Mating pair just reintroduced, how long till eggs fertile?

[quailchick]

Hi All,

Today, I decided to put my mating pair, the male "Little Chicky" and my female "Slow Poke" back together again. I had separated them because Slow Poke was getting pecked on too much and had sores. They have been next to each other in guinea pig cages for the last almost two months, calling to each other. So far so good, I will keep a close eye on them for now. They haven't mated yet, it will probably take a few days....or maybe longer...

I am hoping to get some fertile eggs and I am wondering how long after they start mating again do you think before her eggs will be fertile? She is currently laying every other day.

Thanks so much!

 

[quailchick]

Oh, I forgot to mention they are Bobwhites.

 

[TwoCrows]

You should wait at least 2 weeks after they begin mating before fertile eggs.

 

[quailchick]

Thanks, I had figured I might have to wait that long. He didn't waste any time, they have been mating almost non stop since about two hours after I put him in with her. I only want 2 or 3 females more, but I am think about incubating more than that, so I can get all females, and my local feed store said they will put up for sale an extras I have. How many should I incubate for the feed store? Will it be a problem for them to sell them if there is only a few, or will I need to give them a larger group of chicks to sell?

 

[TwoCrows]

As far as the feed store, that is up to your feed store as to how many chicks they want to handle. I would imagine if they don't have a good amount of chicks, they may not want to bother. Good luck!

 

[quailchick]

In my email notification of the reply to my question, it said, "You really need to add more females to this pair as this male will mate this female to death. Literally. These are Coturnix? 6 females to one male is a good mix. Give the females a break from constant breeding."

But when I clicked on the link to go to the thread, this quote above was not on here. Did you delete it? I am assuming that this advice does not apply to Bobwhite Quail?

Just in case, I will explain. Before, I had the male with other females, and he will only mate with this one female and the other female was attacking the mama. Everyone on this forum, and everything I have read says Bobwhites mate with only one for life. So I thought it best to keep them separate.

So can you let me know if you deleted the above comment because you then realized it was Bobwhites and it did not apply? Thanks so much!

 

[TwoCrows]

LOL...yes I did delete that. I must have been in some hazy thought mode and about an hour after posting that comment, I realized we are talking about Bobwhites! DUH! LOL

So...no, that statement does not apply to Bobwhites. Bobs need to be kept in pairs only, one female to one male. Sorry about that.

Female Bobs can be very brutal to each other and in many cases are worse than the males. So it is never advised to mix females in with a mated male/female pair. I have had success with mixing lone males much easier than mixing lone females when there are no pairs to mix these with.

Good luck with your Bobs!

 

[quailchick]

Thank you! The mating pair are doing great, and her egg production has gone back to once per day!