buckaroo
Well-Known Member
Ordered eggs, incubator, sorghum, millet seeds. I have chicken pen divided in 2 , hoping to plant the seeds and eventually releasing birds, anyone have advise?
Quail, raising, releasing?
- Thread starter buckaroo
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hillbillyfab
Well-Known Member
I'm interested in your success. I know nothing about quail, other than I like to eat them. I'd love to see more of them on our place. We already raise chickens, so I have a pen, incubators, etc.
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Best of luck! I know Ames Plantation plants quail and provides habitat. They have more than normal but not as many as you would think. Some will survive but seems like very few will reproduce. There are too many things going against them even with the ideal habitat, there are nesting predators, hawks and owls. It seems like quail don't have much of a chance to get back like they were in the 70's. This is not scientific just my limited observations.
Let me know how it goes! Been thinking bout starting the same thing in spring / summer !
Jim Fred
Well-Known Member
I would love to see more quail in the wild. Nothing like rabbit hunting and getting the bejezus scared out you by a covey of quail.
Start Yote hunting HARD if you want to protect your investment. Let the Briars grow ' don't cut anything much more than you need to get around.
Very interesting article In The new Tennessee Wildlife magazine that came in the mail today. Talks about TWRA's new plan for Quail.
I looked for the antenna at bear hollow… didn't see
I doubt that it will have any effect on the population. There was a sportsman's club bac k home that raised thousands a year and gave out to members to release. The land that I have was leased by the club and was their home base. There are still remnants of feeders and waters scattered throughout. I haven't seen or heard a quail there in 20+ years.
domestic quail never learn to find water during dry spells and most die of dehydration or become listless and are hawk food. Find a release and shoot farm and learn how they set out brooders / low housing with water and feed, young birds will stay near that for a while and it must be kept . They use a call back bird (a caged rooster that will call to the others so they will find their way back to food and water. If you want wild quail create habitat, If you want to shoot quail buy them, its less expensive, If you want to eat quail courtunix are prolific, They start layin at 6 to 7 weeks, hatch in 17 days and grow at a very impressive rate reaching process weight in 8 weeks.
Unfortunately we cant repopulate quail from pen raised stock.
Unfortunately we cant repopulate quail from pen raised stock.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
And wild quail may not come even when you build the most perfect habitat.
I am certain its completely illegal but it is possible to catch and relocate wild stock. I have seen it done but there are no guarantees they will stay
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
That's a very intriguing idea!
Might be able to find a work-around via making the illegalities legalities,
but I'd think, unless the habit was almost identical, bird survival would still be very low.
Heck, bird survival (in terms of years) is normally counted on 2 or 3 years even in the best of circumstances?
Correct on being totally illegal.
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I plan to start raising coturnix quail in the spring. They will be raised to release and hunt with my brittanys. The building in the below photo was built from rough lumber in the mid 70's. I was probably 8yo at the time. My uncle was a Bantam breeder of several breeds and had many buildings on the property. I recently acquired the property and some of the buildings weren't worth saving. This one is still in good shape so I put new tin on it. When things start to warm up, I'll start cleaning it out and set up. My plan is to raise a population of approx 25 birds to begin hatching for hunting. I'd like to have 150 to 200 or more birds each fall to hunt and maintain the 25 or so after season thru winter for the next spring cycle.
I'm anxious to get started. We will see. I've had a lot more expensive money pit hobbies like dirt track racing.
I'm anxious to get started. We will see. I've had a lot more expensive money pit hobbies like dirt track racing.
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I have raised courtunix quail for eggs to pickle and to eat the birds. They seemed very docile and were very easy to raise and were not nervouse like wild birds. I have my doubts they will flush well or never fly well enough that the dog would be clear of the shot. I may be wrong so look into that. I used to order 100 eggs on ebay as early as I could get them, incubate (17 days) raise for egg production (7 weeks) and by the time they were 10 to 12 weeks old they were in the freezer and I had hatched another round that were about to start laying. I killed all birds by October and wintered nothing. Keep the litter dry if on the ground, make sure hutch is well vented, keep the water fresh. Hope you do well.
Everything eats the quail and their eggs, all furred animals, hawks, owls, turkeys, house cats, you name it. Hawks will tear the roof off a johnny house and eat every bird in there. Tame birds don't fly much if any. They have no natural survival skills and are hard enough to keep alive in a pen. We raised birds for years and planted plots for quail habitat all over and ran dogs all over west tn. There are no fencerows, nobody traps, and if a spot is tillable a farmer is going to plant it and not let it grow wild. Dad used to raise dogs and puppies were always sold before they were born. By the end you almost had to give a bird dog puppy away. I wouldn't invest too much into it.
buckaroo
Well-Known Member
I think I will raise the ones I got, let them brood, and eat some, and turn a few loose and repeat that way I will or only should have money in some feed
Headhunter
Well-Known Member
Another sad thing from the TWRA. It has been 30 years of more since the quail population declined. So glad the TWRA got right on that issue
The TWRA is so sad it is not even funny anymore.
