Do people hatch quail and release them?

some people release Bobwhites BUT you have to check with fish and wildlife first  to find out what is legal and what could get you thrown into jail/heavily fined.Different laws for different states........

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It is illegal to endanger wild populations of Bobwhites with pen grown Bob's. Many states require licensing, periodic checks of your facilities and is a lot of work. So a check with local Fish and Game Dept. is mandatory.

Secondly, unless some sort of predator control is practiced, the Bobs are being sent off to their deaths, only surviving a night or two in the wild. Food and water must be provided if their natural habitat is not present. 

If quail are native to your area. And populations are low or gone, there is a reason. Habitat or predators are preventing them from flourishing. Released birds would suffer the same fate as the wild ones only quicker as Leyla pointed out.... JMHO , Bill

Everybody has a opinion on what happen to the native quail, Everything from habitat to predators, but nobody says anything about Mother Nature playing a big part in the quail population.If you have NO rain you have no weeds and no bugs for the young. They don"t live very well on TREE Bark.The first 4 weeks of chicks diet is Bugs which is the protein after that the go to the seed source.

I was thinking about hatching out some CA Quail for release. Someone around here does it with wild turkeys though I'm not sure how much they stick around for food.

I hatched out 60 bobwhites last year and turned them loose. I watched the hawks wipe them out. One hawk would fly low over the field and spook a quail to jump and the 2nd would swoop down and grab it out of the air. They are relentless and it seems every 1/2 acre has 2 or 3 different kinds of hawks.

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Originally Posted by Fat Daddy 

If quail are native to your area. And populations are low or gone, there is a reason. Habitat or predators are preventing them from flourishing. Released birds would suffer the same fate as the wild ones only quicker as Leyla pointed out.... JMHO , Bill

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AND I WILL ADD IF DONE CORRECTLY (IT IS A VERY SPECIALIZED PRACTICE, NOT JUST HATCHED AND GROWN IN THE BACKYARD) THERE'S STILL A LESS THAN 2% SURVIVAL RATE OF RELEASED BOBS WHEN DONE UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS BY WELL TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS~ WANNA HUNT THEM? GO TO THE PLACES THEY ARE STRONG IN NUMBERS.... WANNA EAT THEM? RAISE YOUR OWN, ITS WAY MORE EFFICIENT AND HUMANE TO THE BIRDS.... WANNA HEAR THEM SING GET A PAIR OR 2 AND KEEP THEM IN A PEN. LEAVE MANAGEMENT AND RESTOCKING TO THE PROS..... IT WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF TIME, MONEY, AND GRIEF IN THE LONG RUN

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoosaQuail 

I hatched out 60 bobwhites last year and turned them loose. I watched the hawks wipe them out. One hawk would fly low over the field and spook a quail to jump and the 2nd would swoop down and grab it out of the air. They are relentless and it seems every 1/2 acre has 2 or 3 different kinds of hawks.

I swear the laws need to be changed about this bird. Way over rated. Dang thing can do whatever whenever.

 

Those so called pros are government workers, the same kind that brought in English sparrows, carp, kudzu and who knows what other problems. Less that 2%, huh, might that tell you more about government workers. We not only raised them and had great success at turning them lose we also provided brush piles for them to hide in, we also planted grain in patches near the brush piles and all that close to water.  Sure there will be a high death rate if there is no place for them to hide or places for them to forage but if you give them a starting chance they can survive. where farmers have left hedge rows and brush growing there could be a good quail population but where it is barren, no quail nor any other birds.  
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJMR794 

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AND I WILL ADD IF DONE CORRECTLY (IT IS A VERY SPECIALIZED PRACTICE, NOT JUST HATCHED AND GROWN IN THE BACKYARD) THERE'S STILL A LESS THAN 2% SURVIVAL RATE OF RELEASED BOBS WHEN DONE UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS BY WELL TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS~ WANNA HUNT THEM? GO TO THE PLACES THEY ARE STRONG IN NUMBERS.... WANNA EAT THEM? RAISE YOUR OWN, ITS WAY MORE EFFICIENT AND HUMANE TO THE BIRDS.... WANNA HEAR THEM SING GET A PAIR OR 2 AND KEEP THEM IN A PEN. LEAVE MANAGEMENT AND RESTOCKING TO THE PROS..... IT WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF TIME, MONEY, AND GRIEF IN THE LONG RUN