last man standing

[diskjunkie]

Hello O wise ones,
I acquired 10 quail about a year ago. There were 5 roos and 5 hens. I'm down to 1 roo and 4 hens. The roo is separated from the hens because he was growing more aggressive until he finally killed one.

Now, he crows about once every 10 seconds from before sun-up to after sun down. It's beyond irritating, but I'm concerned that if I silence him (permanently), the hens will stop laying. Once they stop laying, I don't really have a lot of reason to keep any of them around.

As I live in Michigan, it was quite a chore to keep them going all winter, so I've invested a lot of time and care into them, and I'd be sad to see them go.

Will the hens lay without any roos around? I've seen mixed information on it here on the forum, but nothing really to that point.

Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!!

All Hens lay regardless on whether there is a rooster around or not. As a matter of fact, they will lay better! Roo's annoy the hens for the most part. If these are Coturnix quail, they would rather live without a rooster. The native breeds to this country such as Bobs, Gambels, California's enjoy having a roo as a mate since they mate for life. But Coturnix hens aren't like this and can do without a rooster around.

So if he is too annoying, I would do what you have to do to keep the peace and quiet!

 

[HunterH]

If you don't want fertile eggs you don't have to have a rooster.

 

[diskjunkie]

Thank you for the quick responses. That's good news! I'm sure the neighbors will be much happier.

 

[Sill]

Four hens is really a minimum for a coturnix roo. Some people say three hens but he will over breed them for sure, especially in spring. A better ratio is 5-7 hens and they will all be happier. Your roo will keep crowing until he has his girls back, but they will be perfectly happy without him and will keep on laying.