Prairie chickens

[copper2]

They don't learn where home is like other birds?

 

[Midnightman14]

nope, with the exception of peafowl generally most game birds do not have any kind of homing instinct. Every now and then someone will have luck with silver or red golden pheasants but it's not reliable. Prairie chickens, like many galliforms are as dumb and jumpy as they are pretty and cool to watch and don't stick around if they get loose.

 

[007Sean]

nope, with the exception of peafowl generally most game birds do not have any kind of homing instinct. Every now and then someone will have luck with silver or red golden pheasants but it's not reliable. Prairie chickens, like many galliforms are as dumb and jumpy as they are pretty and cool to watch and don't stick around if they get loose.

X3, Midnightman14

 

[Quails1]

I found them to be a challenge to raise. They look for their food at their eye level, don't instinctively peck at food/crumbles in a dish. I found that live mealworms, 1/2 inch in size, the only way to get them to eat. Later on, i coated the mealworms with crumbles to get them eating crumbles. Takes several weeks of doing this, multiple times a day. Also, don't instinctively know how to drink from a waterer. Putting screen wire in the enclosure and misting the screen multiple times a day, (forms water dropplets)was the way i got them to drink, eventually they learned to drink from a waterer. If you try to raise them, be prepared to spend enormous amount of time caring for them until there on their own. Good Luck

No offense, but are you sure that prairie chickens won't naturally drink from a waterer, like a water bowl? Or peck at the ground to eat (like other game birds)? Honesty matters to me, so I doubt whether that's true of their behavior, though my guesswork tells me they are convergently similar to bobwhite quails. I considered the fact both prairie grouse and bobwhites occupy the vast prairie and share similar grassland habitat.

 

[007Sean]

Mine didn't and I got hatching eggs from Prairie Ridge when I first began. They haven't been domesticated or 'kept' in captivity as long as some quail and pheasants have been, so literally had to 'show them' how to feed and drink.
You might have a different experince but this is what I experinced.
I got around it by having pheasant chicks brood with them, once they see another one drinking or eating from a conventional waterer or feeder, then they will catch on to it.

 

[Quails1]

Mine didn't and I got hatching eggs from Prairie Ridge when I first began. They haven't been domesticated or 'kept' in captivity as long as some quail and pheasants have been, so literally had to 'show them' how to feed and drink.
You might have a different experince but this is what I experinced.
I got around it by having pheasant chicks brood with them, once they see another one drinking or eating from a conventional waterer or feeder, then they will catch on to it.

Thanks for sharing your observations. I've never had prairie chickens before, but I used to keep bobwhite quails, and successfully bred them. They weren't as difficult as I thought, though they were quite a racket!

Aside from spatial requirements, are they any harder to raise than quails and pheasants? Are they susceptible to disease? I sometimes really want to know from others' experiences about raising these grouse!

 

[007Sean]

Thanks for sharing your observations. I've never had prairie chickens before, but I used to keep bobwhite quails, and successfully bred them. They weren't as difficult as I thought, though they were quite a racket!

Aside from spatial requirements, are they any harder to raise than quails and pheasants? Are they susceptible to disease? I sometimes really want to know from others' experiences about raising these grouse!

Yes, they are more demanding than quail. I've found that their habitat is very important, I try to mimic their enclosure as close to their natural habitat in the wild. They also are highly susceptible to disturbances...they may breed or not or delay breeding if the disturbances are prolonged (either human or animal).
They are also susceptible to 'thrush' or sour crop in hot summertime conditions.
Biosecurity is an ultmost priority. They can and will succumb to diseases that quail and pheasants would normally be able to withstand.
I've had hatches unexpectedly die at 10 days after hatching and never been able to determine the cause of death. First 10 days, normal, healthy, eating, drinking no signs of illness, the next morning all dead?

As I always say, these are my experinces, you may and probably will have a different experince. Wish you the best of luck if you have a go at raising these fabulous birds.

 

[Quails1]

Yes, they are more demanding than quail. I've found that their habitat is very important, I try to mimic their enclosure as close to their natural habitat in the wild. They also are highly susceptible to disturbances...they may breed or not or delay breeding if the disturbances are prolonged (either human or animal).
They are also susceptible to 'thrush' or sour crop in hot summertime conditions.
Biosecurity is an ultmost priority. They can and will succumb to diseases that quail and pheasants would normally be able to withstand.
I've had hatches unexpectedly die at 10 days after hatching and never been able to determine the cause of death. First 10 days, normal, healthy, eating, drinking no signs of illness, the next morning all dead?

As I always say, these are my experinces, you may and probably will have a different experince. Wish you the best of luck if you have a go at raising these fabulous birds.

As always, thank you very much for sharing your experiences.
One last thing: May I request that you send photos of your prairie chickens and their enclosures? Thanks in advance!