Coturnix Quail Male - are they always jerks to their ladies?

[Boppo]

My coturnix quails are now 3 months and 3 weeks old, and the ladies have been laying for quite some time. The little cock is in there with them and seems to be quite rough with them and very much a jerk. Do they improve with age? Do they ever get better or is this just a jerky guy?

 

[vall]

Jerkiness varies. They do mellow out with age, but I won't keep any male who's too rough.
They should settle down and squat for him. Mine are about the same age and everything's been calm for over a month. If he's been in there the whole time, I might think about replacing him. In my experience nice males are more common than jerks so odds are your replacement will be better - and you don't even need a replacement unless you're going to hatch the eggs.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

Depends on how much of a jerk he is, does he attack the girls? Draw blood? If he does any of that, I would recommend culling him. They go from a bit of pecking and drawing blood to attempting to kill very quickly.

If he is just overly playful with them I wouldn't even worry about it

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Ratio matters. When they're 1-to-1, they're like buddies. When there are too many hens, sometimes the hens get ornery and play hard to get. Then you get lots of bald birds, including the male sometimes. When they're at the 1-to-3 or so ratio, things are usually a little better, but that too will depend on the personality mix.

 

[Boppo]

I have 1:3 and they all hatched together. I have 2 extra males that I have housed separately, so I do have options. 2 of the females are bald, but one is not.

Both males who are separate but living in one pen are bald because they do chase each other. I have it set up so they can hide and be separate, but every time I put in water or food or grit, they get stirred up and meet again. I am not sure either of the spares would be an improvement over the current jerk.

They are not that old, and I guess I am hoping they will settle down. I am hoping to eventually incubate some of the eggs so I would like to keep at least one of the males. I read that the eggs and hatching babies will be bigger and stronger after hens have laid for a year.

Thank you all for comforting words. I will try to be patient. I just feel so bad every time I hear a rumpus start up (usually after I put in their greens or new food or water).

 

[Boppo]

The jerk roo does not draw blood, he just is rough with ladies and I can tell they are not submitting. Do quails do a courtship thing like chickens where they give the ladies tidbits or dance for them if the rooster is a gentleman?

 

[vall]

The males will bow, yeah. Kind of like my profile picture. I don't give many treats so mine don't tidbit.

One of my breeders ripped up a different male (the day before I was going to separate them ), but he is fine with the ladies. Don't assume those two spares will be jerks to the hens because they are jerks to each other - they just might work.

You could try hatching as soon as you notice the bullseye. I'd avoid setting any undersized eggs, but yours should be out of the pullet egg stage by now. No need to wait a year.

 

[MeanCheek]

My current roo is the only 'good' one I've had, most of the others just haven't been bad.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

I have 1:3 and they all hatched together. I have 2 extra males that I have housed separately, so I do have options. 2 of the females are bald, but one is not.

Both males who are separate but living in one pen are bald because they do chase each other. I have it set up so they can hide and be separate, but every time I put in water or food or grit, they get stirred up and meet again. I am not sure either of the spares would be an improvement over the current jerk.

They are not that old, and I guess I am hoping they will settle down. I am hoping to eventually incubate some of the eggs so I would like to keep at least one of the males. I read that the eggs and hatching babies will be bigger and stronger after hens have laid for a year.

Thank you all for comforting words. I will try to be patient. I just feel so bad every time I hear a rumpus start up (usually after I put in their greens or new food or water).

1:3 ratio is okay but I personally recommend either a 1:1 ratio or 1:5 / 1:6 ratio. 1:1 works well with some pairs, with others it can lead to overbreeding - been good for me when I have done it just by keeping the pair away from other females. The 2-4 females to 1 male seems to work for some people but these are the sort of numbers that can heavily lead to overbreeding.

1:5 is the recommended ratio by most solid breeders as it gives great fertility results and seems to keep the males very happy. 1:6 is my favourite just because it's what works for me, my fertility IS lower than when I was using the 1:5 ratio but I am yet to have a single dispute.

That said, different ratios work for different people and as long as you supply a good amount of dust baths, hiding spots and DIFFERENT sources of water/feed then it shouldn't really be too bad.

Yeah that's how it will be with just 2 males as they will never decide who should be in charge haha, with a few more they can end up having 1 male as the leader of their bachelor pad. Sounds like you're doing the right things!

I've never witnessed their eggs getting bigger, at least not after they've laid their first few, they definitely do not get bigger after a year. In fact after a year of laying a lot of quail can begin to lay less often (especially if you get them to lay over the winter). This is why many refresh their stock of quail on a yearly/nine-monthly basis. I think that statement is complete fiction.

Remember that birds will be birds and there's a difference between them fighting and them just being quail. They're naturally quite rough, it's pretty common for them. Try not to worry, it sounds like you're doing a grand job.

The jerk roo does not draw blood, he just is rough with ladies and I can tell they are not submitting. Do quails do a courtship thing like chickens where they give the ladies tidbits or dance for them if the rooster is a gentleman?

Birds can be rough with each other, as long as it's not causing any real damage it probably isn't affecting the ladies much at all.

 

[BrandonsBirbs]

Don't assume those two spares will be jerks to the hens because they are jerks to each other - they just might work.

You could try hatching as soon as you notice the bullseye. I'd avoid setting any undersized eggs, but yours should be out of the pullet egg stage by now. No need to wait a year.

Great points, just because males are rude to each other doesn't mean they will be the same to the girlies, in fact the girlies can often put them in their places! One of my rudest bachelor's turned out to be my best behaved and most fertile male. I miss Mr. T-wrecks greatly!