I have hatched off some quail, and I can't tell the difference between male and female. They are to small for this 'newbie' to vent. Don't ask me what kind, cause I don't know. The eggs were given to me, and they didn't know either.

-- Bear (Barelyknow@aol.com), April 24, 2002

Answers

Pick them up gently by the head. The ones that quickly just hang still are probably hens. The ones that keep fighting are probably roosters. Not scientifically proven, but it comes close. Why sex them now?

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), April 25, 2002.

Very funny Robin! I read that with all seriousness... then it hit me.

I'm curious though Bear... why the need to sex them so young? Once they start to feather, the markings distinguish the sex. (white aroung the face and neck - male, light brown - female) We raise ours for dog training purposes. No one has ever requested males or females specifically. If sold as flight ready, you can already tell the sex.

-- Marge (mboyc73@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.

Marge, I was serious. Haven't you ever heard of that before? It doesn't hurt the chick. It works on week old and older chicks, too. Like when you buy them at the feed store. I'd say about 80% accurate.

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), April 25, 2002.

I didn't mention that they had not 'just' hatched. They are about 4 weeks old. The reason I wanted to know the males and females is I want to seperate some of them and move them to bigger cages. The one they are in is getting small. I didn't know the color to look for and exactly where to look. I would say they have most of thier pin feathers. I have looked, and I can't tell the difference between brown and white. They all look the same to me, but I KNOW there can't all be one sex, can they? I have 10.

-- Bear (barelyknow@aol.com), April 25, 2002.

If you need to, just seperate them now. Wait until they are about six weeks old. Check the top of the head, the face, the throat. Sometimes just the chest has a slightly different color, one sex slightly darker than the other. I don't know much about the sites on the web, but surely there is one on quail. By six weeks they will be fully feathered and if there is a difference, you should be able to tell. Keep us posted. I'm curious as to what kind they are.

-- Robin Downing (Southpawrobin1@aol.com), April 26, 2002.