RE: need help on quail restocking
I'm going to ditto a whole mess of what "dog1" had to say in his post. It can work andwill if you put in the effort. It is not as simple as just releasing a bunch of birds and hoping for the best. These birds are not wild and need help to get started if you want to see them make it in the wild.
The others here are not all together wrong however. Survival rates can be very low even with the best release programs. A lot of this can be avoided if you do a few things right. I hope someof this information will be helpfull. I am not an expert, but come hunting with us sometime andI' probably make abeliever out of you too.
Mistake number one. Folks release mature, flight ready quail into the wild. At first this seems like a good idea. Strong healthy birds should have the best chance. Birds used in released bird hunts are normally 16+ weeks old. At 16 weeks a quail is mature and about as ready as it will ever be. It's also too old to change it's ways and it's eating habits are already pretty well established. Ever wonder why we don't hunt pen raised birds in the rain? Feed eaten by pen raised quail, no matter how good they are,in the pens does not supply the oils that are needed to give these birds the feathers that the wild birds produce. Without that needed oil in the skin and feathers, these little birds are like sponges when it's wet. Morning dew can even slow them down.If they can't get off the ground, they can't get away from thatfoxor bobcat or other critter. Make sense?
Here's how to do it right in my very humble opinion. First. Use young birds, 8-10 weeks old. Have quail boxed the day before in boxes of 25 and let these birds all spend the night together in the boxes. That night place zip lock baggies of ice in the freezer and lay them flat. This is going to make a flat square of ice to be used in the release. The next morning release 24, 8-10 week old birds in properly designed covey houses with feeder and waterer insidein well covered, low trafficareas. The release is handled by tearing open one corner of the box. Place the box on the ground and place flat square of ice in front of the whole to form an ice door. Place1live call back quail "male" from the same box of 25on a tree about 15ft from the covey house about 10-15ft high. I use a large coffee can nailed to the tree with a wire pirchon the front with wire mesh around it and a smaller can inside for his hiding place.
Here's how it works. And it does work!! A couple of hour after you have leftthe area the ice melts. The young quail trickle out of the box into the covey house. The first thing they see is the feeder and waterer that they are already familiar with from captivity. It has been a couple hours since you put them down. Your gone,and so is your scent!! There is nothing there to scare the quail away from this area. After a while they will begin to wander out of the house and into the area nearby. When they leave sigh the call back bird will begin his job. He will call back to these birds when he wants a reply. This will keep them nearby until they become accustomed to there new surrounding and there new home. Over a short time they will begin eating theinsectsand seeds they need to begin producing the stuff they need to survive. Go back late that evening and slowly walk in to pick up the box. TAke it easy on them and don't scare them away or rush in. They will stick around and a good number will make it.
After a couple of weeks take the call back quail ofthe tree and release him as well. Leave the food and water in the area for about a month. After this time you can take up the food, but leave the water. Most of the birds will stay within about a 300 yard radius of the covey house for as long as you want to keep it there or until they begin to pair off in the summer.
Done this way and at this age these little birds will turn wild and your survival rate should increase substantially. If it is not working it is not the method. Take a good look at what you are releasing, where, and when. Then start thinking like a quail.
All of this is again just my humble opinion. I am no expert and don't claim to be. I have been blessed.
Tim