➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[Fenrisulfr]

Normal coturnix can run a whole lot smaller than 9 ounces. Last year I bought a dozen week olds from a local breeder that only hit 6-8 ounces. Not doing that again.

Here, we divide them into 3 lines. Light, medium and heavy line. But they are floating.

Originally the light line, most related to the origin of the Coturnix Coturnix, had around 120g. They were used for egg production, as they layed very much (16h cycle) and ate only few.
Rarly found nowadays. My lightest are around 180-200g.

Most common is the medium line which has around 250 to 300g.

The heavy line, most used in meat production, is 400 to 450g. Some individuals can reach 500g.

As wrote before, the edges are flowting. Much is mixed.
I have a girl, out of a medium line order, which has 380g.

 

[RUNuts]

Here, we divide them into 3 lines. Light, medium and heavy line. But they are floating.

Originally the light line, most related to the origin of the Coturnix Coturnix, had around 120g. They were used for egg production, as they layed very much (16h cycle) and ate only few.
Rarly found nowadays. My lightest are around 180-200g.

Most common is the medium line which has around 250 to 300g.

The heavy line, most used in meat production, is 400 to 450g. Some individuals can reach 500g.

As wrote before, the edges are flowting. Much is mixed.
I have a girl, out of a medium line order, which has 380g.

a wealth of information. Thank you.

You mention the light line is closest to the true wild birds. It makes sense they are lighter, but that is a lot of eggs. I guess someone selected for increased eggs before the size was increased for meat production.

Yes, the definitions of small (light weights), medium, and large (heavy weights) are fluid depending on the lines and breeders. It's better to discuss actual numbers than relative terms.

 

[Nabiki]

Sure rub it in that you’re getting eggs

I stopped giving my coturnix extra light because I'm getting too many eggs. I was getting over 2 dozen a day. I'm still getting about 20 a day.

 

[Pyxis]

I think my Tibetan male is going to go to freezer camp. I moved him out of being with the Celadon hen and into my pen of extra males, intending to maybe keep him for future breeding, but he killed one of the males in there and scalped the other two. Don't really need that kind of aggression around here, so he's probably going to be joining the other extras he scalped in the refrigerator.

 

[RUNuts]

I think my Tibetan male is going to go to freezer camp. I moved him out of being with the Celadon hen and into my pen of extra males, intending to maybe keep him for future breeding, but he killed one of the males in there and scalped the other two. Don't really need that kind of aggression around here, so he's probably going to be joining the other extras he scalped in the refrigerator.

Decisive.
I had a similar issue. I'm guessing the introduction period was too short for me. How do you introduce? My "throw them all together" got 3 breeder females scalped. One healed. I freezer camped both brothers after that. Lost 4 total from that mess.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

All these quail fight stories are making me think I'm going to have to get tough or get out.

There's peace in my flocks for now, but I don't know if I'd try to heal another bird -- it takes so much time and I end up getting too emotionally attached. They start to become like pets.

 

[RUNuts]

I divided the 8' long cage with a piece of hardware cloth. Put the 2 groups in the cage where they could talk, socialize, and generally get accustomed to one another. After a month, I moved them together and haven't had any issues for the last 2 months. Patience, I find, is good. The male now has 8 girls and 4 are laying with lights. After the incubator is emptied, we will check fertility.

 

[Pyxis]

Decisive.
I had a similar issue. I'm guessing the introduction period was too short for me. How do you introduce? My "throw them all together" got 3 breeder females scalped. One healed. I freezer camped both brothers after that. Lost 4 total from that mess.

I'd been putting him in the male cage for short periods every day to get everyone introduced. It was fine. As soon as I left him in there though, I came back four hours later and he had attacked everyone. He also was really rough with the males he grew up with too, before I split them all into breeding pens. He had pulled feathers out of all their heads trying to 'mate' with them. So I think he's just overly aggressive and has to go.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I'd been putting him in the male cage for short periods every day to get everyone introduced. It was fine. As soon as I left him in there though, I came back four hours later and he had attacked everyone. He also was really rough with the males he grew up with too, before I split them all into breeding pens. He had pulled feathers out of all their heads trying to 'mate' with them. So I think he's just overly aggressive and has to go.

Yeah, totally understand.

I had grand ideas about raising quail and my first batch had a 6-week old roo that terrified every bird in the coop. Quickly ended the debate over whether this city slicker could cull.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I stopped giving my coturnix extra light because I'm getting too many eggs. I was getting over 2 dozen a day. I'm still getting about 20 a day.

The days are still pretty short up in Sonoma. How many adult hens do you have? (Asking for myself -- days are pretty uniform in Hawaii and they're finally starting to slow down with 12 hours light.)