Raising and releasing quail??

[chicken farmer]

I'm wanting to raise bobwhite quail this spring and release them in my small gravil pit in my woods,I live in southern Ohio and would like to try to help the bobwhite population. Back in the 1970's the Ohio bobwhite population was nice and thriving and it dwindled rapidly and you rarely see these awesome birds around. I'm wanting to know the basics on raising and eventually releasing bobwhite quail. I appreciate any advice!!

 

[chicken farmer]

And also me and my dad are clearing a lot of bushes and small tree's back there and are making a few brush piles right at the edge of the woods in the gravil pit. And it's not excavated or anything there's just one small sand hill on the ridge and the rest is sandy with grass and weeds and briers and is about a little under half an are or so big and than the rest is surrounded by woods. And there's a patch of woods in the middle of it full of briers,bushes,and trees and that' what we've been clearing abut were leaving the trees and some bushes and briers on the end of the patch. If you guys have anymore habitat tips just let me know thanks

 

[James the Bald]

Here is an article I'm sure you've read. Habitat loss is the primary cause for the decline of the Northern Bobwhite. I don't know if a gravel pit would qualify as manageable quail habitat. You may also want to review your states laws governing releasing quail through Ohio's Department of Natural Resources.

James

 

[chicken farmer]

Here is an article I'm sure you've read. Habitat loss is the primary cause for the decline of the Northern Bobwhite. I don't know if a gravel pit would qualify as manageable quail habitat. You may also want to review your states laws governing releasing quail through Ohio's Department of Natural Resources.

James

Yes I know a lot of cover was lost,and it is a gravil pit but it's pretty grassy and like I said surrounded by woods,and yes it's legal to release bobwhites in Ohio and they actually like it as they try to help the population as well. Tomorrow I'll try to get a few pictures of it and post them on here for you.

 

[chicken farmer]

And from the yard going to the gravil pit is a big wide logging like path that has grass halfway up it till it hits the woods,and right beside that path is the road and across the road is a huge field now that did have pine trees in it for years than about 4 years ago the neighbors got them all cut down and now it's tall thick weeds and all kinds of shrubs which the field is are neighbors and he has talked about wanting to release quail and pheasant over there so I think I would release some back there,in my yard and across the road in the field. And like I said the gravil pit has blackberry brier,poison ivy,sumac,cedar,walnut,honey suckle bushes,and all kinds of things and like I said we are still clearing some bushes and stuff and making it more open and it will let more grasses grow

 

[dc3085]

In California for valley quail habitat restoration fish and game dig a shallow pit and put an old car hood or other piece of scrap metal over it with just enough space left open on one side for the quail to go under it, then they'd throw brush all over the top of it. Gives them a little protection anyway.

My opinion on restocking is never popular but is supported by most state conservation departments as well as the publications of many biologists in this field, so please don't be offended.

If releasing quail actually worked it would have already. Some states started stocking bobwhites as early as 1899. All types of game birds were released en masse in the first half of the 1900s. The effects obviously were minimal at best but mostly non existent since the bobwhite population is still in such bad shape. These were the results with professional biologists and a full support staff doing their best to get bobs to take hold. Cage raised birds are just plainly inadequate for life in the wild.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/wildlife/publications/fs7_bobwhite_quail.html
http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/stockingbobwhite/
http://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/more-quail/why-we-dont-stock-quail
http://www.agfc.com/resources/Publications/bobwhite_factsheet.pdf

I'm not trying to stop you from doing it, just show you that it's been done on a scale a hobbyist couldn't hope replicate and still saw no success. If I were going to try to do it I'd try it out of a surrogater which is a special brooder for quail but costs a pretty penny, and honestly has no shown proof it can lower mortality rates by keeping quail out of human contact from hatch to release.

 

[chicken farmer]

In California for valley quail habitat restoration fish and game dig a shallow pit and put an old car hood or other piece of scrap metal over it with just enough space left open on one side for the quail to go under it, then they'd throw brush all over the top of it. Gives them a little protection anyway.

My opinion on restocking is never popular but is supported by most state conservation departments as well as the publications of many biologists in this field, so please don't be offended.

If releasing quail actually worked it would have already. Some states started stocking bobwhites as early as 1899. All types of game birds were released en masse in the first half of the 1900s. The effects obviously were minimal at best but mostly non existent since the bobwhite population is still in such bad shape. These were the results with professional biologists and a full support staff doing their best to get bobs to take hold. Cage raised birds are just plainly inadequate for life in the wild.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/wildlife/publications/fs7_bobwhite_quail.html
http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/stockingbobwhite/
http://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/more-quail/why-we-dont-stock-quail
http://www.agfc.com/resources/Publications/bobwhite_factsheet.pdf

I'm not trying to stop you from doing it, just show you that it's been done on a scale a hobbyist couldn't hope replicate and still saw no success. If I were going to try to do it I'd try it out of a surrogater which is a special brooder for quail but costs a pretty penny, and honestly has no shown proof it can lower mortality rates by keeping quail out of human contact from hatch to release.

Thanks and the population can't take hold with less than half the state releasing a few every year or so,I would just love to be able to see/hear them on the edge of are yard and back in the woods in the gravil pit/wood opening. And see if at least a few will take hold and be able to last till next spring and raise a few of there own and like I said I've been trying to create better habitat for them back there and there's always a few rabbits back there so you know there's good cover and not a lot of predators being there's a couple of houses back in the woods behind us so there's not a lot of coyotes or fox roaming. And I've got rid of about every coon due to them getting are ducklings last spring. But I'm gonna try it out this spring/summer and I'll update you guys from when I get my chicks till when I release. But I'm still open to raising bobwhites thanks

 

[dc3085]

the population can't take hold with less than half the state releasing a few every year or so

You sorta missed the point of the articles I linked. Releases birds have a 99% mortality rate over 1 year in most places, some places they can't even find one leftover. Cage raised birds don't even survive. In one of the articles it points out that native bobs will bully cage raised birds off good feed and out of good spaces and they will not interbreed with them. Also and this may be the most important fact, cage raised bobwhites don't know how to hatch and brood their own offspring. So if native bobs wont interbreed with cage raised birds there is basically no chance of the cage birds starting a new generation on their own. Again it's really hard to say this without sounding negative but it would have worked already if it was going to. For more than 100 years biologists have been working at this and it's been a complete failure that entire time. There is no concrete evidence of restocked bobs aiding the population anywhere. From Texas, East, every state has released them in the past by the hundreds of thousands. And they were releasing birds that are dozens of generations back genetically. Those birds were better candidates by far for release than birds today.

I've though in the past though about trying to raise them in a flight pen with 0 human contact for multiple generations but that is a non starter since they don't know how to brood eggs anymore.

The best plan I suppose is to hatch and release them in droves, knowing that you're just feeding predators and making eye candy, and then do it again next year, until you get tired of replacing them.

 

[dc3085]

Here is some info on coturnix in the wild vs domestic and it will give some insight into why native bobs won't breed with domestics. It's not a complete article as I don't have access to this particular database but the summary points out that the vocalizations of the birds can change in just one generations of being crossed with a domestic. Vocalizations are a large part of bobs choosing a mate.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19439621

 

[chicken farmer]

Well we've never seen bobwhites around here ever so there's no wild bobs around and I've seen videos of pen raised quail go broody and raise chicks,they do know how it's there instinct. And There's not a whole lot of predators to get them. I appreciate the help but I think they'll do fine