Procedure or Protocol for removing roos

[kahlertm]

OK, my 9 wk old females are being dragged pecked and beaten by their roo. The happy little trio has become a nightmare fight. Sometimes they don't even lay because he goes after them when I enter the room. But then when I remove him, one female calls and calls to him.

He is nothing too special, but until I am on my feet with good numbers and pick breeding stock (or let the females pick if I were to follow Buttercup's animal behavior observations)....I should pen him in a bachelor pen right? IT will save or extend the life and health of my females? Yes?

So do you keep bachelor pens when you are down on females untill the picking and sorting of males (for breed or feed) time comes?

Thanks
P.S. young ones coming up just aren't big enough to think about colonizing at this point. I may remain small enough an operation to just keep pens of color in the proper ratios of roo to hen...I am asking about the measure to take until that time...
Tonya

 

[shelleyd2008]

Give the females a place to hide from him and they should be okay. How big is their cage?

 

[Rozzie]

How many females are in with the male?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
The original post says 'the happy little trio', so I would assume that means 2. The OP doesn't have any more females of breeding age at this time from what I gather from the first post.

 

[kahlertm]

Correct Shelly. Right now I only have the two females to one roo in one of those white parakeet style aviary cages 24" wide, wire bottom, pull out tray. I have put two of my washed milk jugs with holes cut out of the top, laying on their sides with sand in em. Everytime I come in the room both of them have a quail in them. Either the male or the females.
So they are definitely using hiding spots. But if I come in to do chores, he becomes an evil pirate and there is a rukus with people's eyes getting almost pecked out. My females want to come to the front of the cage for a mealworm and to say hello, but it becomes "succumb to me or die" time.

I am anthropomorphising a bit, but you get the jist. I want to just pull him out and put him somewhere they cannot see or hear them I get so disturbed by it. Now if I were trying to get fertile eggs out of this trio, I would have a better attitude..... But these are kinda some shrimpy starter quail I got from Strombergs.

I am looking more forward to this kind of aggressive breeding from better stock like ya"lls.

So that is my dilemma. I will keep the ladies and breed them to bigger males from Quaillady (or hopefully some jumbo stock from any of the Co-op) to improve and have a different blood line. So I guess I am answering my question now....(like therapy..you always answer your own questions if you just talk about them....oops, I just admitted I know what therapy is like) he he he. I was a trained and certified Counselor at one point.
I digress AGAIN.

I think Tres, the male is going to "go".


Question 2. Is there an age when Quail meat is going to be non tender anymore? Like that other species that ryhmes with takin a "licken"? (We're not supposed to compare with them here so I find other ways to speak of them

.

Like, at 6 mos old, or when you retire layers, are they going to be too tough and gamey if you did not process at the lovely prime age of say 7 to 12 weeks? I suppose anything can be crockpotted untill it is shreded quial burrito quality....

Forgive me, tangental thinker....

Your input?

Respectfully,
Tonya

 

[Fat Daddy]

Hey Tonya,

I have a tendency to send them to freezer camp. It sounds like you dont need a roo now anyway, so pack his little bags...

I would say be aware that when you introduce the new birds, one of your old hens will likely step into the dominate role. At least for a while. While the new birds may be the same size or even bigger, the older birds have confidence on there side.

If it were me, I would dispatch the old roo and enjoy your hens as you do now. Then when your new birds are mature, move everyone to the breeder pen at the same time. If the old birds are there now, relocate them to lesser quarters for a few days before the introductions are made.

Then when you put old with new birds, we are more worried about the new surroundings instead of pecking order. There gonna likely throw down abit anyway, but it may keep a new young roo from getting scalped the first day in by a older, more experienced, woman... But I could be wrong, I sometimes am....

Bill

BTW, Randall has posted a great way to cook less than tender quail that is tasty!! JJ has a crock pot method too that sounds good, but I have never personally tried. Ran out of quail before I got that far....

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
The original post says 'the happy little trio', so I would assume that means 2. The OP doesn't have any more females of breeding age at this time from what I gather from the first post.

Yep, missed that...blame it on being overbusy of late...

 

[aprophet]

I process mostly at 8-10 weeks it is not really a time thing they just have a certain look to them when they are ready but I have culled 6-8 month olds I did not see any difference in taste or quality of meat

 

[JJMR794]

The "procedure" For Removing Roos Is Easy=== Pick The Victim, Reach In Rather Non -chelantly And Snatch Him By His Head Before He Even Sees It Coming.

To My Knowledge They Do Not Get Tough With Age Like Chickens Or Other Poultry Has A Tendancy To Do, I Have Culled And Eaten Birds Well In Excess Of 3 Yrs Old.

 

[joe125]

Quote:
That's basically how I do it too, and for the record: Coturnix do not get tough with age on my farm either!

One word of caution to people raising a small flock of coturnix. Do not over cull roos! Whether you have 2 hens or 10...If you only have one roo, then you are wrong. One boink mishap, and you are rooless! Also, switching out roos can give you (2X Hen count) the genetic diversity with the same hens, or goes beyond that when 2 different roo lines, with how ever many hen lines are combined. Just something to think about

Though noisy, 1 bachelor roo can be housed in a tiny 1x1 pen.