Jayburd wrote:Most of my quails look like hens until they grow bibs, or have what looks like a bib but isn't

it's very confusing.
Mine all either grow bibs or don't; it is only confusing in the weird dilute ones I have where it takes longer to become obvious.
Many people remove the chicks very young as they are precocious and at risk from aggressive males. I keep several pairs in a large aviary and they have heaps of cover, so I have little trouble with that.
My main problem is convincing someone to take the young 'uns off my hands...
In the great bird rationalisation coming soon to my aviaries, the KQs are gonna go, bar one or two pair for the holding aviary. Their sins (if that's not to strong a word) include pinching all naturally occuring live food from the floor before the others can; getting into the termites/gents/mealies even when they are on an elevated surface; creating Malthusian moral dilemmas by propogating so vigorously and finally, the cardinal sin of losing my interest.....
Of course, the four my kids resurrected yesterday will probably have to be kept (or at least
appear to have been kept).
Avid amateur aviculturalist; I keep mostly australian and foreign finches.
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)