Japanese Quail Genders and Breeds

[QuailRain]

We just got these quail about a week ago and we know the light one is a hen, about 24 weeks and the other two are about 6 or 7 weeks but don't know the genders. One is smaller than the other, and one was.humping the hen. But we also fhound a tiny egg and are hoping it was from a young hen? We have been trying to tell the difference but then i found out you cant always tell if they arent pharaohs so now im wondering what breeds my quail are and what genders? Also the light one apparently use to be actually white but she used sand for a dust bath and it stained her feathers
Thanks we are new to this and will have more questions i guarantee

 

[dc3085]

Golden mutations color sex just like pharaohs no spots on the chest means its a roo like the bird in the corner. can't see the other one's chest enough to tell.

 

[QuailRain]

Does this one help any better? And they are "golden" then? What is the third one considered? And the two have several differences from each other thats why i wasnt sure about the red chest, they both seem tk have it but have white speckles on the red too so that threw me off as well

 

[dc3085]

Both roosters. You need to buy at least 3 more hens or don't put that hen with a rooster. They breed aggressively and can easily breed one hen to death. Those are actually golden italian or golden speckled since people just kind of made these names up as they went. Golden manchurians have different markings and are the true 'goldens'.

The spots I'm talking about would be black like they are on a pharaoh colored bird.

 

[QuailRain]

Can't we just hatch her eggs and put her with the hens that are hatched? That was our plan to expand our flock. In the meantime what should i do with the other rooster and how do i know which one to remove? I dont have any way of getting more hens at the moment, ill start looking but these three were a lucky find for us

Where did the tiny egg come from then if the young ones are both roosters? Why would the hen go from normal sized eggs, to tiny egg, to normal size again? Actually there was an egg this morning that was soft.. left it for awhile then its gone and theres a normal sized one under the hen?

 

[dc3085]

Can't we just hatch her eggs and put her with the hens that are hatched? That was our plan to expand our flock. In the meantime what should i do with the other rooster and how do i know which one to remove? I dont have any way of getting more hens at the moment, ill start looking but these three were a lucky find for us

Where did the tiny egg come from then if the young ones are both roosters? Why would the hen go from normal sized eggs, to tiny egg, to normal size again? Actually there was an egg this morning that was soft.. left it for awhile then its gone and theres a normal sized one under the hen?

You can buy more quail from this site at your hearts desire. He has great stock all you'll need is an incubator.

I'm sharing with you information that is long proven fact, not my opinion. It is cruel to the bird house domestic cots in male female pairs. One male coturnix can keep 7 females fertile he breeds so often and aggressively. Very best case you'll end with her having no feathers on her head or back within a week or so. People get animals that have a very specific and developed biology and then want to keep them how it pleases them most. You're getting an exotic species you don't understand the biology of and questioning someone who's passion is the biology and advancement of coturnix quail. You came here to ask someone that knew better and I answered your question.

The tiny egg is a totally normal occurrence in a hen just beginning to lay. It may happen a couple more times. Her ovaduct isn't completely adjusted to being used yet. There is a ton of biology behind it if you do some research.

Edited by staff

 

[Sill]

Can't we just hatch her eggs and put her with the hens that are hatched? That was our plan to expand our flock. In the meantime what should i do with the other rooster and how do i know which one to remove? I dont have any way of getting more hens at the moment, ill start looking but these three were a lucky find for us

Where did the tiny egg come from then if the young ones are both roosters? Why would the hen go from normal sized eggs, to tiny egg, to normal size again? Actually there was an egg this morning that was soft.. left it for awhile then its gone and theres a normal sized one under the hen?

You would be better off removing the hen from the two roosters until you can get more hens. One can breed her to death, two certainly will. For her health and well being separate her until you can get a minimum of three hens for each rooster but better would be 4-7 hens per roo. These birds are not happy in pairs!

And remember, if you plan on hatching out her eggs what are you going to do with approximately half the chicks that will be roosters too??? Most of the time you will get more roosters than hens in a batch of chicks.

They can lay eggs without yolks called fairy eggs. This is one next to a normal sized egg.



I've had them where it was a partial yolk, like the original yolk broke up and only part of it went into the egg. It's normal and she will settle into laying. She can also lay double yolk eggs which are very big, relatively speaking. The soft egg was probably a shell-less egg and those don't last too long. If they get stepped on they "disappear". Make sure she has access to a calcium source like oyster shell at all times so she doesn't produce more shell-less eggs.