]

Maybe do some egg collecting for a hatch before you butcher your girls. Then if things aren't going right you can change out the male eventually.

i was thinking the exact same thing. i got a batch in the incubator now that still have about a week to go, but i'll collect another round of eggs to incubate just in case. although i would hate to replace the current rooster, he's so good at looking after his girls.