Mixed flock of standard and jumbo coturnix - issues?

[maycwindu]

I picked up a few 5-ish week old coturnix quail to bolster my flock. They are dinky compared to my quail. I think my quail are jumbos, and these new ones are standard. Well, my quail are throwing their immense bulk around to assert dominance while they mingle in the aviary (they sleep in separate coops, to avoid injury in a confined space). Hopefully things will settle down in a few weeks once the kids fill out and everyone comes into laying condition.

Can I expect issues from a mixed flock like this? I also want to breed my quail (I got a standard cockerel) to give fertile eggs to friends, what can I expect from quail that result from a standard/jumbo cross?

 

[Nabiki]

The size may make a difference if there is bullying, but they're the same species, so there aren't any other concerns.

If you leave them together, your next generations will no longer be jumbos. There are a lot of things that go into making a jumbo but genetics are a big one.

 

[maycwindu]

The size may make a difference if there is bullying, but they're the same species, so there aren't any other concerns.

If you leave them together, your next generations will no longer be jumbos. There are a lot of things that go into making a jumbo but genetics are a big one.

Can I tell people who want to hatch out the eggs to generally expect standard size?
Also, I'm curious. Do you personally prefer jumbo or standard for egg production? Is there a temperament difference between the two?

 

[Nabiki]

Can I tell people who want to hatch out the eggs to generally expect standard size?
Also, I'm curious. Do you personally prefer jumbo or standard for egg production? Is there a temperament difference between the two?

I would tell people to expect standard size. They may be a bit larger, but it's better to expect standard.

Coturnix quail are good egg layers no matter what size they are. The jumbos may lay larger eggs, they may not. A lot depends on their blood lines. JMF had a line of meat makers and a line of egg makers.

Temperament also depends on bloodlines. I don't keep aggressive birds, so mine tend to be pretty calm. The birds I've gotten from Southwest Gamebirds are very calm. The ones I get from Myshire are a coin toss for temperament.

 

[CliftonQuail]

I would tell people to expect standard size. They may be a bit larger, but it's better to expect standard.

Coturnix quail are good egg layers no matter what size they are. The jumbos may lay larger eggs, they may not. A lot depends on their blood lines. JMF had a line of meat makers and a line of egg makers.

Temperament also depends on bloodlines. I don't keep aggressive birds, so mine tend to be pretty calm. The birds I've gotten from Southwest Gamebirds are very calm. The ones I get from Myshire are a coin toss for temperament.

My original stock of eggs came from Myshire and I had a lot of aggression issues. A couple of weeks ago, I culled all of my excess males and got down to just two breeding sets (1 roo to 5 hens). I also have seven juveniles that turned out to be 4 hens and 3 roos that are about five weeks old now and divided into two more cages with one of the roos and the hens in one and the two extra roos in the other. I haven't seen any signs of aggression since then.

 

[Nabiki]

My original stock of eggs came from Myshire and I had a lot of aggression issues. A couple of weeks ago, I culled all of my excess males and got down to just two breeding sets (1 roo to 5 hens). I also have seven juveniles that turned out to be 4 hens and 3 roos that are about five weeks old now and divided into two more cages with one of the roos and the hens in one and the two extra roos in the other. I haven't seen any signs of aggression since then.

I don't know what it is, but animals tend to be calmer around me. My quail let me handle them and aren't particularly flighty or aggressive, but if a stranger comes near their pens they panic and flail around a lot.

 

[maycwindu]

I would tell people to expect standard size. They may be a bit larger, but it's better to expect standard.

Coturnix quail are good egg layers no matter what size they are. The jumbos may lay larger eggs, they may not. A lot depends on their blood lines. JMF had a line of meat makers and a line of egg makers.

Temperament also depends on bloodlines. I don't keep aggressive birds, so mine tend to be pretty calm. The birds I've gotten from Southwest Gamebirds are very calm. The ones I get from Myshire are a coin toss for temperament.

OK! Thanks. I was disappointed at first because the newbies are standard, but now I'm excited to see how they do. I don't really have the facilities to breed my own lines, but if I did I'd probably prioritize health and temperament. At the moment I'm at the mercy of whoever provides the quail, and just hope for the best. The temperaments of my first batch of 6 were alllll over the place.

My original stock of eggs came from Myshire and I had a lot of aggression issues. A couple of weeks ago, I culled all of my excess males and got down to just two breeding sets (1 roo to 5 hens). I also have seven juveniles that turned out to be 4 hens and 3 roos that are about five weeks old now and divided into two more cages with one of the roos and the hens in one and the two extra roos in the other. I haven't seen any signs of aggression since then.

I have four young cockerels. My plan is to cull two of my least favorite, then select the one I like best from the remaining two after seeing how they get on with the girls. It's a tough decision lol. Who gets to live, and who gets to go into the bean pot. Poor boys.

 

[maycwindu]

I don't know what it is, but animals tend to be calmer around me. My quail let me handle them and aren't particularly flighty or aggressive, but if a stranger comes near their pens they panic and flail around a lot.

Mine definitely know who I am. They are very uneasy around other people.

 

[bhaugh]

Jumbos that I’ve seen tend to be pharaohs. They are readily bred so so to bad temperament - that’s a no go for me. Aggression is a real killer so I’ll take a standard with a good temp over a jumbo with a bad one any day. The jumbos I’ve had weren’t the best layers either so a smaller bird could outlay them.

2nd the Myshire comment on aggression. The birds hatched well but I culled heavy with them. A lot of people I’ve bought from over the years didn’t really care about temperament. But rogue birds cause too much havoc and kill good birds.

 

[maycwindu]

Jumbos that I’ve seen tend to be pharaohs. They are readily bred so so to bad temperament - that’s a no go for me. Aggression is a real killer so I’ll take a standard with a good temp over a jumbo with a bad one any day. The jumbos I’ve had weren’t the best layers either so a smaller bird could outlay them.

2nd the Myshire comment on aggression. The birds hatched well but I culled heavy with them. A lot of people I’ve bought from over the years didn’t really care about temperament. But rogue birds cause too much havoc and kill good birds.

I use to think that Jumbos were the way to go, thought they tended to produce more eggs than standards. Meat isn't that important to me, just a bonus when comes time to cull the males. I'm starting to like the petite build of the standards. Maybe I'll do an all standard flock one of these days. For now, my jumbos are too aggressive and would murder the standard kids if they were housed together. Hopefully that'll get better, otherwise it'll be a pain to have to house them separately at night... quail are certainly meaner to new members of the flock than chickens are!