first hatch dilemma, now what?

[htownfarmer]

this is my first attempt raising quail. i have coturnix quails, i ended up with two hens and four roosters.
the ratio i wanted was one rooster and four or five hens.
they are at five weeks.
my ratio will now be one rooster and two hens
i need at least two more hens.
should i buy more eggs to incubate?
wait until i can incubate my own?
just buy hens?

mine are JMF quail and i would like to stay with the same vendor. great stock.
i can get hens from a feed store for $10 each.
thank for any advice, wisdom, what do you do.

tim

 

[teradragon]

If you enjoyed hatching, hatch more. If you want new bloodline, buy in. I would personally do the cheaper option

 

[TwoCrows]

If you started with eggs from James Marie Farms, then I would continue on with this blood line. Purchasing eggs from an unknown source can cause all sorts of trouble, from genetic issues to serious health issues. So unless you personally know the person you are buying the eggs from, I would stick with the JMF eggs. You have the best stock available. And trust me, there are lots of bad eggs out there and it is not worth the stress of hatching out bad eggs. Just my humble opinion.

 

[James the Bald]

Tim, welcome to the Quail forum on BYC. If I was in your situation... now that I think about it, I was in your situation. There are 2 ways to handle this. The first thing to do is pick up the phone and call Robby at JMF and order some eggs (that's what I did). For me, I ended up with 2 roos after hatching a dozen eggs from an un-named source. The second is to put the largest male in with the 2 hens. After 3 weeks or so, collect the eggs for 5 days, and incubate them. At lockdown, start to collect the eggs again, and once your first 10 eggs hatch, put the next 10 eggs in the incubator.... and repeat as necessary.
Just my opinion, but I would stay away from other hens of unknown origins. You don't know the age of the hens, if that is what they are (I've read posts where the breeder sold hens that turned out to be roos), and you also don't want to introduce poor genes into your covey.
I hope this helps, James

 

[htownfarmer]

thanks all.
i will ponder the situation some more.
i am leaning towards more JMF eggs, but i am having surgery in the near future. not sure if i can care for them. you know it is hard work looking into the incubator.

if i read correctly they become fertile at about 7/8 weeks.

so i have about a week or so to make up my mind.
i will have to modify my brooder, dem birds get BIG quick.

mine are outside in my fort knox pen. i do have another rooster pen, but it is more like county jail with bird netting.

happy quailing
tim