Male king quail not interested in mating

[Weather]

hi everyone,

I’d like some help on knowing why my male king quail does not appear to be interested in mating and any suggestions on solutions please.

2 weeks ago, the mate of our male king quail died suddenly and we suspect that it was due to overly aggressive mating behaviour from the male. As the male was actively calling for females through the night, we got him 2 6 week old new females.
It took a day for one of the females to stop chasing him around the cage and since then they have been living harmoniously together.

2 weeks on, the females are now calling for males but the male does not seem interested in mating with them. He does not call out and does not do his dance or chase them around at all. All he does is dig around the cage and eat.

 

[blackoaktammy]

Welcome! As I was reading your post, a few things popped into my mind. Are you sure the new birds are hens? Some of the color mutations can be tricky. Some hens are aggressive, but the chasing behavior sounds similar to a territorial male. The hens may not be old enough to trigger mating behavior in the male - are they laying yet? Every button has its own personality. Some of my males only want one hen, some mount everything that moves (including other males). He may just need a period of adjustment. One more question - are they all the same color? I have had an odd color bird picked on.

Sorry for the long response. I was typing as things popped in my head

 

[Weather]

Welcome! As I was reading your post, a few things popped into my mind. Are you sure the new birds are hens? Some of the color mutations can be tricky. Some hens are aggressive, but the chasing behavior sounds similar to a territorial male. The hens may not be old enough to trigger mating behavior in the male - are they laying yet? Every button has its own personality. Some of my males only want one hen, some mount everything that moves (including other males). He may just need a period of adjustment. One more question - are they all the same color? I have had an odd color bird picked on.

Sorry for the long response. I was typing as things popped in my head

Thank you for your long response. I really appreciate it.

- I strongly believe the fierce one is a female due to the calls she made. But will be confirmed if/when she starts laying
- you might be right, they haven’t started laying yet, just been calling. Especially the not fierce female. Maybe they are still too young.
- the females are sliver while the male is a cinnamon.

From my observation, the fierce female is now at the top of the pecking order. Do you think that makes the male afraid to mate?

 

[2 many chickens]

Thank you for your long response. I really appreciate it.

- I strongly believe the fierce one is a female due to the calls she made. But will be confirmed if/when she starts laying
- you might be right, they haven’t started laying yet, just been calling. Especially the not fierce female. Maybe they are still too young.
- the females are sliver while the male is a cinnamon.

From my observation, the fierce female is now at the top of the pecking order. Do you think that makes the male afraid to mate?

Are you certain of their genders? Do you have pictures of them?

 

[Weather]

The first photo is of the fierce female with the male and the second photo is that of the more shy female who has been calling a lot these days

 

[DK newbie]

The second one in particular, I'm not certain about. It looks kind of young for an 8 week old - like it hasn't got its full adult plumage yet. There is nothing about the first one that suggests it might be male, but the second one seems to have something that could be the beginning of a bib and its chest seems to have areas that are all gray rather than striped like on the other. I'm not sure, but it could be male. You might need to wait another week or two to be certain. Then it should have pale pink feathers around its vent if it is indeed male.
You mention their calls as a reason you are certain they are female. I find that interesting, since I've found only one sound that is sex specific in my buttons - and that is a male sound. I haven't found any sounds that are only made by females.