Bobwhite Varieties ???

[bbqsfarm]

Is there a thread or can some tell me about the different bobwhites? I see Georgia, Giant etc. What are the differences? Also the Reds, whites, . Thinking they are just a mutation??? What is the biggest bobwhite variety, etc?

thanks
susan

 

[TwoCrows]

Always remember...Google is your friend. LOL

I don't know of any really good sites to read about Bobs. There are many wild and native types of Bobs living in the US...The Northern Bobwhite, Texas Bob, Plains Bob, Florida Bob, Florida Keys Bob. along with some subspecies like the Mexican Spotted and the Tennessee Reds. There are others, but I am not all that familiar with most of these.

The Bobs that most folks keep as captives are the Northern Bob, which is the smallest of the Bobs. The Butler Bob, which looks quite similar to the Northern but is a bit larger. The Georgia Giant Bob which also looks like a over grown Butler. These are the largest of the Bobs.

The Tennessee Reds are a mutation of the Northern Bobwhite.

The Snowflake is a subspecies of the Mexican Spotted. They are relatively large and are the most docile of the Bob species. (IMHO) Of course there are others off the Snowflake as well, splits...Silvers, normals and whites.

There are no doubt others out there that I have not mentioned. Do some searching around on line to get more details.

 

[bbqsfarm]

I did a google search but did not get much info but some. I was also going to the College Extension links but a ton of them did not work off the page I found. Internet is great and hopeless at the same time. You will find information but if you look long enough you will find something that seems to contradicts it (LOL).

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

22 subspecies at the bottom of this page: http://gamebirdflock.com/game-bird-info/bobwhite-quail/
No info, just a list. There really isn't much info on the internet on bobs; that's why this forum is so valuable!

 

[drowe005]

Quote:
Are they're any subspecies in specific that you are looking to get more info on? GameBirdFlock.com is my site, and I would love to add more information where needed to tailor for more peoples needs, especially in those areas that are lacking on other sites. I have been rather busy recently, and haven't been able to update it as much as I would like to, but that will be changing very soon.

Many of the different subspecies look nearly identical to the wild bobwhite color wise, and mainly differ in size such as butlers and Georgia giants, although some slight visual differences may be able to be seen. Others such as the masked bobwhite, Mexican speckled, and Tennessee Red mainly differ in appearence from the wild BW, but do have some size variations too.

Some say the Georgia Giant is a larger bird, but I would say that the Butler is the largest "stock" bobwhite quail, although with selective breeding, you can achieve larger birds over time with the other subspecies too. What it comes down between the Georgia Giant and the Butlers,more or less are the breeders and bloodlines that your birds come from. Keep in mind though, that a bird like the butler bobwhite that gets much larger, will take longer to grow out to its mature weight than its' smaller relatives.

 

[bbqsfarm]

Just looking for tidbits of infomation such as the sizes relative to the names: Smallest bob to largest bob and weight ranges. Which is really considered the original and how the subs species developed. Also temperments from least to most aggressive. That types of info. Also breeding such as new stock, how often etc.

 

[drowe005]

Just looking for tidbits of infomation such as the sizes relative to the names: Smallest bob to largest bob and weight ranges. Which is really considered the original and how the subs species developed. Also temperments from least to most aggressive. That types of info. Also breeding such as new stock, how often etc.

Sounds good - I've got a few files of info in word files strictly on bobwhites that I need to go through, and will upload that as soon as I can. I'll post a reply in this thread once its uploaded.

For a starter in the meanwhile--- All game birds fall under the category called "Order", in which they all are Galliformes, and that basically means chicken like ground dwelling birds. Animals are then further categorized into "Family", which is Odontophoridae, and new world quail fall under that. Colinus virgianus is the scientific name for bobwhites, and all subspecies names are Colinus virgianus ___________, with the subspecies name going in the blank. Colinus virgianus virgianus is what is known as the orginial "wild" strain, aka Northern Bobwhite (eastern variety). Many subspecies were selectively bred for certain characteristics, such as the Butler being bred for size. Others occured as natural mutations in the wild, such as the Masked Bobwhite.