40 eggs on the way! Pen ideas?

Dogfish · Jun 30, 2010

Found a friend of a friend who has a whole bunch of Valley Quail, around 20 or so. Apparently they are dropping eggs like raindrops. Got the incubator from my father-in-law, a hovebator with an egg turner. The pheasant chicks should be out of the brooder and into their grow out pen in time for these guys to take their place.

The bulk of the birds will be released onto our property, 5 acres of great habitat that are next to 3,000 acres of private timberland, and I am planning on keeping a few pair in captivity. (Counting eggs before they have hatched). What type of pen would they require, size, etc? Building a pen isn't an issue, just need some rough specs to base my pen off of.

My guess is that once you let them out, they won't return to their pen like chickens, or am I wrong.

Thanks

chickenwhisperer · Jun 30, 2010

My guess is that you should find out if thats legal to do in Washington, which I bet its not . . .
Usually, in any state, you cannot release CB gamebirds unless you are a lisenced hunting ranch . . .
I live in Ca, and could be wrong . . .

HTH

Dogfish · Jun 30, 2010

These won't be hunted on our property, as we are in the city limits (of a very small town) but our property line is the city limit, but some may be used as a training aid for my yellow lab. Because they will be pursued by my dog during training, we are good. Across the ditch, they may be hunted. These will essentially be "free range quail", on our property, like an established safe zone. I checked with the WDFW, and there is no permit needed. I would need a permit if I sold them.

Now about the size of the pen, what requirements do these guys take? I'm assuming that I would keep them in pairs, and it might be wise to have more than two pair. Do they return to a recapture pen?

chickenwhisperer · Jun 30, 2010

Valley quail should get as much room as you can give them, dont think of it as "how small" but instead think "how big" . . .
If 3x4 or 10x10 or 100x100 is all you can give em, thats what they should get.
They are nervous and flighty and dont do well in small cages, at least in my experience.

They will return to a recall pen, but you would need a male valley in the reCALL pen to CALL them back in . . . but its illegal!
I was just reading Washington States regs, I definately know you can not trap a bird with a recall trap.
Once you let that bird out, it is considered a wild gamebird, if it can be found in the state(which it can), and no game bird can be taken by trap in Washington State.

If you are doing this in your backyard, somebody would probably have to report you to get caught . . . but you never know.

I also read that there are specific "dog training zones" that are specified to train dogs using wild birds, which is what your birds will be considered if you let them out of a cage.

Basically, in a legal sense, you cannot do what you want to do here.
Is that "fair", or "right" . . . thats a matter of opinion.

I got myself a Ca Gamebird Breeder liscence, just to be legit, and because I like to blab all about it on the internet . . .
I still cannot release them, only hunting ranches can do that.

I was gonna call them, as I cant find any info about the release of gamebirds, but I just came to the conclusion that I really dont care all that much, its your problem/decision . . .

HTH

chickenwhisperer · Jun 30, 2010

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/mwug2009.pdf

Firearm Regulations
IT IS UNLAWFUL TO HUNT:
Game birds or game animals in a manner other
than with a firearm, a bow and arrow, or by
falconry

No persons shall take migratory game
birds:
a) With a trap, snare, net, rifle, pistol,
swivel gun, shotgun larger than 10
gauge, punt gun, battery gun, machine
gun, fish hook, poison, drug, explosive,
or stupefying substance

Bird Dog Training Season
Aug. 1, 2009-Mar. 31, 2010.
Dog training may be conducted yeararound
on posted portions of:
Region One
Espanola (T 24 N, R 40 E, E 1/2
of Sec. 16)
Region Three
South L.T. Murray Wildlife Area
Region Four
Skagit Wildlife Area
Whatcom Wildlife Area - Lake
Terrell
Snoqualmie Wildlife Area
Region Five
Shillapoo/ Vancouver Lake
Wildlife Area
Region Six
Scatter Creek Wildlife Area
Fort Lewis Military Base
A valid small game license is required
to train dogs on wild birds at any time,
except only a Western Washington
Pheasant License is required to train
dogs on wild pheasants

Dogfish · Jun 30, 2010

Then it sounds like I just need to let them go once I release them, no recall pen. I talked with the folks in the Wildlife Mgmt dept today, and they said that I could release to train. So that is what I'll do. Looks like I'll get the breeder license, just to CYA. It isn't too much.

Thanks for your help!

Dogfish · Aug 10, 2010

Cool beans! Checked with the WDFW Willife section today now that I have hatched a few quail. Birds I raise can be used for bird dog training on my property in conjuction with a recall pen! Just need to band their legs to be able to ID them from other birds. I can also release and hunt my birds on a friend's property using a recall pen, however, if I get any wild birds back they need to be released. There aren't any wild birds, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Also, no breeder license needed if birds are for my own personal use. We might have our fair share of government mommies in Washington State, but luckily we aren't as bad as CA.

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