Where to Buy Single Adult Pretty Coturnix Hen (hopefully online)

[Shmegel]

Hello! I am raising coturnix quail for eggs and as pets. I currently have three quails, two females and a male (Pharoah, Texas A&M, and Tibetan/Red). I’m hoping to get an additional laying female to add to my flock, as the male tends to mate when anxious and it can stress the females (they’re losing some pretty head feathers!). I want to get a pretty hen that looks different from my others, perhaps Tuxedo? I live in Alabama and can’t seem to find anything local (including Craigslist) other than the breeds I already have, and because they’re pets we’d like to be able to tell them apart even from another room, as we can the current ones. I’m looking online but having trouble finding fully-grown hens that do not require large orders- I only want one more!!! Can anyone help me or show me where to look? Thank you!

 

[igorsMistress]

You could hatch eggs from your Texas A&M and get Tuxedo if you're unable to find them online. As I understand that's how they're made.

 

[Erkenstein]

Yes, your boy needs more than two females. But keep in mind that he will grab them by the neck or head feathers whenever he mates with them, and the only way to keep their feathers pretty is to get rid of the male. It's natural.

 

[Shmegel]

Yes, your boy needs more than two females. But keep in mind that he will grab them by the neck or head feathers whenever he mates with them, and the only way to keep their feathers pretty is to get rid of the male. It's natural.

Of course!!! I’m just worried about over-mating. When I see so many head feathers missing, to me that’s an indication that it’s happening a lot. The ladies have started running from the hen when he gets frisky, so I think they’re getting stressed with the mating frequency. I don’t mind bald quails as long as they’re happy lol

 

[Shmegel]

You could hatch eggs from your Texas A&M and get Tuxedo if you're unable to find them online. As I understand that's how they're made.

That would work, but as pets there’s the issue of inbreeding- we’ve only got one male and one big cage, so putting his daughter in there with him would result in some strange relationships (I know quail are technically fine to inbreed for a couple generations, but like I said, they’re pets and the kids would be disturbed!)

 

[Fishkeeper]

Look on Craigslist if you want one adult, or hatch eggs and remove any extra males. Or you could see if there are any farming co-ops or poultry forums for your area where you could potentially find someone willing to sell/trade a single female.

 

[lomine]

If you hatch eggs you will need to deal with the "extra" males too. Most people don't want to buy extra males unless they are looking to eat them. If you don't have a problem with that, then you could try hatching eggs but you'll need an incubator. As to the birds inbreeding bothering your kids, it might be a good opportunity to educate them on the differences between mammals and birds. If they are old enough maybe a little look into the role of genetics and chromosome pairs. If you don't want to hatch eggs at all, there is really no need to have a male in the first place. The hens would be happier without him.

You can try on your state thread to see if any other BYCers have extra females. You could also see if there is a local Facebook poultry group. I belong to one for my area and it has a lot more variety listed than Craigslist. It's kind of a hard time of year though because many have stopped laying and most people aren't incubating anymore. Mine stopped laying weeks ago.

If you do find some females I suggest adding at least two. It's hard for a lone bird to integrate into an existing flock. It would be much easier on the new addition to have a buddy. Also, if you are going to keep the male, four females are better than three.