Sorry I couldn't resist. Anyway, I just went through all of the cortunix quail eggs I am incubating and it is day 14 right now. I tried to candle them and out of 24 eggs, I have ONE that MAY be viable. My cock to hen ratio is 1:4. I am positive there is nothing in the others because I cut them open and checked to make sure that I was candling them right. There was literally not even a hint of blood vessels anywhere and my hens have feathers missing on the backs of their necks from him mounting them so much and I frequently find "Quail Foam" all over the cage. I have one hen that is noticeably bigger than the rest, I suppose she's a jumbo? Anyway, I've seen him have a hard time having a successful breeding with her, because she is big enough to just throw him off of her, but the other 3 cooperate okay.
That being said, he is still a bit on the small side. Only the smallest hen matches his size. Is it possible that he is sterile, my hens are infertile, or he is simply not big enough to mate with them successfully?
That being said, he is still a bit on the small side. Only the smallest hen matches his size. Is it possible that he is sterile, my hens are infertile, or he is simply not big enough to mate with them successfully?