Breeding quail

[OhSusanna]

There's a lot of contradictory info on the web, unfortunately. Does anyone here have experience with this? How many females per male are ideal for breeding. In the wild these birds stick with one mate, so do I really need three or four females per male? Do I isolate the mating pairs/groups for breeding or just for nesting? I could see the females fighting to mate if there's more than one per male. Any pointers?

 

[Petal to the Metal]

I've never raised quail, but I do know that how animals breed in the wild is often very different from how they breed in captivity. So if the resources your finding say that the ideal mix is 3:1 or 4:1, then that's what I'd go with.

 

[OhSusanna]

You're right, Petal to the Metal. I've learned from my neighbor that it's a common practice to use nesting cages to separate the groups. We've decided not to move forward with these plans. My covey is just now taking ownership of their aviary and are finally showing some confidence. I'd hate to ruin that with nesting cages and male birds. I'm going to buy some chicks this year, then we'll give it another look next spring.