Why are they doing this?

[Erkenstein]

Some people and their aversion to blastodisk! There really is no other difference, but you need to give people what they want I guess.

Thunderdome is an apocalyptic Mad Max movie where people have to fight each other to the death in a ring. It's what you don't want to happen with your birds.

It sounds like you have a great setup with happy (female) birds. I'm not you, but if I were I would take a few of the females and put them in the hutch with my favorite male and that would be my breeding pen. I would process the extra males.

 

[Jus1]

An all male cage needs a lot more space than 1sq/f per bird so the more space you can give them the better. Males will mate with each other and beat each other up if there aren't enough hiding places and things to do. A lot depends on their personality as to whether they can co-habit reasonably peacefully so remove the worst offenders and certainly don't use them for breeding. Breeding aggressive birds leads to aggressive offspring. Work on breeding sweet, mellow birds as you will have a lot less problems when keeping them as large groups. Females can be just as nasty if they want to be so remove any female trouble makers from the gene pool as well.

Aren't people funny! An egg is an egg and tastes the same fertile or not!

It's an 8 foot hutch, half for the males now, and the other half will be for adding new ones that get done hatching, as well as to get ALL birds off the cold ground when winter hits. So they have 4 feet of space to 8 birds. Yes people are funny about eating fertile eggs, No matter how many times I tell them fertilization can't survive in my fridge

 

[coach723]

If you collect eggs daily, there is absolutely no difference between eating fertilized or non-fertilized eggs. Visually there is really nothing visible before day 3 or 4 of incubation. The blastoderm will look different, but honestly the only people I know that even look at the blastoderm are people that raise birds. You can google 'quail egg development chart' for pictures of how fertilized eggs look on each day of development. If you pick eggs up daily and refrigerate, no blastoderm development happens, nothing to see. I keep roo's with my hens and have never had an issue. Unless you find an egg in a place it was hidden and you aren't sure how long it's been there, no issues. So if that's the ONLY reason you are keeping them separated, it's not really necessary.

 

[Jus1]

I have 8 males, well how 7 together as I have the one in my house they kept going after. Is that still too many together in 4 feet of hutch space?

 

[Jus1]

If you collect eggs daily, there is absolutely no difference between eating fertilized or non-fertilized eggs. Visually there is really nothing visible before day 3 or 4 of incubation. The blastoderm will look different, but honestly the only people I know that even look at the blastoderm are people that raise birds. You can google 'quail egg development chart' for pictures of how fertilized eggs look on each day of development. If you pick eggs up daily and refrigerate, no blastoderm development happens, nothing to see. I keep roo's with my hens and have never had an issue. Unless you find an egg in a place it was hidden and you aren't sure how long it's been there, no issues. So if that's the ONLY reason you are keeping them separated, it's not really necessary.

I don't know what people know. I have people on Facebook asking for eggs as long as they aren't fertile. I'm new to this game so I wouldn't know one until I cracked it open, But if they know what a fertile egg looks like when they crack it open, I lose business.

 

[Nate Akeley]

I would say puthim in with the females and collect the eggs freqently.

 

[Jus1]

I would say puthim in with the females and collect the eggs freqently.

1 male to 15 females? Is that ok? I just know I'm not putting him with the other males, he's the only one being picked on

 

[Nate Akeley]

I don't know what people know. I have people on Facebook asking for eggs as long as they aren't fertile. I'm new to this game so I wouldn't know one until I cracked it open, But if they know what a fertile egg looks like when they crack it open, I lose business.

They cant tell unless they try to hatch them.

 

[coach723]

No one knows until they crack it open, the outside of a fertile egg is exactly the same as a non-fertile one, and as I said, most people honestly have no idea what to look for anyway. They just have visions of partially formed chicks coming out.
If you are selling eggs then you have to do what you have to do. I might just have a conversation with those customers to see what the actual objection is and who knows, maybe they will change their mind. Maybe not. I know people whom have told me the same thing and when questioned (politely) they say basically 'because someone told me', they really have no idea. You could always have a flock of hens separate and a flock with a male, and do both. Just depends on what your goals and needs are.

 

[Jus1]

I can tell they are fertile once I crack them. I look for the fertile dot. Or bullseye as I call it. If they know what I know they won't do business with me.