Coturnix for dog training?

[willow_lane]

Does anyone use Coturnix quail for dog training? If so do you have any luck getting them to return using a call back pen?

Thanks

 

[JJMR794]

Imo--- I Breed/ Raise/ Train Labs For Both Upland Game And Waterfowl (wanna Buy A Pup? Got 6 Right Now!--- The Perfect X-mas Gift!) Coturnix Absolutely Suck For Dog Training( And I'm Not Alone On This--- Most Pros Wont Use Them Either)--- Dont Get Me Wrong, I Love The Breed Of Quail--- I Have A Bunch And More Every Week, But They Just Really Dont Make The Cut For Dog Training Unless All You Want To Do Is Take Very Young Pups And Give Them Something With Feathers To Chew On.... The Coturnix (domesticated Anyways) Arent Very Active Fliers And Give A Dismal Training Performance. Also Many States Prohibit The Release Of Any Gamebird For Any Reason Or At Least Require Special Permitting And Inspections, Etc...any Infractions Carry Hefty Fines Including Your Truck And Dog, Etc...( Most Game Warden Really Have No Sense Of Humor About This)

Call Back Pen-- No Idea, Havent Tried With Coturnix. I Suppose If You Left A Roo To Crow From The Call Back Pen It Might Work.

And Besides Once Trained You Want Them To Hunt Bobs Or Pheasants --- Not Coturnix, So This Is A Mistake From The Beginning.

 

[justpete]

I gave a dozen to a friend to try.

Well now she has 12 pet quail. The dogs just play with them and the birds won't fly away.

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I know our Coturnix are quite tame. You have to shoo them away from your feet when your trying to walk in their Flight Pen. Our dogs go right up to the fence and sniff the ones along the edges and the Quail don't seem to notice them.

I doubt they would be more the puppy treats.
David

 

[jetto]

Coturnix have worked for us but it depends on your training set-up and exactly what game you're training your bird dogs for. And most importantly the equipment used for training. We use the smaller coturnix for training. The jumbos we've tried don't fly well at all. But the smaller coturnix when put in a launcher fly pretty good once launched. And the dogs scent them just as they would a bob or a pheasant or a grouse or a woodcock or a pigeon for that matter. These are pointing breed dogs I'm talking about- I know nothing about retrievers or flushers. We actually prefer to use birds that we won't be trialing on since if you make a mistake on a coturnix- no fear- you won't be running into one at a field trial so the dog doesn't transfer the "bad" experience to a trial setting. That's one of the big reasons we use pigeons alot in training pointing dogs.

For our purposes we do alot of "proofing" with our dogs. So the jumbo browns work out well for that. Many times at a field trial birds will get wet or simply not be good fliers and your dog MUST be able to handle walking birds in front of them. The jumbos fit well in those scenarios. Again- depends on what you are training your dogs for. When our primary game was hunting we didn't bother with pigeons or anything but gamebirds. Now our game is AKC field trialing so we use the birds that are easily attainable and good for the game we're playing. The dog in my avatar is regularly tuned up on coturnix and pigeons - in fact that picture was taken at a dog show when he scented two pigeons in a box waiting to go to a new owner. Who says a show dog doesn't point birds!

Kristi

 

[jetto]

Sorry I forgot to respond to the recall pen question. We have had several coturnix go "to" the recall pen. Only one ever figured out how to enter the funnel and go in though. But the others were easily netted. That is another bonus with using coturnix I forgot to mention. Many times they can be easily caught and reused unlike bobwhites who sometimes recall and sometimes do not and don't net easily at all, lol.... JMO based on our experiences. Kristi

 

[willow_lane]

Jetto,

Thank you for your response. I would like to use them for training pointers. Great info your provided. I just hoped that they would come back after they flushed so that the fox and coyotes don't get them.

Do you have any advice on training a dog not to catch or "eat" the bird when it flushes? LOL

Thanks again.

 

[jetto]

You're very welcome.

Don't count on the coturnix to come back- but if you have a net handy and are quick you can recatch them alot of times provided you see where they land.

NOT Eating birds- Lots and lots of yard work. Controlled yard work without birds then controlled yard work with birds and then finally controlled work away from the yard. Then finally loose work but we always have an e-collar on the dog. Most of the time (98% probably for us) we don't use it- but it's there just in case things start to go way downhill. And the dogs are all conditioned to it and get EXCITED when the tri-tronics box comes out. They know it's time to go work. And they thrive on that.

Our youngest Brit is green broke. He's to the point where I can turn him loose, checkcord dragging and he'll hold point til I get there and launch the bird. But he still wants to take one GIGANTIC leap sideways to mark the flight...

But he will get there and I plan to have him ready for spring field trial season. Course once I turn him loose in the uncontrolled setting of a trial we'll have some set-backs...<sigh>....But that's all part of the game.

Good Luck with your Pointers! It's not easy training dogs yourself but we have found we get alot more out of it now that we do most of our own training. We still go to a trainer now and then for help and advice when needed but most of it we do on our own. Kristi

 

[jack gabel]

your post has been up a 6 years - just got a little covey of Cotrounix to train my Brittany - built a fly pen ( 20'L / 5'W / 7'H) - just moved them in and they ain't as yet doin' much flyin' - also, have just read they rarely fly at all - hope they learn to fly - just want them to flush and fly at least 50' or so - should be easy to get back

in one video I watched, the bird trailed a blaze orange ribbon - probably not to hobble it's flight (as they do with heavier weights on the legs of Chuckers and Pigeons), rather to more easily find the bird when it goes down - is that a sensible approach ?

mainly I'm just hoping they'll fly period - give the pup a showy enough flush to train him on

one last question: if keeping the birds in the same yard where training the pup, does pup become too familiar with the birds to point them in the field? we live in the city and have no place else to keep them

thanks for any tips

 

[KeithKZ]

I realize this is an old thread but I also have a Brittany and have used coturnix for many years...successfully....so I'm not sure why all the negatives about them. In Michigan you can only use bobwhites on state land during the actual 2 1/2 week season UNLESS you are using them on private land or on hunting preserves. Coturnix you can use year round on ANY land....state or private. Those who have had problems with flying ability I would question if they were still too young and/or what diet they were on. If they were being fed a finishing diet which is used to fatten up quail used for meat then heck no they won't fly worth a crap. I just set some out 3 weeks ago for my 8 month old Brittany and they flew VERY well.

I'm actually contemplating using jumbo browns and just feeding them a flight conditioner feed that has 19% protein and see how they fly since they are larger than the regular coturnix.