Bobwhite questions

[mrbstephens]

Thank you! Yes, I was planning on doing all those things, but not the Johnny house. I will have a flight house for them and release a few at a time in hopes that they return. I realize I will lose most if not all of them, but as you said, if I am persistent, may be successful. We do have mourning doves in the yard from time to time. I'd imagine if they can survive, then quail have a chance as well. Thanks again.

 

[UndergroundQuailRoad]

I came across some pertinent information that was passed down to me from a retired gentleman that used to do some research into pen raised pheasant sustainability in the wild. He had two important things to say in terms of what affected the ability for birds survival upon release. The first was to ensure the birds were disease free, citing that within pheasant one of the big problems was gape worm causing a diminished aerobic capacity of the bird making it unable to escape predators. The second piece of advice was to blend in some of the indigenous foods that they would likely be able to survive on, so they know that stuff around them is food. The gentleman recommended mixing it in 10-20%. One of those things you should think to include is ticks so they know to eat them, and even try and arrange to plant some more edible cover if you can work with the land-owner to make that happen.

 

[quailchick]

I am on my third month with Bobwhites, I am in California, so they will be indoor pets in an aviary. But, I thought you might be interested in the Long Island Schools Bobwhite Quail project to control ticks in Long Island. Here is the link to the video

 

[mrbstephens]

Thank you for the tip and the video! I am already in touch with Eric Powers who is in that video!

 

[quailchick]

Thank you for the tip and the video! I am already in touch with Eric Powers who is in that video!

That's great! Will he give you some Bobwhites for your place?

 

[mrbstephens]

I'm in touch with him for advice. I have 97 bobwhite eggs in the incubator!

 

[quailchick]

I'm in touch with him for advice. I have 97 bobwhite eggs in the incubator!

Wow, that's great. I had four eggs sent to me by our homeschool advisor, we had four hatch. The last one we called slow poke, she had pipped all the way around the shell, but wasn't coming out, after watching for 12 hours, I picked the shell away so she could get out, I know she wouldn't have made it out on her own because the shell had dried out where she pipped. The humidity levels were correct, temp was correct, I don't know what happened...but she was noticeably smaller than the other birds, and very very worn out once she slid out of the shell. She rested much longer than the others did after getting out of the shell also. I read everywhere that you are not supposed to help them, but she would have died if I hadn't that is for sure, and she is very healthy now and all the birds are about the same size now. So, if you find some that aren't making it out, I say help them!