SEXING BUTTON QUAIL

[QuailOfaTime]

Hi new to button quail aka, c p q..... i have 2 at 17 days old a pied white n a tuxedo pied, i think the pied white is a male as it keeps pruning the other one, tries to mount it is a ltl smaller and keeps calling for it if the tuxedo..........how can i sex them or cant i at this age???

 

[GrandmaBird]

let them grow and get the adult feathers at about 5-6 weeks it will be easier to sex them then.

 

[QuailOfaTime]

let them grow and get the adult feathers at about 5-6 weeks it will be easier to sex them then.

ok thanking you but when 5-6 weeks how do i tell then? there funny ltl things to watch in the brooder lol

 

[GrandmaBird]

It depends on the color of the bird. almost all males will have red tinted feathers around the vent area. of course if the bird is white this is not the case. also the males tend to be a bit smaller then the females and crow! You can post photos if you want but be sure to get shots of the vent areas and under the chin, again most males will have a "bib".

Oh one last word of warning...these little guys are addicting!

 

[bbyblueyes3]

I am looking for button quail, in east central Alabama?????

 

[QuailOfaTime]

It depends on the color of the bird. almost all males will have red tinted feathers around the vent area. of course if the bird is white this is not the case. also the males tend to be a bit smaller then the females and crow! You can post photos if you want but be sure to get shots of the vent areas and under the chin, again most males will have a "bib".

Oh one last word of warning...these little guys are addicting!

HaHa I'm all ready addicted and looking for more . Thanx for replying problem is ones showing as pied white and other as silver tuxedo white so vent areas be white too lol However, the pied white is smaller tyhe silver tuxedo white is ltl larger n more rounded and ones always calling too

 

[jak2002003]

What are your plans for when they grow into adults?

You know they have to be kept in pairs only, because they will fight and seriously injure or kill each other.

I had that experience... someone told be they were fine in a group in a large aviary so long as they were raised together. Well that was not the case, and one morning after several week of living together in peace, there was a blood bath.

 

[lowbike1]

What are your plans for when they grow into adults?

You know they have to be kept in pairs only, because they will fight and seriously injure or kill each other.

I had that experience... someone told be they were fine in a group in a large aviary so long as they were raised together. Well that was not the case, and one morning after several week of living together in peace, there was a blood bath.

what age will they start to fight? I just got 5 button quail yesterday, and they are almost a month old...
when you say keep them in pairs, do you mean male and female? or can they be a pair of the same sex?

 

[jak2002003]

what age will they start to fight? I just got 5 button quail yesterday, and they are almost a month old...
when you say keep them in pairs, do you mean male and female? or can they be a pair of the same sex?

Mine started the fighting once they had the adult colour feathers, and the males were crowing... and hens started laying eggs.

The problem started when some started making nests and laying eggs in them.

There was never any fighting or feather pulling at all until that day.

All of them had bad head wounds, some had the skin ripped off their heads, others backs were bleeding.

I had to keep them all seperate, even in pair they would back at each other wounds.

Once they healed, I put them in male female pairs.

This was ok for most of them, but even then some of the males pulled out the females feathers off their backs, and the males would attack each other through the mesh seperating them. So I had to put solid partitions in.

It was a nighmare. I gave them all away in the end.

 

[QuailOfaTime]

What are your plans for when they grow into adults?

You know they have to be kept in pairs only, because they will fight and seriously injure or kill each other.

I had that experience... someone told be they were fine in a group in a large aviary so long as they were raised together. Well that was not the case, and one morning after several week of living together in peace, there was a blood bath.

Hi yes im guna have one male and two or 3 females together in a group no ,ore