WinePress.US

I've in charge of wildlife development on 3,755 acres of strip mine property in Southern IL. I wanted to share with you some ideas on helping quail with population. I've done the release / recall, etc. but it's just simple, pen raised birds don't make it a full year in the wild, most don't make it 4-6 weeks.

Well, I've built feeders to assist the quail while they teach themselves foraging capabilities. You'll want to place this somewhat close to a food source or food plot when done.

Take a standard 5 gallon bucket with lid. Clean out completely. Drill 4 holes on the bottom to be able to slide 1 1/4" pvc into. Cut 3" sections of 1 1/4" PVC that will be slid into the holes. Cut the outside at a 45 degree angle to keep rain out. You can use silicone or liquid nail to hold the pvc in the bucket. Fill with seed, cover. You may want to have small guage chain on the handle to help with hanging the bucket.

Take two wooden Pallets. Lean them on each other to make an "A" frame. Be sure that the wooden slats are running vertical, so that quail can quickly run between the slats to safety if being chased by a predator. Take a 2 x 4 about 6 inches long and screw it at the top to hold the A frame together. Then take another 2 x 4 and make that the lower cross member to make the "A" frame even stronger. Then you will take wire fence with large 4-6" holes so that quail can get into the area and preditors cannot, nor can deer get to the food. You can also use more 2 x4's across the opening. Do these to the other side as well.

Then you can hang your feeder in the middle of this A frame with the chain. You'll want to have the bottom of the bucket 4-5 inches off the ground so it can help keeping rodents, crawling insects, mud, etc out.

I don't have a construction photo, but you can see the end result here in the photo below. Cheers,
joel

daleh

My Friend,
you have allot to learn about released quail or wild quail for the sake of argument.
1. Habitat is most important
grasses for nesting and brooding must br a clump grass such as broom sage or switch grass, Fescue, Baha, Bermuda chicks can not move through it. Briars are important as other conopy type cover
2. Predators take out most released and wild birds
Cooper hawks have a 70% mortallity on coveys
Ferrrel cats are next on mature birds
Nest robbers snakes, skunks, coons, opossumtake them out before they have a chance
3. feed
The most important for wild birds is natural feed sorces
Insects, greens, and Weed seeds
Lesbedeza, partridge peas, and small grains are last

Most important thing to ever remeber about a released bird program
They must have a supplemental feed program.
Never Ever feed the birds in the same location for more than a week at a time. It is like hanging a neon sign
ATTENTION PREDATORS I WILL BE EATING HERE AND YOU CAN FIND ME IF YOU JUST WAIT.
The best solution is buying and or raising birds that have been bred and conditioned especaily for release.

WinePress.US

I appreciate your input Dale. I've had the biologist from my local Quail Unlimited out to the property, and he was quite pleased with my approach and talked highly of it. I don't plan on feeding the birds year round.. this is why I put the shelters near food plots. I agree about the predators... I'd like to get rid of as many as possible. I have instituted a 30% annual burn program and mowing program. By no means am I an expert. I'm doing the best that I can. I don't know of any local suppliers who have birds conditioned for release.. THese fly pretty good though if that's what you are talking about. They will fly about 30 - 40 yards when they take off.

It's my understanding that I need a brooder out there so that once the birds reach 5 weeks old, they can be released. I also understand that once a quail reaches 5 weeks old, it starts to lose its ability to learn to forage on its own after that. So, the sooner they are released, the better off their survival skills are... And yes, I understand about the predators. Kill em if you can.

Thanks,
joel

ps... got any dogs for sale? My dad lost his Germain Shorthair Pointer this summer. Personally, I like English Setters, but he's a shorthair pointer guy.

WinePress.US

Here's a great article I read before about releasing pen raised birds: Questions about releasing pen raised quail:

http://www.forestry.state.al.us/publication/TF_publications/birds/releasing_pen_raised_quail.htm

WinePress.US

Also, here's the Surrogator.. a self contained field unit for raising quail.. watch the automatic video... pretty interesting... http://www.quailrestoration.com/

WinePress.US

an article I found on quailrestoration.com... about predators..

