huntnma,

Maybe I can help you some. I'll have to disagree with Elk2901 and Rebel Hog, quail can be stocked, but it will take some work.

First, if you own some land, and at this very moment I can'tremember if there is a minimum you have to own, but contact the local Farm Services Agency (FSA) (USDA)in your county. There is a government program going on right now, where they will pay you a certain amount to put some of your land in the quail program. I know, because I work for these folks. Now don't get me wrong, I don't get tied up to much in the regs., I'm the one that goes out and measures the land you put in the program (I'm in Georgia) and I mark the boundaries for you.. The way it works (don't hold me to this, my regs. or outside in my truck), you can put a minimum of 30 feet out from the edge of the field to I believe l50 feet maximum perimeter around a field in this program and they will pay you to do it. The money is not much, and it's based on so much per acre, here again, contact your FSA office.

Now from what I've seen done here in Ga. You can build what they call , call back boxes, whereas you have a bobwhite in the top, which is screened (usually made with hardware cloth), you put the other birds in the bottom, they can go out to feed and the bobwhite will call them back. I have also seen just a single bobwhite in a small cage hung or nailed up on the trunk of a tree or post, place these around your property and they will keep wild birds and birds you stock coming back. It's best to buy flight birds, because they are weather conditioned.

As for instructions on building call back boxes, I believe you can contact either, your local county extension office (and get free information)or Quail Unlimited and they can provide info.

Sure you are going to have predation problems, that's natural, but you need the land and cover on the land for the birds to feed in and hide in. Not only raccoons, hawks, owls, armadillos, etc. but fire ants will kill the chicks, as well as egrets (we call them cow birds). You just have to keep restocking till they can sustain themselves.

If you can get neighboring land owners to participate, the better. It takes some effort, but it can be done.

I won't argue with Elk2901 about Kansas, but I have several friends that go to Kansas every year to quail hunt. They hunt on Walk-On land and kill piles of quail each year, this land is mostly under the CRP (which is looked after by the local FSA office and state offices) program and private land owners put their land in this program to benefit the landowner and the quail. Then the hunters benefit, it's a win win situation.

I'm not an authority on it, but I work with this program and it does work.

Hope this helps.

Dog1