Hints on Sexing Quail

Normal type Japanese quail are easy to sex from about 3 weeks onwards, the reddish brown chest of the male starts to become noticeable. The female will retain her speckled chest and throat feathers.

Once they are adult and in breeding condition, from about 6 weeks onwards, the sexual behaviour and foam ball production of the male will be apparent.

Italian Golden hens have a distinctive face mask.

The coloured varieties of Coturnix, such as English White, Range, Tuxeo do not have an apparent difference in feathering between the male and female, but they can be distinguished by their size difference for the female is bigger than the male, and by vent sexing.



Female Japanese -





Male Japanese -





As indicated above, the vent of the male is more domed, while that of the female is more inverted. This difference is only seen after they have reached sexual maturity, when their behaviour will indicate their sexes anyway.

In adulthood, the difference in vocal sounds are also apparent.

In breeds such as Bobwhite, Californian, Gambel's, Harlequin and Chinese Painted (CPQ), the males can be distinguished by their face mask which is absent in the females. However, the White variety of CPQ cannot be distinguished by this feature.

The Californian male has a distinctive blue-grey breast in addition to the face mask.