Could my hens be roos? - newbie

[quailswiss]

I was sold 10 quail at 2.5 months old, supposedly 1 roo and 9 hens.

One roo crows and shows foam and rusty breast, so definitly male.

In observing the quail, I have noticed that 6 have spotted chests, so I guess females.

3 quail are mobbed by the cock, one of them has lost most head feathers and is very skittish indeed, these three stay in another part of the cage that is like a box, and don't come out much, they flee there when the cock bullies them. Now I noticed that these 3 all have the same colouring as the cock. I tried to sex them, they don't produce foam and don't seem to have the nipple in the anus that the cock has. Could it be that they are younger? Or could they be hens after all? I do find an egg in their hiding place from time to time.

I got them a week ago and they have been laying 3 - 5 eggs/day.

 

[James the Bald]

well, there are 2 possibilities; They are either hens that haven't fully matured, or they are males that havent fully matured. If they "look" exactly like the one male, then they are the latter. If they are male, then you will need to pull those 3 out, as the dominant male will be so obsessed with driving off the other males, that he won't be doing his thing.
Another thing; just because they have feathers missing on the tops of their head doesn't mean they are hens. Because I ran out of cages, I have all my males in 1 cage until I get the males a little heavier for the freezer, and some of those guys are going bald, if you know what I mean.
I hatched out 30 quail not too long ago, and I have 8 confirmed males, but, I am only getting 18 eggs a day, so I either have 6 roos that are on the down low to stay with the hens, or I have 6 hens that haven't got the lady parts fully operational.
James