The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: CarolW on October 05, 2011, 08:18:11 pm

Title: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: CarolW on October 05, 2011, 08:18:11 pm
Can anyone help, how easy is it to sex Japanese Quail ? we bought 11 a couple of weeks ago and were told they were pol  - no had one egg so we were wondering if we'd been diddled.  :-[  They are really cute little things.
Title: Re: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: cluckingnuts on October 06, 2011, 06:14:54 am
Cocks have a chestnut coloured breast, hens breast creamy with black speckles.
Title: Re: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: Sylvia on October 06, 2011, 07:46:31 am
If they were cock birds they would be fighting to the death by now :o
Title: Re: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: Mel Rice on October 06, 2011, 10:33:45 am
I had three boys and two girls hatch from my first lot...all diff shades of the basic colour. My boys did not fight but did vi with each other as to who jumped on which girl. they then seemed to sort them selves out into to pairs and a single male. I lost the two pairs and the single male has two new girls. i was getting an egg a day each for a while (Enough to hatch a new five!) but they have stopped laying at the moment. Not moulting so I think its down to the weather!.
Title: Re: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: little blue on October 06, 2011, 08:32:26 pm
CarolW - if they are young they probably won't lay until Spring (Easter - ish)
Quail have a short but prolific laying period - ours went off lay in August, when the weather turned very wintery!!

 We usually get eggs between Easter and September/October ... but later-born chicks won't start til the following spring.

If they are traditional coloured, they are easy to sex and the females "parts" are more concave, the males' domed & produce a foam when sexually mature (5-6 weeks plus)

hth
:)
Title: Re: sexing Japanese quail
Post by: CarolW on October 07, 2011, 10:01:34 pm
Thank you for helping, it looks like we have mainly girls and so far the boys arent fighting.  They are really sweet and come running to us when we go in the run.