Keeping males in a seperate cage

[Chrome99]

I'm wanting to raise coturnix quail for meat eggs. I was wondering if it would be possible to keep the males in a seperate, all male, cage away from the females. Would they fight even with no females to provoke them?

 

[Sycamore27]

Great question, I was thinking about this too for my meat grow out cages.
I'll be looking forward to what experienced quail people think.

 

[bingrancher]

They might fight but its more likely they will mate with each other all the time. I kept 5 extra males together and they all looked rough. If they are mature and mating then they are old enough to butcher so I dont keep them for too long

 

[Chrome99]

I think I will go with the 'bachelor pad'. It certainly seems to be the simplest way to keep the females from being harrased by too many males. I would love to hear from more people though.

 

[Sycamore27]

I think I will go with the 'bachelor pad'. It certainly seems to be the simplest way to keep the females from being harrased by too many males. I would love to hear from more people though.

Do you have quail breeding now? Or still just planning?
I would say let me know how it works for you, however if you're still setting up my roos have been crowing for a week and I just got my first egg, so I hope to be incubating in a few weeks.

In which case I may be reporting back first.
Cheers,
Jessie

 

[Chrome99]

Do you have quail breeding now? Or still just planning? I would say let me know how it works for you, however if you're still setting up my roos have been crowing for a week and I just got my first egg, so I hope to be incubating in a few weeks.

In which case I may be reporting back first. Cheers, Jessie

Good luck with your birds! I'm still just planning and won't have time to start untill the summer, so looks like you'll be reporting back first

 

[James the Bald]

If they do fight, you only have to put up with it for 5 or 6 weeks. Then after that, you'll start processing the extra males. Just remember to keep 2 of the largest males to mate with the hens; one with the hens, and another by himself as a "back-up".

 

[Bparrott85]

I have mine all in a bachelor pad. They do have little fights and they do breed each other. But mostly they just crow constantly. I'm still new to quail but I must be doing something right. I have over 600 birds and they are all
Happy and healthy. But once my roosters are 6-8 weeks old its time for them to find another home be it someone else's pen or dinner table. If they don't then they go to my table.

 

[Barton]

I bought 10 adult Texas A & Ms and thought 8 were hens and 2 roosters. Turned out they were 5 and 5. The 5 hens could not get any rest and were completely bald. I put the extra roosters in a separate pen and they get along fine. They crow a lot and sometimes try and mate with each other. They will remain there until it's proven that I have fertile eggs for the next generation and then they get to "graduate".

 

[Barton]

Just an update on my bachelors being in the same pen.

I woke this morning to find on of my roosters without much of a head left. His roommate roosters had pecked him to death. I do know remember that he was the timid rooster and had many of his head feathers plucked from his head last week. Maybe that was a clue that all was not well in the bachelor pad?

I learn something everyday.