How do I get my male coturnix quail to stop crowing in the morning!?

[nadrojsack]

a small collar made to fit around a male quails neck, that stops them fully filling their throat with air to expel for their crow. infact after one week even without the collar my males do not crow anymore. The collar is perfectly safe and doesnt stop their everyday life, eating drinking chirping etc. If you would like some let me know.

 

[JJSS89]

This morning I woke up. As I did chores and got ready to leave I heard the warbling of the coturnix, the whi-whistle of my bobwhites, countless crows from chickens and the thunderous gobble of a blue slate tom turkey.

I like the sounds of my animals

 

[nadrojsack]

we all do during waking hours, however those of us unfortunate to have neighbours have to think of them. honestly a crow every second for an hour at 6am can wake one prematurely. No doubt why the original poster asked for advice.

 

[bigjohn]

I had about 20 that were 4 1/2 weeks old and they started crowing at 4 AM and I live in a small subdivision with close neighbors. At the time, I was so frustrated with the noise, that all of those males went into the freezer. I even put them in total darkness in my garage and they never ceased from the crowing.

But, I later discovered that if I had only put one male with about 3 females, they stopped their obnoxious crowing. They would crow just once in a while and that was not an issue. so if you have enough females to go around, just increase the percentages of males to females.

I do like the collar idea and I think I will use this in the future with the offending males. If nothing but to extend their days so they can get a bit fatter for the freezer!

I think a piece of light velcro will be worth trying.

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

a small collar made to fit around a male quails neck, that stops them fully filling their throat with air to expel for their crow. infact after one week even without the collar my males do not crow anymore. The collar is perfectly safe and doesnt stop their everyday life, eating drinking chirping etc. If you would like some let me know.

Is this for real? Can you show us a pic of what it looks like and with a male wearing it? I’m finally getting good, fertile eggs. Just candled tonight and 44/56 were fertile. But... my three boys go all the time. Trying to hatch as many as I can before the neighbors pull the plug on me. A collar that works would be invaluable.

 

[504707]

I would love a pic as well! My garden is really small so the crowing might be an issue in the future

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

Funny thread all! This is a serious issue for us with close neighbors. Is there anything that works?
My pen is 18 square feet for 15 birds = adequate space.
I have 12 females, 3 males = adequate ration.
The girls don’t look overworked.
The boys don’t fight.
Yet... from 430am to 10pm... crowing crowing crowing.
I’d hate to get rid of the boys as I’m just getting the hang of breeding. But if this keeps up, I’m gonna have to cull them.

Would penning them 4/1 reduce the crowing?

Thanks!

 

[JaeG]

Funny thread all! This is a serious issue for us with close neighbors. Is there anything that works?
My pen is 18 square feet for 15 birds = adequate space.
I have 12 females, 3 males = adequate ration.
The girls don’t look overworked.
The boys don’t fight.
Yet... from 430am to 10pm... crowing crowing crowing.
I’d hate to get rid of the boys as I’m just getting the hang of breeding. But if this keeps up, I’m gonna have to cull them.

Would penning them 4/1 reduce the crowing?

Thanks!

A happy male shouldn't crow much. If you can set them up in breeding groups where males can't see each other they probably would be happiest. It may take awhile to work out which females like which males (they will call to each other and it can get loud) but once they settle down they should quiet down. My boys will proclaim their territory a couple of times at dawn and dusk, otherwise they are quiet. My bachelor group are less happy so they will crow more.

 

[CostaMesaQuail]

A happy male shouldn't crow much. If you can set them up in breeding groups where males can't see each other they probably would be happiest. It may take awhile to work out which females like which males (they will call to each other and it can get loud) but once they settle down they should quiet down. My boys will proclaim their territory a couple of times at dawn and dusk, otherwise they are quiet. My bachelor group are less happy so they will crow more.

Hmmmmm. Probably wouldn’t be too difficult to split my 3x6 pen into three 3x2’s and keep 4/1 in there. Though they may get pissed being so crowded all of a sudden.
I do have double stack, so I could divide into 4 total 3x3’s. That would give me room for one more 4/1 group. Or even 5/1’s?
Also, you’re saying boys solo would be even louder alone (even if they can’t see each other)?

 

[JaeG]

Hmmmmm. Probably wouldn’t be too difficult to split my 3x6 pen into three 3x2’s and keep 4/1 in there. Though they may get pissed being so crowded all of a sudden.
I do have double stack, so I could divide into 4 total 3x3’s. That would give me room for one more 4/1 group. Or even 5/1’s?
Also, you’re saying boys solo would be even louder alone (even if they can’t see each other)?

Yes, the bachelors spend a lot of time calling for females (especially if they can hear girls) whereas boys with a group of girls are a lot more content and secure. Females will call for their favourite male if they can hear him too and they can be as loud as the boys if they want to be! Make sure too that no streetlights etc are shining into their cage at night as otherwise they will wake up earlier. I had that problem with my doves!

I've had to move my quail back into smaller accommodations after having rats chewing through thick wood to get to them. They had a good go at the hardware cloth even! Very frustrating, but the quail seem to have taken the changes in stride and as long as the males are gentleman they should be fine. I had to swap out one male as he was fine for awhile then he attacked one of the girls. But with a new male everyone is happy.