Ideas on what to do with excess male quail

[Lobzi]

I have to get my male quail number down. It is just too hard on the females. I have about a one to one ratio right now and so I rounded up about 75% of the males and have them separated from my females. It is so much calmer for the females and Id like to continue this environment for them. I dont want to keep the males in this cages area particularly but I just dont know what to do with them. Im not going to slaughter them myself. Also, do the males ever calm down, ie could I keep them separated until mating season is over (whenever that is) and then mix them together again for a more peaceful existence?

 

[eHuman]

The excess males can be kept together if they can't see or hear the hens. Otherwise it is likely that you'll have a bloodbath sooner or later. I recommend selling on Craigslist or enrolling them in freezer camp.

 

[lomine]

I agree. If you want to keep the males you will need to keep them completely separated from the females. Not sure how much land you have, but the distance of a 'regular' backyard will not do it. Quail are territorial so if you wanted to reintroduce the males into the original cage you would have to keep them in a separate but visible area for a couple weeks and then reintroduce. Even that's no guarantee they won't fight; they can kill each other.

If you aren't keeping them as pets, there is no reason to waste money on feed. If you don't want to butcher them yourself, sell them to someone else.

Also, if you don't plan on hatching eggs you don't need any males at all. That would make for an even more peaceful life for your females. And if you do want to hatch eggs, you only need one male for every ten females.

 

[CountryBoy47]

The excess males can be kept together if they can't see or hear the hens. Otherwise it is likely that you'll have a bloodbath sooner or later. I recommend selling on Craigslist or enrolling them in freezer camp.

LOL@ freezer camp im sure someone will be willing to use them to help their bloodlines out on Craigslist.

 

[Lobzi]

Yeah, Im guessing it is that or just let them go and then they become food for a predator. I dont really like that idea. I am just keeping them as pets and so far they are in an adjoining area. It is working much better for the females at least. Im guessing the area is large enough that they are not fighting. Before I secured a larger area I had them all in a smaller cage and one of the males was scalped by the others. Im letting him stay with the females so he doesnt get killed. I have probably 20, maybe 30 females so this one male is not too hard on them. I guess Ill advertise on Craig's list. I know if I give them away for free Ill get tons of responses. These are folks who troll the FREE section and ask for just about anything. I think they take live animals offered for free to a farmer's market or similar. I know because Ive offered free chickens and free Fantail Pigeons and I had one person inquire for both.

So do the males calms down after mating season ends? If so, about when is that? This is my first year with more than a handful of quail. When I had one male and four female quail that was perfect. Even when I hatched a few of their eggs all was still good. A skunk break-in killed my females so I did some majorly large hatches mostly due to the guilt I felt from not securing their pen better and one hatch left me with 13 males and zero females. That really upset the ratio.

Thank you for your suggestions. I hope you can answer my questions about mating season and male aggression toward female, hopefully damping down.

 

[eHuman]

The males are most aggressive between 5 -9 weeks in my experience. They mellow a bit once the hormones aren't raging.

 

[lomine]

Please don't set them free. They would either meet a frightening and painful death by predator or starve to death.

You could always put them on Craigslist for a couple dollars a piece to start. Day old chicks go for $2 a piece here. Yours are probably ready to butcher so you've done all the work. You might check for a local auction and take them there. You could sell them in one big lot or a couple smaller ones. I'm sure someone would pay.

 

[Lobzi]

Quite honestly Id like them to be able to live out their natural lives. I was hoping to hear something about mating season. Ill contact Robbie of JamesMarieFarms and see what he has to say.

 

[lomine]

Sorry I've got no answer there. I just started this year and am just now incubating my third batch. I butchered my extra males from the first batch. My males that were raised just for meat and weren't with females after 3 weeks of age fought with each other. Even my beta male in with the breeders gets picked on, no wounds but he has missing feathers. There are only two males in that cage. I'm actually thinking of culling my alpha male and only keeping the beta. I don't really need him for the number of females I have.

I will say that I never butchered anything until this year. It wasn't easy but it also wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My family doubted I could do it but I did. There is a certain sense of pride in raising your own meat. Just saying, might be something to considered if you're just a little bit interested in trying. If you aren't that's okay too. It's not for everyone.

 

[Lobzi]

I eat very little meat so I would not eat it if I did butcher any. Im going to just try to give them away. I have a friend working on helping me find someone who wants them. I dont even feel good about receiving any money for them. Its just not to my liking.