Identifying Quality Quail Cocks

[mixedbreeds]

I’m loving this thread and need to know the same information. Good stuff so far and I’m laughing my way through it as well.

 

[BReeder!]

I would start with size and personality, but I do know someone who culls the loud / annoying ones first lol. Totally up to you really. You could even just cull all the males and replenish your stock once a year or so from a reputable breeder. That way you won't have to deal with the drama.

That takes away the fun of breeding.

 

[BReeder!]

I’m loving this thread and need to know the same information. Good stuff so far and I’m laughing my way through it as well.

I have a feeling that even if this thread took off, there is no way BYC would ever feature it. Haha

 

[Sara L]

Keep 'em coming. I am loving the information.
Go for heavy but will mannered cocks... got it! If only my wife knew what I am writing.
I would like to raise for size of course. Growth rate is a good idea too. So far the heaviest cocks at culling time will get pardoned and given the blessing of virgins (or not quite virgins if another male has been around them ). But what if I have 8 heavy weights and only want to keep 4? Any standards for quail? Color, height, girth, shape? Are there things to look for in beaks or feet? The more I know the better.

Umm, I think you can just pick the one(s) you like best. If they are all the same weight, go to personality, if that is same, go to quiet ones, if that's the same, eenie meenie miney moe? Choose the one(s) you think will make your flock better. Or process of elimination and eat the ones you dislike most and keep the rest.

 

[BReeder!]

Umm, I think you can just pick the one(s) you like best. If they are all the same weight, go to personality, if that is same, go to quiet ones, if that's the same, eenie meenie miney moe? Choose the one(s) you think will make your flock better. Or process of elimination and eat the ones you dislike most and keep the rest.

I agree, and that's my idea so far. It's just that there must be a better science to this. A person who posts in the Illinois forum I participate a lot in uses food coloring to dye chicks feathers to identify certain ones. I think I am going to do that as well. Dye the males who I see developing well and those who I see good or bad personalities in with different colors. A few drops is all it takes to mark the feathers. Seems harmless and useful. I was thinking about leg bands, but I would be using a lot of leg bands in a year and they are harder to put on.

 

[Sara L]

I agree, and that's my idea so far. It's just that there must be a better science to this. A person who posts in the Illinois forum I participate a lot in uses food coloring to dye chicks feathers to identify certain ones. I think I am going to do that as well. Dye the males who I see developing well and those who I see good or bad personalities in with different colors. A few drops is all it takes to mark the feathers. Seems harmless and useful. I was thinking about leg bands, but I would be using a lot of leg bands in a year and they are harder to put on.

Avoid the red dye, they might pick on the chick.

 

[RUNuts]

Another thought, select the earliest maturing males. They should also be the fastest growers. Important in a meat operation.

Mark the one earliest to crow. First to mate. First to get feathers (?if this is possible?).

Follows the heaviest one at 8 weeks when the others get butchered. Select for the desired trait. Heaviest and fastest.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If it were me, I'd keep monitoring them for their whole lives, and keep track of which genetic lines lived longest. Longevity is a sign of health, and discarding breeders that don't produce healthy birds helps keep things like a tendency towards heart problems or tumors from getting into the captive gene pool.

 

[BReeder!]

If it were me, I'd keep monitoring them for their whole lives, and keep track of which genetic lines lived longest. Longevity is a sign of health, and discarding breeders that don't produce healthy birds helps keep things like a tendency towards heart problems or tumors from getting into the captive gene pool.

interesting. that would definitely require leg bands to signify which quail came from which breeding group. I'm going to run 4 breeding groups at a time, so this could be a real challenge - I would have to mark eggs and then have some sort of dividers in the incubator during lockdown so I could know which chicks come from which breeding group. seems possible with some creative engineering.

 

[Fishkeeper]

It's certainly something I'd like to see more of. In any population of animals being selectively bred for any traits, but especially in food animals, there's always a risk of genes for something unpleasant piggybacking along with the stuff you want. It'd be a shame for you to come up with a line of quail that grow fast and produce lots of meat, only to find out that they all get little quail strokes past a certain age.