Which quail to keep?

[Melissa F]

My Courtinex quail turn 6 weeks old on Sunday and it's time to weed some out. I have 7 females and 8 males. My quail pen has two sections, that can fit several quail comfortably. So that narrows down my options to:
1. Keep all 7 female and 1 male in one section, and start some more for the second section.
2. Keep 3 female and 1 male in one section, and 4 female and 1 male in the other.

What are the pros and cons to each of these options? We're keeping them primarily for eggs, secondarily for breeding.

 

[DaisyQ12]

I think that there wouldn't be a problem with one roo and seven hens because females keep fertility for quite awhile (If you plan on hatching). If breeding is a second priority I'd go with the 1:7 ratio because less hens to a male can sometimes mean the girls get stressed or over bred (Loosing feathers/injured,etc) 1:3 and 1:4 usually don't have issues though. I'd probably go with 1:7 if I were you and just wanted eggs, so you could have more as long as they are comfortable and can stay healthy

 

[dc3085]

What I have noticed happens when i keep trios or quads of hens with one roo is that over time if you lose one or more birds it becomes more and more difficult to manage that cage between stress and overbreeding. The larger coveys make for a more stable social structure. 1:3 or 1:4 comes off just fine most days, but plenty of times I've lost one hen or had one reject the group or vice versa, and it creates displaced birds. Being that it is difficult assimilate coturnix back into groups or to get a new group to accept a bird, I avoid it.

My suggestion would be to eat the seven smallest roosters and make one big happy family out of the rest.

 

[Melissa F]

Thanks- that is what I'm going to do- keep the 7 females with our best male.
Though I have no clue how to process birds- the unwanted ones are going to a livestock auction on Tues and we'll let someone else take care of that part of it!

 

[dc3085]

If you want to process them watch the two videos I made. They are highlighted in blue in my signature line. At least after watching them you will know whether it is something you ever want to do or not.

 

[Quail Jailer]

If you want to process them watch the two videos I made. They are highlighted in blue in my signature line. At least after watching them you will know whether it is something you ever want to do or not.

Great videos too DC. and short enough for someone with a short attention span.

 

[dc3085]

lol as soon as I can get a better camera I'm going to re record those and do a DIY incubator construction video, where I can verbally explain thermostatic control so people will stop wasting their time with useless water heater t-stats.

 

[Quail Jailer]

yeah, they'd be far better off with a blade from a heater or something, but water heater t-stats are NOT suitable.

now days its too easy and cheap to go either digital or wafer to waste time with anything else.

 

[Dragons4u]

When I get the chance, I want to switch my LG to a digital therm.