What color/type are these quail?

[Lesalynn]

Well, I have been reading anything and everything I can find about quail. I am thinking maybe mine are manchurian golds? I have a few with odd colored heads, tho. I don't know where the dark heads are coming from. My fertility rate is not very good right now. Out of 81 eggs I had set, I had to toss 45 eggs today. They are on day 13, and 45 were completely clear. That leaves me with only 36 viable eggs out of 81.....what gives? I have 2 breeding pens. Each has 6 hens and 2 roos. Could this be that lethal gold gene, or whatever it's called? Here are some pics. Any ideas/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lesa

 

[Stellar]

Those are just the Manchurian Golds alright

The Manchurian in general has the lethal gene in them. THe males you are showing is just one variety of the the Manchurian Golden.

 

[mhwc56]

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How many variations of the Manchurian are there Quaillady? i thought there was the darker golden and the almost white golden and that was it........

 

[Stellar]

There are the speckled ones and then the ones with the dark heads. Just two variations, really.

 

[Lesalynn]

So, the one in the third pic (very dark head) is a male? I knew the ones with the rust-colored heads were males, but that dark-headed one had me. I really couldn't tell...it has a smattering of spots on it's chest, and I just figured a female. I did notice the spots were very small. I guess that should have given me a clue. The hens I can spot right off the bat have loads of large spotting on the breast.

So from what I've read, the gold is dominant? How the heck do I raise my fertility percentages? It felt like such a waste having to toss all those eggs this morning. Is there a color I can infuse that will help eventually? Should I take most of the golds out of the breeding pens? I am so lost...I'd like to at least head in the general direction of success. Most of the sites I've gone to are pretty confusing. And few have a good variety of pics to help us newbies.

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
i thoughth they were all "speckled"...?

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
although i'm clueless about the variations on the color i have read that the manchurian can be bred to whites or wild type with good fertility success.......is this true?

 

[Stellar]

They are speckled but some are less like in the photos.

You can breed yours together without other colors present, just expect 25% of your eggs not to hatch. You can add in some Recessive Colors like the English White or Texas A and Ms to improve the hatch rates or some Pharaohs or Jumbo Browns in the mix which are incomplete dominant. It's just something you have to work with. It's not too bad.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

I have Manchurian Golds. They had been with Jumbo Browns. I had a communal pen of 4 F/1M, the Breeding pens are set up the same now, 4/1. I have so much Gold in the Jumbo Browns I still have the 25% lethal.

Don't confuse fertility with the Lethal Gene. I had 27 hatch out of 35. Eight never made it out of the shell, but they started, every one was fertile. Lethal means they start, then die before they hatch at some stage in their development or shortly after they hatch.

How many days are you holding your eggs. I only hold mine 5 days before setting to hatch. If you hold them much longer they will loose their fertility. I think with 2 males you may not have enough females for a communal breeding pen. You may want to have another pen if you want 12 hens, each with a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio. How old are your birds, also? Then comes the question of Feed.

It could just be the males are spending to much time chasing each other instead of the girls, though.

M Golds 2 types. In the older variety the male has the Dark head like yours. The newer variety the male has a lighter head. I'll take a picture of one of my light headed ones tomorrow and add it to my Vanilla thread. Might as well show you what my babies are going to grow up to look like, kind of. Different generation so, who knows.

 

[JJMR794]

For Fertility Issue A More Important Question Is How Much Light Are They Getting? Hens Will Lay Year Round, Albeit At A Much Lesser Rate During The Off Season, But Year Round Just The Same.... Jr On The Other Hand Needs Light To Be "in The Mood"...