culling males - are you hard enough?

[gussiegrips]

Not chickens - quails. Cute wee, Japanese, round, fluffy, quails.

We got 6 female babies from a reputable guy in a carpark breeder.

Too cute. One was especially cute as it had extra yellow markings on it's lovely wee, fluffy head. Awww.

Of course, it's now got lovely russet markings and is constantly humping the females.

I REALLY didn't want a male. And, I object to him harassing the girls. Which, I know is ridiculous, but, the feminist in me gets all cross about it.

And, I think that he's so demanding that he actually puts them off laying sometimes - quails can lay 4 eggs a day, we're getting 2-4 eggs from 4 hens in total. (one hen died a couple of weeks ago, it had a twisted beak, lived a happy life and did well on the special mush I made for it)

I want eggs. And, harmony. And, not to see quail sperm all over the floor of my happy aviary. I want to kill the cock...

I can't justify it - he's only doing what he's programmed to do. But, culling cocks is part of poultry-keeping, right?

And, the kids think of them as pets...but, the kids aren't here for a few days - and, I'm fed up of the horny wee bugger bothering my girls.

Would you? Have you?

Am over thinking it, amn't I?

it is part of keeping stock, and you can cook him, (lots of youtube tutorials if you haven't learnt yet)

If you don't want to eat him, then put him in a poultry auction.

Can you get him neutered if he's more of a pet?

Is it possible to chop chooks balls off?

It sounds like you like the wee fella - any chance you want more quails - if so, his spunk is on tap!

Ha, Laurie, I DID like the wee fella - until he started going all Chris Brown on my four Rihannas...

I have you tubed how to break his randy wee stupid neck - but have never done anything like that before, and am a wee bit worried about getting it wrong. Much as he's annoying and useless, I wouldn't want him to suffer if I messed up.

Is it as easy as it looks? Just a sharp tug and twist?

And then, Bear Gryllis comes round to build me a fire to cook a quail tea on? And, he bring a nice pinot noir? And then, I get ravished?

Smashing.

Where's that stupid bird...

I've tried necking chickens after watching YouTube videos and reading Hugh feanly wittingstall book.

Had a really good go and it didn't work. Cockerel was traumatised, me even more so. Dh reckoned I should try doing it over a broomstick handle.

I ended up going to a friends house whose dh could do it. He kind of did a better job than me but I still don't think it was 100% dead so he cut its head off with a knife.

I've stopped hatching eggs out since then.

Yep. That's what I am worried about.

Quails are wee, but, after poking a prolapse back up the hen's bum I learned that their tissue is fairly, ehm, resilient.

I'd hate to get it wrong and hurt the stupid wee bugger. Don't mind killing him stone dead - does that even make sense?

Is he really noisy?

I'm starting to want him now

please please don't do it yourself unless you are absolutely completely confident. it would be horrible to let him suffer if you did it wrong.

We had a go at keeping quail in addition to our hens last year. We had to cull one that became very ill, and my hubby read up on the correct methods... all of which are intended for much bigger birds. He tried to break the neck, but it just damaged the skin of the poor bird, and in the end he had to snip the head off with a pair of secateurs (which he did not find a pleasant experience, though it was quick and effective - beware of spurting)

Quails are actually happier and calmer with a male, alas. Get rid of him, ad they'll ecome more skittish and unsettled.

When dispatching cockrels we've used the broomstick method very successfully on a number of occasions.

Good God, I am never keeping birds of any kind after reading this thread.

I have strayed onto this thread.

at secateur/quail's neck story! I would definitely be too much of a wuss.

We used to have quails but something got in and bit them all on the back of their heads.

The seateurs felt rather barbaric to me, I couldn't have done it personally, but the bird in question was very ill and suffering a great deal, we had to do something to help end that as quickly and humanely as possible and the traditional methods did not allow that.

Ellie - they are better WITH Chris? Well. There you go. Did not know that.

I really can't face a half hangit bird. And, there is absolutely no way I could cut it's head off with nail scissors.

Am chickening out (baboom psssh) - he can stay. The dirty wee toerag.

Laurie - not noisy at all. In fact, the only real sound he makes is a kind of purring when you give him a mealworm....awww. look at me, warming to the randy wee sod again.

FYI - I have given up my dream of keeping sheep in the back garden to eat the grass. This is all too stressful.

Thanks for the advice. I shall learn to love the little sod. Who purrs.

I wanted quails, I have gone off the idea now!

I'm really glad you've decided to keep him.

Maybe he'll get less horny as he gets older.

That's a point, Laurie.

The thing that bothered me particularly was that I'd carefully nurtured the prolapsed-one for a few days, and she was only half way out the hospital cage when he started shagging her...it was really not very kind of him, she'd still got a sore bum.

The problem is, I am anthropomorphising the stupid wee bugger.

I should stop being cross about sperm on the floor and just let him be a boy quail. Just as well he does something unspeakably cute like purrs, o he'd be a goner...mind, the purring is probably him working up a jobby or something ghastly.

Thank you, MN. I shall look into bromide in his feed...