N00bie Quail questions

[brewmiss96]

Hi there! I want to start raising quail for releasing. Do you have any recommendations for books or threads for this purpose? I am going to be setting up a brooder/pen for my dad and his friend so they can release and then hunt and I'm looking for information about housing and pen requirements. I keep chickens now so I'm not a complete beginner, I'm just wondering about the differences. Like quail don't roost in a coop, so you don't really have to make a coop for them, just a place to roost?? They also want me to do pheasants, and I would like to move into grouse and chukkar at some point, so any game bird info you could direct me to would be great!

Thank you!

 

[Wifezilla]

Quail don't roost. They sleep on the ground.

I am a n00b too

I just got a quad on Tuesday. Mine aren't for release though. Well, not intentionally

 

[citalk2much]

FYI you need permits to release quail and if not done right you are just putting snack food out there for predators

 

[Sillystunt]

Quote:

and a swift fine!

 

[Mrs MIA]

You will want to check with your local dept of fish and wildlife (fish and game, etc) to see what breeds are allowed in your state. Here in AK, we are allowed to raise, breed, and sell all types of quail and gamebirds, but intentional release is prohibited unless every effort is made to retrieve the birds. Oregon may be different. Chuckars, pheasants, and bobwhites are great for hunting/training, but the first two require a lot more space (large flight pens).
I would start by finding out what you can legally raise, what permits you need, if applicable, then start googling the breed you want. There is a TON of information online for all these birds, and a lot of people on BYC raise them like I do. Best advice I can think of is - start small, and work your way up as you become comfortable with the number of birds or breeds you have. Gamebirds can be vicious with each other if not kept in the proper manner, and you can quickly lose control of your flocks. It's a lot of fun to raise them, though, but you have to do your homework first!

It's so easy to jump in with both feet, and get quickly overwhelmed. I'm sure others will chime in with pointers for you.

 

[canter6]

Quote:
Permits many,money more!
Releasing any pen raised quail into a "wild" environment only increases low level prey animals into a top tear predator envrioment.