Coturnix

Hi all my Coturnix Quails are about three weeks old now, how do i sex these as they are all many different colours.
can i sex them at this age or should i wait till they are older?

many thanks Lewis

Hi,

If you have normal pattened birds, these can be easily sexed from 2/3 weeks of age, it does'nt matter what variety they are, the females will have speckled chests while the males will have a chestnut chest, this can be dark or light depending on variety/colour. The same goes for the gold varieties as well.

When it comes to range varieties or whites, you will have to wait until maybe 4/6 weeks. You can either wait for them to either crow or lay eggs, but another way is to look at the vent of the bird and gently squeeze around the area, makes will secreat a foamy liquid, while the females will not.

If you have normal pattened poults, you can post photo's of the bird with the chest facing, and most members will be able to sex them for you.

Derek.