What to do with extra male gambels quail

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

So earlier this year i hatched out 6 gambels quail, they are almost 10 weeks old now. well turns out 4 of them are males, they have not started fighting or pairing off with the 2 females yet, but im beginning to wonder whats the best thing to do with them.

There's reasons to not just release them right? Legally, i contacted the state game a month ago but havent got a response yet.
I did get the eggs from an abandoned nest in our alfalfa field, so they are local birds. Also they have been raised in a 55 gal tank with desert dirt and sand for their floor and lots of weeds for their habitat to be as natural as i could make it. So they are exposed to any outside germs etc.
More info: We live at the edge of town our nearest neighbors being about 1 mile away on all sides. The problem is the farm and neighbors are all over run with cats, coyotes, etc So even though a large portion of our farm and the surrounding areas is left natural and untouched and there are alot of wild quails, im afraid the ones i raised would not have the capability to make it on their own. I have not handled them much at all, so they act extremely wild, but they have always been dependant on me for food and water... (Though i give them all types of weeds from around us for part of their diet) and i could scatter food around but im certain they would go as far away from our house as they could. But the cats and coyotes are all over, even our furthest fields at the bottom of pur 60 acres, i saw 3 cats in the other day!
Also it is fall and winter hits here mid November, though our winters are very mild.
Do they even have a chance if i were to set them free? Is it cruel to do it to them?
So
Should i set them free or just eat the poor dears? I already have too many coturnix and chickens so i dont have the room to keep separate pens for extra gambels males...
I could try to sell them but would people actually even want them, aside from eating? (and if thats the case id just eat them myself)

 

[RollTideChicken]

If it is not a feral species and in fact one that was bred in your area then there is no reason not to let them go back in their natural environment.
I have a friend that does this with turkey eggs every year. When he's cutting a field he almost always finds a nest. He'll collect the eggs incubate them keep a couple and let the rest go.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

If it is not a feral species and in fact one that was bred in your area then there is no reason not to let them go back in their natural environment.
I have a friend that does this with turkey eggs every year. When he's cutting a field he almost always finds a nest. He'll collect the eggs incubate them keep a couple and let the rest go.

And do you think they would be able to survive? Id just feel bad if i set them free and then they died... but unless someone thinks of a good enough reason to not set them free, thats what im leaning towards doing..
Thats neat about the turkeys

 

[RollTideChicken]

And do you think they would be able to survive? Id just feel bad if i set them free and then they died... but unless someone thinks of a good enough reason to not set them free, thats what im leaning towards doing..
Thats neat about the turkeys

Yes they should have no problem surviving. Birds, with few exceptions, don't really learn from other birds. So they are born with all the knowledge they need to survive.

 

[DK newbie]

You could always try to offer them for sale, see if anyone is interested. If not - and assuming it's legal to release them - I'd build a ground pen in an area with lots of cover, preferably near a water source and with little human presence and keep them there for at least a month, feeding them as natural as possible, before opening the gate and allowing them to leave as they please. Then they'd have an idea of what nature is like before suddenly becoming part of it and hopefully won't be too stressed by the release. They'd also be used to the sounds of the area so they might stick around for a while and learn to find food and water while still having the option of finding it in the pen (or you could put it outside the pen when you release them).
My neighbors released peasants a month or so ago and although the peasants were dumb enough to stroll right into my garden, the attempts my cats made at catching them were pretty pathetic and the peasants easily escaped.. You might have cats that actually know how to hunt in your area, but according to the ones that released the peasants they'll learn how to avoid predators pretty quickly. If they meet cats like mine first, they stand a pretty good chance at least

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

You could always try to offer them for sale, see if anyone is interested. If not - and assuming it's legal to release them - I'd build a ground pen in an area with lots of cover, preferably near a water source and with little human presence and keep them there for at least a month, feeding them as natural as possible, before opening the gate and allowing them to leave as they please. Then they'd have an idea of what nature is like before suddenly becoming part of it and hopefully won't be too stressed by the release. They'd also be used to the sounds of the area so they might stick around for a while and learn to find food and water while still having the option of finding it in the pen (or you could put it outside the pen when you release them).
My neighbors released peasants a month or so ago and although the peasants were dumb enough to stroll right into my garden, the attempts my cats made at catching them were pretty pathetic and the peasants easily escaped.. You might have cats that actually know how to hunt in your area, but according to the ones that released the peasants they'll learn how to avoid predators pretty quickly. If they meet cats like mine first, they stand a pretty good chance at least

Oh thank you, i really like this idea, i think ill try it! I dont know why i hadnt thought of it!

 

[annageckos]

One big reason it is illegal to release even native species is not because they may pick something up or not have the survival skills to survive but because they could be carrying something that will be passed onto the wild population. Seeing these are from wild birds from your area I think that risk is minimal but it is still there. The choice is yours of course. I've done a lot of rehabbing so have released a lot of wildlife. If you release them they may be fine, or they may not. You've given them the chance to be wild and part of being wild is not every one survives. If you plan to release them you can do a soft release. Set up a large outdoor natural pen and let them forage for food. Then after a week or so open the door and let them out. Once out I wouldn't let them come back in, that would be a death trap if a predator came in.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

One big reason it is illegal to release even native species is not because they may pick something up or not have the survival skills to survive but because they could be carrying something that will be passed onto the wild population. Seeing these are from wild birds from your area I think that risk is minimal but it is still there. The choice is yours of course. I've done a lot of rehabbing so have released a lot of wildlife. If you release them they may be fine, or they may not. You've given them the chance to be wild and part of being wild is not every one survives. If you plan to release them you can do a soft release. Set up a large outdoor natural pen and let them forage for food. Then after a week or so open the door and let them out. Once out I wouldn't let them come back in, that would be a death trap if a predator came in.

Yes, i thik thats what i will do, i already know where im going to put them, and hopefully they will survive. Yeah, i think one or two weeks outside, then open the door, and not let them back in because like you said, theyd just be trapped if a coon or cat came by...

Yes, that was something i read about releasing them spreading different things to the natives... thats why i tried to keep them isolated and not mix up their drinkers with the coturnix's and stuff like that, or give them any medicated feed so they wouldnt be altered, and kept them on native substrate, etc...

Since they are first generation from eggs i found, its ok i think. If i had kept them for many generations and micro-evolved them by only letting ones with certain qualities breed, then i wouldnt ever consider releasing them, i read you can introduce a more dominant strain that way and throw off the natural balance...

 

[Ntsees]

At 10 weeks old, they are still babies. If you decide to release them, I recommend you release them as adults (when they are in full adult plumage that is). Gambel's quail tend to covey up together in huge numbers in the winter and I recommend you release them during that time to join up with the wild ones. It really helps that they are first generation eggs from the wild.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

At 10 weeks old, they are still babies. If you decide to release them, I recommend you release them as adults (when they are in full adult plumage that is). Gambel's quail tend to covey up together in huge numbers in the winter and I recommend you release them during that time to join up with the wild ones. It really helps that they are first generation eggs from the wild.

Ok thanks good info! How long does it take til they are adults, would this winter be ok? I'll look it up soon...