long term male/female ratio coturnix quail

[cottontail farm]

I know this has been asked before but the responses I'm reading don't match my experience.
What is the ideal M/F ratio for a breeding pen of coturnix quail that will keep the males from beating up the females?

Over the years I have tried 1:4 and 1:6 and the males ALWAYS eventually beat up the females to the point of culling.

Today I butchered my remaining extra males, leaving me with two breeding pens with a 1:8 ratio.

What has everyone, from your own personal experience, had long term sucess with? I want to get maybe one more hatch in before fall but go into winter with 2 stable breeding pens.

Thank you.

 

[paneubert]

I am surprised your 1:6 still beat up the ladies. Was it an equal beating on all 6, or more focused on one or two? I am going to guess it is not just a function of ratio, but also of pen size and hiding spots. You probably can't change much about the size of your existing pens, but can you experiment with more hiding spots?

 

[JaeG]

It all depends on the personality of the male. I've had a pair of females in with a male in a rectangular indoor rabbit cage and he was a perfect gentleman. I've had another who was so aggressive no number of females was enough. Aggressiveness does seem to be genetic so if you are breeding aggressive birds their offspring will follow in their footsteps.

 

[JurassicBawk]

I agree that it greatly depends on the male. I had a 5:1 ratio in my hutch, until I went out one evening and saw 4 of the females with swollen eyes and one had a bloody head. I immediately separated out the male and the one non-hurt female and put them in a dog crate until I could access the situation. It seems one girl got bouncy and hit her face, everyone saw blood and went nuts, and the male had nothing to do with it. He's happily sitting cuddled up with his female and no issues at all with just the pair of them, still in the crate about 1.5 weeks later while the other girls fully heal.

I've also got the parent birds together as a pair, with no issues at all. (It was a 3:1 ratio for a long time with no issues, but the other 2 females eventually died of old age.) I had tried to put one of my other extra males in with another set of 5 females that I had, and he attacked them to the point I had to physically remove him from almost killing one. He's been sent to the bachelor pen, and only my nice calm males are allowed to have girlfriends now.

 

[cottontail farm]

I am surprised your 1:6 still beat up the ladies. Was it an equal beating on all 6, or more focused on one or two? I am going to guess it is not just a function of ratio, but also of pen size and hiding spots. You probably can't change much about the size of your existing pens, but can you experiment with more hiding spots?

It was always one particular hen... and then another and so on. I do try to keep brush (small pine limbs etc) in the pens but would be grateful to hear what everyone else uses for hiding areas. I nedd to fix this problem.

 

[cottontail farm]

It all depends on the personality of the male. I've had a pair of females in with a male in a rectangular indoor rabbit cage and he was a perfect gentleman. I've had another who was so aggressive no number of females was enough. Aggressiveness does seem to be genetic so if you are breeding aggressive birds their offspring will follow in their footsteps.

I'm sure there are good lones and bad ones just like roosters. I don't have the space to audition many of them and by the time one shows his true colors the other males are in the freezer. Good to hear there are nice ones out there.

 

[JaeG]

You could try a cardboard box with a few entrance/exit holes cut into it and space all the way around it. I had to do this with a pair of button quail and the female seemed to be able to out fox the male and hide from him. I did eventually have to put him in timeout (where they could still see each other as otherwise they were calling for each other) and after a couple of days he's been a perfect gentleman again. I'm not sure why he got aggressive but I'm thankful things have calmed down.

 

[Wayback]

I have a female whom has taken out 3 males. She is headed to Camp Kenmore. As far as hiding places, Mine like to use pipeing

 

[cottontail farm]

I have a female whom has taken out 3 males. She is headed to Camp Kenmore. As far as hiding places, Mine like to use pipeingView attachment 1113835

If I could have hit "like" for every one your sentences I totally would have. Can I borrow the "Camp Kenmore"?! LOL.
Your pen looks amazing. Do you have a picture of the whole thing?

 

[poultrymad]

1m per 5 females. Only ever culled 1 male and 1 hen out of about 150 males and 750 females for temperament. That ratio is the same in every penny regardless of the birds. Very few issues.