Need help determining genders of my 5 button quail! 🤷‍♀️

[Macarter1981]

Hello! I have 5 cute little buttons; three of them are 6 weeks old, and two are 4 weeks.

They’re still in a large brooder, and living harmoniously for now. They do everything together…cuddle at bedtime, eat together, drink together. I don’t think I’ve seen any fighting. At most, what looks like mutual grooming of feathers.

I’m trying to plan for the day when that might not be the case. I’m looking to get a larger enclosure so that they can all have the recommended amount of space per bird. I’ve heard quail can be pretty aggressive and don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’m also worried I may have one female (Mrs. Speckles) and the rest male…either because of bibs or rusty nether region feathers, or contrasting stripes. But in that case couldn’t I just section them off from the other males? The enclosure I’m looking at comes in two identical pieces, so they can be separate if needed.

I didn’t anticipate on becoming attached to them all. I’m just glad we had to move unexpectedly right before my 18 eggs hatched. I gave them to a kind lady on a farm happy to take them. I can’t imagine housing 23 of them in a residential area with no fence.

1. Mrs. Speckles (6 weeks)

2. Leo (6 weeks)

3. Sonic - (6 weeks)

4. Hawk - 4 weeks

6. Pepe (or Pipi?) - 4 weeks

 

[muddy75]

#4 and #6 appear male first and last one appear female. The other colors are not feather-sexable.

 

[Macarter1981]

It turned out that 4 are male, 1 female (Speckles). She’s laying regular, fertile eggs…maybe the lonely bachelors will luck out and she’ll hatch a few hens for them.