Female coturnix quail crowing? Is this really a hen? (Photos attached)

[Ligeia Black]

Hello everyone,

I am new on this forum, my name is Ligeia and I currently have five 4 weeks old coturnix quail. This is my first time keeping quail as pets, I absolutely love these birds... I have done a lot research on them and I am pretty confident that the one in the picture is a hen. My roosters have orange plain chests and they just started crowing, what is very confusing however, is that this weird lady started crowing too. I have another female bird and she definitely does not make this sound, however Rosa (that's her name) sounds exactly like my roosters, the only difference is that she will produce the sound only when I play with her on the couch and I believe she is calling out for her flock. How can this be possible? She clearly looks like a girl doesn't she? She turned a month old today.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and if you could help me figuring this out it would be great

 

[Nabiki]

That's a girl. Can you record the sound she's making and upload it to YouTube? Then you can post a link here for us to listen to.

Oh, and...

 

[QuailTail]

I also read in another thread that sometimes females can make a similar crowing call to males - not sure if this is correct as I've never experienced it, but thought it was worth a mention as she certainly looks like a lady to me!

Edit: Just did a quick google and, without hearing her 'crow', it could be what's called her locator call, which would make sense if she's away from her flock. Apparently this is the same call for both males and females.

 

[Ligeia Black]

Thank you very much for the replies! I really wanted to record the sound but it happens so fast and I haven't managed to get my phone quick enough... it really sounds like a roo call, she stands high on her feet and does the neck "shaky" thing like roosters do but as QuailTail said I guess it could just be that she is looking for her friends. She never does this when she's with the others. I just thought it was bizarre as my other female is very quiet.

Something else that just happened today is that the dominant rooster started trying to mate with my other hen, but he is completely disinterested in Rosa she is a very big girl and maybe he is scared of her? Not sure... maybe is just a preference thing. I just really hope she isn't a rooster as I am planning to keep the two girls myself and give back the three roosters to the breeder.

I will try to record the sound she does if I get a chance.

 

[BirdBrainDead]

We have the same thing - A quail wandered into our yard (or perhaps dropped by a bird as no way to sneak in) and it certainly looks to have the patterns of a female but crows so loudly - especially as indoor pet and the acoustics in the house make it seem like its channeling its T-Rex ancestry. We now think its a male but the patterns don't match whats on the internet

 

[Ligeia Black]

We have the same thing - A quail wandered into our yard (or perhaps dropped by a bird as no way to sneak in) and it certainly looks to have the patterns of a female but crows so loudly - especially as indoor pet and the acoustics in the house make it seem like its channeling its T-Rex ancestry. We now think its a male but the patterns don't match whats on the internet

Depending on how old he/she is you could try vent sexing it. My quail is only 4 weeks old but once they reach maturity around 7-8 weeks of age you can use this method to find out if it's a girl or a boy. Do you have a picture of the quail? Some types of quail are not feather sexable, they may have a pattern on the chest that looks like dots but they may not be girls. My bird is feather sexable and that is why I am so confused, it should not be crowing.

 

[BirdBrainDead]

We think it actually is a male now as wants to attack everything (seems to scared of absolutely nothing) and is ummm particularly taken with its drinking bowl. Some people who have had quails (mostly as extra in aviaries) say its really large

 

[Nabiki]

We think it actually is a male now as wants to attack everything (seems to scared of absolutely nothing) and is ummm particularly taken with its drinking bowl. Some people who have had quails (mostly as extra in aviaries) say its really large View attachment 2807804

This one could very well be a male. It's not a feather sexable colour. The one that @Ligeia Black posted is a falb fee hen.

 

[Ligeia Black]

We think it actually is a male now as wants to attack everything (seems to scared of absolutely nothing) and is ummm particularly taken with its drinking bowl. Some people who have had quails (mostly as extra in aviaries) say its really large View attachment 2807804

I agree with Nabiki, judging by the behaviour you described and the fact that it isn't a feather sexable bird, I would also say it is most likely a roo!

 

[BirdBrainDead]

Thank you so much for that now everything makes sense knowing that plumage isn't an indicator of sex (as our quick internet searches made us believe). No plans on breeding just keeping this one and its "mirror friends" as a pet while it has free roam of the guest house lol