My Coturnix roosters are crowing!!

[cawooduck]

Let me tell you, the first time i heard it i was about 12" from the rooster that let out the crow at head height, it startled the heck outta me!!! They are fairly loud for little guys!! I have three pens with quail in them now, one has all browns and golden hens (the only ones i know forsure are hens!), one with all roosters (again all browns and goldens, and the few other colors that i heard crow) and then the last pen has the "unknown" in it (tuxedo's, A & M's, tibetans), im waiting for eggs and crowing out of that pen to separate males from females. I do have one A & M rooster i am thinking about keeping, however he is a little on the small side, and with white being a recessive gene, i probably wont get any whites out of him and the other colors when they breed.

I will pick the best looking and biggest rosters to start my program, the rest will become smoker material!!!..........Jason

 

[shelleyd2008]

My first start with coturnix was A&M. Out of 18 eggs I hatched 2, both of which turned out to be males. Of course it was like October, so they were destined to be indoor birds for a while. Needless to say, they found a new home. That 3 a.m. 'Look at MEEEEEE!!' Got old after a while! It is always funny to me the people that say they are getting quail because they can't have crowing birds, and asking how loud they are. They are just as loud as some of my bantam roos!!

The only way to shut them up is to make sure they have plenty of girls. I took some extra males to auction yesterday, and one of them crowed while I was dealing with someone over them. It was so cute, the little guy's first time. He acted just as surprised as I was!

Oh, and is it just me, or do coturnix males look like they are going into a tantrum when they crow? Their eyes get all buggy and everything!!

 

[cawooduck]

The first thing i thought of when he crowed was velociraptor!! They are very loud!!.........Jason

 

[monarc23]

My A & M roo Enceno is the LOUDEST crower! Ya know how hwen you hear something so loud it makes your ear click??? That's how loud Enceno is when he crows unless you're atleast 5 feet away otherwise you get blasted with it lol!!!! He's a lil guy too.

My bigger roos their crow is much quieter...almost sounds like they're mumbling

 

[silentrunning]

My neighbors have no idea that I have quail. They have commented how they are hearing "bobwhite" or 'Whipporwill" again. They think they are making a comeback here. I just smile and agree.

Doug

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

My neighbors, well most, dont know that I have button quail.. Ive had 3 different males.. One is real quiet.. One is real loud.. One barely ever crowed until it lost its mate.. Then oh my gosh, that is the loudest I have heard any of them.. Always keep extra females if possible.. Its hard for me cause I keep all my buttons in pairs only.. To many attacked birds other ways.. I was always wondering what the coturnix sounded like.. I dont think I will get them until I am able to have a different place to live.. I would love to have some though..

 

[Appaloosa Hill Farm]

I was thrilled when my A&M roo began crowing--I'd bought the 6 birds unsexed from a guy who kept each of them separately in a 1x1 square ft cage. He didn't know who was male and who was female. No crowing or eggs, he told me. Well, I get them home, put them all together and 2 days later I have a crowing roo. 2 weeks later ANOTHER crowing roo.

AND if he'd kept them together, he'd easily be able to tell who the girls are--they each have a small bald spot on their heads. Darn boys.

We love to hear them crow and my 5 yo DS likes to impress people with his very good imitation of a coturnix crow!

Our 2 yo DD claps for them each time they crow.

We just love these birds!

 

[critterluv]

mine sounds like a rusty door hinge!!

 

[bkvail]

what age do they start crowing? I have several roo's that are 7 weeks old and no crowing yet (and no eggs yet from the hens).

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
That depends on a lot of things, but my jumbo browns didn't start crowing till they were at least 6 weeks old. My A&M started crowing at less than 5 weeks, and the tuxedos were about 4 weeks, if they were even that old. Egg laying is a bit longer, the jumbos were at least 8 weeks old, and the tuxedo was about 5 weeks. I haven't yet had any A&M females, so I can't say on those. It seems the bigger birds take longer, but it is worth the wait