Sexing an Italian coturnix quail

[Keeperofmunchkins]

I have one Italian coturnix quail among a mix of colours I hatched from ebay eggs. He/she will be six weeks old tomorrow.

Until today I thought it was a female for sure. The colouring/speckled chest was a definite sign according to everything I read, plus she was the largest of all her hatch mates. Just over a week ago all the males started crowing, including the runt who hatched two days later who started crowing and chasing the girls a few days ago. This Italian quail has not crowed, and the confirmed males have attempted to mate with her.

However, today I found this quail squaring up to my chicken rooster through the netting window on the quail pen. It was the same attempting to fight behaviour that one of my confirmed male quails exhibited last week with the same rooster through the same window. So I checked the Italian quail's vent and was surprised to find a noticeable red bulge under the vent (on top of the opening in the photos as the bird is upside down). There was also a tiny amount of whitish fluid that came out when I squeezed it.

So is it possible for a female quail to have a red bulging vent like that? Or is my quail a boy after all?

 

[Kiki]

The chest looks pretty female to me...if it's a true Italian.

I am not sure that mixes follow the same feather sexable rules.

 

[Johnny17]

It's a very beautiful female quail!

 

[mogollon]

I have one Italian coturnix quail among a mix of colours I hatched from ebay eggs. He/she will be six weeks old tomorrow.

Until today I thought it was a female for sure. The colouring/speckled chest was a definite sign according to everything I read, plus she was the largest of all her hatch mates. Just over a week ago all the males started crowing, including the runt who hatched two days later who started crowing and chasing the girls a few days ago. This Italian quail has not crowed, and the confirmed males have attempted to mate with her.

However, today I found this quail squaring up to my chicken rooster through the netting window on the quail pen. It was the same attempting to fight behaviour that one of my confirmed male quails exhibited last week with the same rooster through the same window. So I checked the Italian quail's vent and was surprised to find a noticeable red bulge under the vent (on top of the opening in the photos as the bird is upside down). There was also a tiny amount of whitish fluid that came out when I squeezed it.

So is it possible for a female quail to have a red bulging vent like that? Or is my quail a boy after all?

 

[mogollon]

That's a picture of a female. When you squeezed the vent did you get any foam? The males have a nice orange breast.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to assume the quail is a female because there hasn't been any crowing which there should have been by now. Once when I checked the vent there was a tiny speck of whitish fluid, but other times I have checked there is no foam or fluid. So maybe she just has a redder vent area than my other females.