My Female Button Quail is turning into a BOY??

[Griffin Nest]

Something about my quail is really confusing me. I've had her for 6 years and she has been laying eggs all her life except this past year. When she stopped laying eggs, she began to change color from brown to blue and formed a bib like a male button quail! What's going on???

Photo taken 5 years ago




Photo taken today



THIS IS THE SAME BIRD!!

 

[Pielcanela96]

Something about my quail is really confusing me. I've had her for 6 years and she has been laying eggs all her life except this past year. When she stopped laying eggs, she began to change color from brown to blue and formed a bib like a male button quail! What's going on???

Photo taken 5 years ago




Photo taken today



THIS IS THE SAME BIRD!!

her new look is beautiful

.
Did you say she was 6 years old? I didn't think they lived that long. I'm thinking that she stopped laying eggs because of her age, but I'm just guessing. Maybe her change in color also has to do with her age.

I hope you get a good educated answer on this. I will like to know about the changes too.

 

[GrandmaBird]

never heard of anything like this...wonder if its April Fools day?

 

[313759]

I have never heard of this but I always wondered if there was a female quail with the male plumage... maybe... this is probably not a good answer but maybe, she is to old to lay and the brown coloring tells the males she can breed, or something like that... but when she couldn't lay any more she changed her plumage telling males, she is a male to discontinue breeding... it's not the most logical answer though

 

[bellerosebantam]

My guess would be hormone imbalance. The quail's ripe old age probably means it's producing less female hormones, especially since it quit laying.

 

[Ettina]

I've heard of chicken hens turning into roosters occasionally, too.

In mammals, females have two copies of the same sex chromosome (XX) and males have two different sex chromosomes (XY). Birds are the opposite - males are ZZ and females are ZW. In humans, I've heard of eunuchs and other guys with low male hormones getting breast growth & curves sometimes. The X chromosome carries everything needed for appearing female, and so males' bodies need to actively suppress female features from appearing by using male hormones. My guess is given their different sex chromosome pattern, birds are the opposite.

 

[Griffin Nest]

So does if have to do with her age?

 

[Bryam]

No, this is a joke, females don't even live 4 years, never mind 6!

Almost got us though!

Remember a tiger doesn't change its stripes.

 

[Griffin Nest]

I'm not joking, my quail was born in 2009

 

[Sill]

It can happen. I have a chicken hen that crows and even mates with the other hens. She even grew a bigger comb for her new role as rooster. Since she's a red sex link chicken I know she's a hen, and she is still laying eggs for now but I'm betting as her hormones seem to be changing the laying will stop eventually.