Re-introducing chicks into Bobwhite Colony and Handling Breeder Birds

[Manchac Basin]

I've looked for information on this but no luck. I want to know how many coops I need to manage a colony. I just put 49 Jumbo Bobs in my incubator. After those that hatch and mature become established. I want to select a male and a few hens for breeding so I will set aside a separate pen for these.

~~ Question: Can I successfully house more than one hen together in the breeder pen?

But I heard somewhere that if I hatch and introduce chicks (replacement birds) into the colony they're likely to be killed by the mature Bobs so do I need to wait until they mature?...and therefore need a third cage??

 

[Poetshens]

If you sell or eat the ones you didn't select as breeders you wouldn't need a third pen. It all depends what you plan to do with the "unworthy" breeders. I have heard of colony breeding with 3 to 10 ratio so i think it is possible if you give them something to do other than breed. Give them things to occupy themselves with like a pan full of clean dirt or sand to dig around in as well as lots of hiding places. If you want a mass pen of bobwhites you may need a third cage to mature the replacement chicks in and a huge aviary to keep the mature ones in if you want to introduce more later.

 

[dc3085]

I've looked for information on this but no luck. I want to know how many coops I need to manage a colony. I just put 49 Jumbo Bobs in my incubator. After those that hatch and mature become established. I want to select a male and a few hens for breeding so I will set aside a separate pen for these.

~~ Question: Can I successfully house more than one hen together in the breeder pen?

But I heard somewhere that if I hatch and introduce chicks (replacement birds) into the colony they're likely to be killed by the mature Bobs so do I need to wait until they mature?...and therefore need a third cage??

You will have the least problems with bobs if you pair them off. Trios can work ok too. Colony breeding needs a lot of space like an aviary or a flight pen if you want to avoid fighting.

With the questions you have asked, and I mean no offense here, I would suggest getting some experience with bobs before you try to introduce new birds into any situation. Bobs are typically very territorial and can be really aggressive.