Being conscious of shooting roosters is often done when shooting wild birds, but not everyone can spot them easily as the explosion and confusion of a covey rise is often so sudden and fast that picking out a male vs a female is much easier said than done. There are some tactics a few people use, such as shooting the higher flying birds, but it's still tough.
A key component of managing for wild quail, aside from the obvious habitat issues for nesting, safety, and feeding, is winter survival and not over harvesting (10% or less based upon a fall covey count). Much of the research shows that birds that make it to February will survive winter, and additional harvest then may be additive, as comparted to compensatory, in annual mortality. High winter survival enhances spring nesting, which enhances summer broods, which sets the table for more birds in the fall. We are right now in the middle of anticipating spring nesting season, so being conscious of anything that may enhance that is very important, and two of those issues are survival and having more hens. That's where the issue comes in about ideally taking more roosters. As mentioned, though, it's easier said than done.
By the way, after a covey rise, we don't hunt singles. Killing birds is about our lowest objective.
