Questions about quail? Im a newbie!

[CHICKENHEAD]

1. Does the roo hen peck feathers off of the hens back? I bought 5 bobwhite quail that are 15 weeks old. I dont know the difference between sexes yet, but theres a few that have feathers off their back just like a breeded hen would.

2. I have a trio of cortunix quail, one of them is laying an egg. Also, one of them has feathers missing on their lower back. Is this the hen? Does she need a nest? She just seems to lay the egg anywhere in there.

 

[cgjsmith]

The quail shouldn't peck at feathers unless they are in too small of a cage, or if there are too many males harrassing a female.... Bob whites are most distinguished by the line around there eyes, males are white females are brown. This usually shows up right around the time they start filling out there feathers.
cortinex are not as easy to tell they are best told by the sounds they make when they are calling. they don't naturally set on there eggs so yes eggs are everywhere (including food) Crystal

 

[CHICKENHEAD]

yes, right now I have 5 in a small breeder cage. I need to figure out which is the males and females and split them accordingly in pairs. The cortunix just had a label on it that said breeder pair and 1 tibetan???? I dont know if its 2 roos and a hen, or 1 roo and 2 hens.

 

[CHICKENHEAD]

another question. Is there something I can do where they dont wanna try to fly around in that little cage so much? I would keep them in a brooder but I think they will fly out when I open it.

 

[SamG347]

Always research before getting birds especially gamebirds. The way to tell difference between sexes..

Bobwhite..males have white around eyes females have tan.

Cortunix...males have reddish breats with NO speckeling...females HAVE speckling.

Bobwhites dont do too well in confinment especially getting so close to mating season. Cortunix can be kept with 1 sq/ft per bird comforatably. But with bobs bigger is better. Keep a male to female ratio of...

1 male to 1 female
1 male to 3 female
2 male to 6 female

And allow 3+sq/ft per bird when breeding bobwhite. I know many get away with less but especially if you are breeding more than one male in the same pen you will need more space.
Good Luck!

 

[SamG347]

another question. Is there something I can do where they dont wanna try to fly around in that little cage so much? I would keep them in a brooder but I think they will fly out when I open it.

It is in quail nature to fly upwards when "danger" is around. Especially with bobwhites. You will need to make pens that have a soft top....like flight netting or coated chicken wire.​

 

[CHICKENHEAD]

thanks for the advice.