raising quail?

[mochicken]

If you are wanting birds for hunters of for you to hunt then bobwhites would be better, they need to be kept in a flight pen to get them acclimated to flying for hunting. You might want to look into your state laws too, I know in Missouri its illegal to sell bobwhites without the proper permits on your end AND their end, you can sell the eggs just cant sell the birds.

 

[quailmale]

You know I have never understood that you cannot release BobWhites back to the wild, since their populations are dropping drastically almost everywhere, I do realize they have to be raised differently in order to be released but still don't make sense.

 

[mochicken]

Yeah I actually read a Missouri Department of Conservation article recently that discussed this very issue, they said that only 30% or less bobwhites or pheasant released will survive due to the fact that they are not "wild" anymore. I think if they were raised in a flight pen and if you threw their food on the ground or something so they had to scavenge for it then that would increase their odds, as long as people dont hold them, hand feed them, or things like that I would think they would have better odds but either way 30% survival is better than the 10% of wild quail that we have in our area

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

Yes Georgia requires a permit, but my brother in law is a natural resources officer so that wont be much of a problem.

yes I am interested in raising quail for hunters, meat and eggs. I will have to make my flock pay for itself somehow in this economy...

but really I like quality birds and am interested in developing my own strain (or type) like everyone else. I really like genetics - weird, I know but I have done it with horses for several years so with poultry why not? I suppose the best way is to get a few quads/trios of different colors and breeds and go from there.

Looks like I will have to research on incumbators as well! If I remember right they hatch under slightly different enviroment than chickens.

Since there is no local breeders (just buyers usually) around here, are people usually good to work with on shipping adult or young birds (not exactly day old chicks - it will be too cold for that anyway)? I know McMurray has 100 bob whites in a box to ship but I am interested in the jumbo strain for now and cant exactly house 100 at this point.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Actually, there's an article in Texas Sporting Journal where a game ranch raises & releases Quail into the wild & has some success. The ranch bands them & lets them out of holding pens at 11 weeks. They have feeding stations & trucks that provide the birds water. It stated that some make it. The hunters bring them the tags for proof that you can do it. I'm sue its an expensive venture but the hunts aren't cheap either. Ranches like that will eventually figure it out. Wild Turkeys in east Texas are coming along. Look what they have done with white tails its crazy how big their racks are space aged racks. But the down side is they have taken the hunt out of hunting. Its all about the almighty dollar.
I can't see paying six thousand dollars to kill a white tail deer raised in a high game fenced wally world ranch. But then again I'm old school.

 

[rittert3]

Kansas only requires permits to sell and release, you can buy,own, and breed with out it you just have to keep the permit number of the seller and domestic variations require no permit. from what I've read coturnix are much easier to raise than bobwhite and are MUCH more productive.

 

[artsy1]

I had 9 cortinix quails, that I raised from 1 week old till 1 year. They live in an avairy that is about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, they were bought for the purpose of keeping the bottom of the aviary clean, I also have 9 parakeets in there."only made a mess"
So as time goes on, I now have 4 left, I would let them out to free range in an open pen and they would get spooked every once in awhile and fly straight up for like 20-30 feet. across the yard and the street. Very hard to catch, had to run after them and nab them with the net.
They do lay eggs everyday, but are so stupid, they won't sit on thier eggs, don't know how.
So we eat the eggs. Yummy but very hard to deal with, shells are super hard.
They are not tame, not friendly, don't like to be held.
Some have died, most have escaped.
I won't get them again.
I now have 7 hens, 2 are old enough to lay. I love them tons, so fun.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
DOES GEORGIA REQUIRE A PERMIT FOR CORTURNIX?

 

[CountryFriedChicken]

DOES GEORGIA REQUIRE A PERMIT FOR CORTURNIX?

my understanding is that if you have certain number (to be called commerical) yes you need a license. $30.

Bob quail - definitely get license as they are considered native game bird in Georgia (weird that I never seen them in the wild here, but definitely in captivity, but I am in NE Georgia and most of the hunting places are further south).​

 

[quailmale]

Quote:
Commercial facilities that raise 10's of thousands of Quail for release have closed houses with timed light water & feed and then they collect them at night, then the buyer releases them and I am told they get about a 80 % survival . I know smaller growers that does pertty much the same thing but with only a couple hundred at a time. It can be done just have to raise them differently than meat Quail or pets.

Here I have to have a Game Farm permit for anything over 50 Bobwhites. Just a way for the state to collect 50 bucks a year.