Too many roo's

[zazu3]

I would appreciate any guidance in this matter.
I bought 23 celedon quail eggs of which 17 hatched. They are finally matured and the girls are laying eggs. I sexed them about a week ago and it's turns out 9 are male and 8 are female.... I dont know what to do with the extra males, they are pretty small and not very much meat in them to consider processing. I would prefer to rehome the extra roo's but want to make sure they go to good homes. Any idea where I can start?

 

[Debbie292d]

We have a Buy/Sell forum you could try. Be sure to put your state in the title of your post.

Also, my best luck finding homes for roosters is in the poultry groups on Facebook. I've also used Craigslist a time or two with success.

Good luck!

 

[Nabiki]

Keep in mind that the ideal ratio for coturnix is five females to one male, that means that there are a LOT of extra males hatched.

While it is possible that they will find homes, be aware that they are likely to end up on someone's dinner table. It can be very hard to find good homes for extra males.

 

[Susan Skylark]

You could theoretically keep them in a dark environment (8 hours or less of light daily) so they never sexually mature and just keep them as pets, but learning to eat your culls and extra birds is an important part of keeping poultry, a severely injured bird, deformed chicks, mean bird, extra males are hard to rehome and in most of those cases unethical. I’ve eaten 6 week old birds with wry neck, etc, half the usual size but still tasty. There’s a great article on here about processing quail (skin and spatchcock!) and all you need is a good kitchen shears.

 

[zazu3]

I appreciate all the advice and thank you Susan, while I find it hard to think about my culling my quail I know it's just part of quail keeping.

 

[Esc_Quaily]

Hi @zazu3 I am in the same boat. My first hatch is male dominant 5 males to 2 females (I think). I eat a mostly vegetarian diet.. my husband eats more meat so he's agreed to cull the boys. I'm still iffy about prepping and cooking my boys but as you say it's just part of quail keeping. I do hope you manage to re-home your males though but as previously said it's unlikely.