I bought a trio of courtnix quail at a flea market here in Morristown, and one female looked odd n she kept raising chicks up iny aviary as did her young, but common looking other female never raised her eggs to hatch except few from each I'm sure just by chance, but both hens would more or less care for the chicks stealing calling and corraling from one another and fighting over. I started releasing young in areas where the bobwhite had been decimated before twra started killing feral cats etc, and twra started paying me to breed and release etc keep records on larger scale all over area to Virginia. Some do get throwback genes but extreamely rarely unless bred into, as guy that had ones I got, had in huge barn and flight pen attached, so I'm thinking the ones who got wild enough to run hide brood and raise own young more, took over because most domesticated got culled by guy n other press.. so you could just get bunch of unrelated eggs and see, breeding most natural acting quail. I'll start that too, but new quail I have are super tame and female only sets for days to week in her lil nest she makes in igloo house usually for rodents. Original ones used to release n see thriving breeding more n more generations, I had in a small aviary (actually a kitten display cage for pet stores) then chain link dog pen with bird netting inside for acclimating young, feeding them feeder baby exotic roaches crix mealies etc, seeds on clumps of green n dried plants planted or clipped upright, fresh wild greens, gamebird feed, and my half Maine Coon would sleep by killing any rodents etc that attacked before dogs got there jumping fence protecting. I've had good luck hatching rearing waterfoul with muscovy duck, guinea foul etc game birds with game hens, n I think I'll try to find OEGBs eggs to hatch, or adults to start raising these new quail with (had a good show pair of OEGBs in with when had first quail, but female never produced any viable eggs or brooded but followed the baby quail trying to love them).
