You need 2 main things. Food (as mentioned) and cover. Switchgrass, brome, or a CRP mix are great. For food, milo, soybeans, and corn are the best. Pheasants forever also has a mix. A wild covey is better than a pen raised covey. A pen raised covey has no survival instincts and you will be lucky to have a covey at all a month from when you release them, if you have predators around that is.