Responsible Predator Management
There are two tiers of predators: nest predators and adult bird predators.
Nest Predators
Snakes - Small Mesomammals: Opossum, Raccoons, Skunks - Fireants - Foxes - Egrets - Armadillos
Most research shows that snakes are the number one predator on quail eggs in most areas. Raccoons, possums, skunks and armadillos account for the majority of the remaining losses.There has been a question whether or not turkey are nest predators. Researchers from the Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee, FL have placed infrared cameras and observed native quail nests. In an area heavily populated with turkey, not a single nest was lost due to turkey. Snake, raccoons and armadillos were the major culprits.
Although many believe that the most damage comes from avian predators, research shows that far more potential quail are lost in the nest, before having a chance to hatch. These predators destroy eggs and chicks up to about 3 weeks of age. Studies differ, but many suggest that the above predators account for around 80% of quail losses. In one Texas county, research showed 100% of nests lost due to these predators. Research indicates that snakes are responsible for a disproportionate number of losses to eggs and chicks.
Adult bird predators
Adult bird predators consist of hawks, owls, bobcats, foxes, house cats, etc.It is important to realize that the greatest numbers of quail losses occur when they are young. For every one quail, surviving to adulthood, eight were killed before reaching 3 weeks of age.
Hawks are the most effective predator on adult birds. Some research shows about 35% of adult quail losses can be attributed to hawks.
Coyotes are one of the least effective predators on adult quail. Considering that coyotes are at the top of the food chain in most parts of the country, they can be beneficial in restoring the natural balance of an Eco-system. Coyotes have always kept the numbers of small predators such as raccoons, opossums, etc. in check by preying on their young. The reduction of the coyote population has caused a surge in the populations of those small predators, increasing the danger to quail eggs and chicks.In addition, increasing numbers of rats and mice allow for an increase in the snake population; one of the worst predators on quail nest and chicks.
When managing your property for quail, we suggest leaving the coyote population alone. We also recommend that you let trappers trap on your property during the normal trapping season.

GSPsnFORDs

WinePress...that forestry article was a good read...appreciate the info!

Many people I talk always say turkeys are big nest predators to quail especially given their population explotion in recent years. However, I've read several good articles before stating that turkeys very rarely prey on quial eggs or quail hatchlings.

falcon

Thanks for the greatpic of a quail feeder/shelter. Will give that a try at one of our places.Have stocked pen raised birds in the past. If they do not have really good cover the ravens will get them. We kill every coon and armadillo that we come across.

We do not run livestock on our places and the grass istall. This is big bluestem grass and the quail can get through it and they just love it for cover. At this place the big bluestem sometimes gets over seven feet tall.

BTW: Here the fire ants kill a lot of turkey and quail chicks.

jwy

WINEPRESS
THANKS!!!!!! FOR THE INFO AND LINKS ON THE QUAIL !!!!!!

daleh

Here is the problem with the surragator. Using inbred pen quail that have no chance of reproducing. either steril or are so far removed they can not sit on eggs or care for young. 2nd problem released at 5 weeks old is still to early. they can not fly well and can't get away from things that are after them.
my solution is this
I raise birds from day old chicks from good stock (wild birds) trapped and eggs are harvested.
0-4 weeks they eat good feed Custom starter 30% protein along with fresh cut greens and lots of crickets
at 4 weeks old they are weather conditioned
at 5 weeks old they are released in a wild simulated flight pen planted in clover,millet, wheat, sorgum, natural grasses. of course all the insects are present. I also keep releasing 1000s of crickets3x a week
at 7 weeks old they are releasedin the wild and are supplemental fed 2x per week with mixes of sorgum, millet, wheat. untill winter when it changes to sorgum, corn, soybeans
NEVER FEED IN THE SAME PLACE
This year i released 1500 of these birds in a place that has perfect habitat and natural feed. They will not be hunted. I will see next year if their is evidence of them reproducing. Don't know if it will work, No one in history has had success with reintroducing anything other than trapped wild birds and been successful.