Our button quail have hatched, we have ten healthy little chicks and one who may or may not pull through. We love watching them, they are ecurious and playful, a delight to watch.
Knowing these little birds mature fast and wanting to avoid a situation where they might get aggressive and begin harming each other, what advice can anyone give for being ready come maturity time?
I will say that I don't know what the ratio of male to female is yet, the chicks are only two to three days old. I am willing to do what I can to accommodate my birds and am prepared to commit a good amount of time to their care. I am a stay at home mom, able to monitor the birds fairly well. What I want to know is, Is it best to allow them to pair up on their own, or is it likely that I will have aggression issues? Do i separate them all near maturity time and experiment with which birds get along after I am positive if who was a male and female?
I know these birds are monogamous, but are often kept in one male multiple female groups. I'd prefer to keep them in pairs if I can, as I want to keep careful track of who the parents are when I hatch future chicks. I won't know how many males and females I have yet, but I already have enough coops to house six pairs (twelve birds) and the supplies to build more housing for any who aren't able to pair up.
I live near enough to a breeder that I'd be able to find mates for my single birds. I do not intend to re-home my birds, I would rather bring in a few more as I am building a small breeding flock and would prefer genetic diversity. Hopefully I do not have all males, ten females at once would be expensive but I would be willing to do it if necessity calls for it.
Knowing these little birds mature fast and wanting to avoid a situation where they might get aggressive and begin harming each other, what advice can anyone give for being ready come maturity time?
I will say that I don't know what the ratio of male to female is yet, the chicks are only two to three days old. I am willing to do what I can to accommodate my birds and am prepared to commit a good amount of time to their care. I am a stay at home mom, able to monitor the birds fairly well. What I want to know is, Is it best to allow them to pair up on their own, or is it likely that I will have aggression issues? Do i separate them all near maturity time and experiment with which birds get along after I am positive if who was a male and female?
I know these birds are monogamous, but are often kept in one male multiple female groups. I'd prefer to keep them in pairs if I can, as I want to keep careful track of who the parents are when I hatch future chicks. I won't know how many males and females I have yet, but I already have enough coops to house six pairs (twelve birds) and the supplies to build more housing for any who aren't able to pair up.
I live near enough to a breeder that I'd be able to find mates for my single birds. I do not intend to re-home my birds, I would rather bring in a few more as I am building a small breeding flock and would prefer genetic diversity. Hopefully I do not have all males, ten females at once would be expensive but I would be willing to do it if necessity calls for it.
