Wild quail population

[NashChic]

My husband grew up in an area of Texas with a lot of quail and was recently lamenting how much he missed hearing the soothing sounds of the bobwhites. We live on a nice sized property (Nashville, TN) and are next door to my parents who have an even bigger property. There are woods and fields all around. Deer and wild turkey are common. My question is would it be feasible to hatch quail eggs for introduction into the wild? Ideally, I'd like to start a population of quail... probably bobwhites and blues. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Would they easily adapt to a life in the wild after being hatched/brooded domestically? At what age could they be released? Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks so much

 

[silentrunning]

Please check with the DNR and your county extension agent before you release any animal into the wild. You may not only be introducing a new disease or two, but you might also be breaking the law. I'm going thru the process right now to re-establish a quail population in our area. It is a painfully slow process, but if you do it right you can be a hero. If you do it wrong you can get one heck of a fine. Good luck!

Doug

 

[ya chick ya]

well i hope both of you do it right and nash ive seen on the internet that some places sell certain packs that are specifically for setting out in the wild mainly bobwhites tho

 

[HippieChickens]

.

 

[silkie freak 22]

i think you can buy wild adult bobwhites if you would rather do that but hatching them will work too my uncle has done it before

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Please do not introduce any non-native species. If the blue quail are not native to your area, keep them to yourself. You'd be amazed at how often people introduce something because they think it would be nice to have around and then they get out of control.

Just look at the Starlings! All this trouble from merely 160 individuals that were released into Central Park years ago. There are thousands and thousands of them plaguing the country and our native birds.

So stick to introducing birds that are native to your area. It is much better in the long run and probably more money saved by you, since many times introduced non-natives die off. So either way, introducing a non-native is a no-no, either it dies off and you've wasted your money, or they flourish and you may have been the cause of the next non-native outbreak.

-Kim

 

[silentrunning]

Let me clarify what I meant by going thru the process - I am working with the county and state people to find the exact bird we used to have in our area. It will probably be several years before a single bird gets released - if ever. Our quail population was wiped out by urban sprawl but now we have 3 great preserves within a couple miles of my house. The habitat is there but we first must be sure that we don't unbalance some other element of the system. I think the DNR will have the final say, but there will be input from many agencies. I have offered to underwrite the cost for this if it ever comes into being so there will be no government money involved.

Doug

 

[farrier!]

After poking around on the internet I found that there are even wild bird brooders! You can set your quail under them and they are protected and unhandled and hopefully wild as they get older. Of course they also sell feeders for the wild quail too.

 

[NashChic]

Wow! That's exactly why I posted this question on here. I knew I could get good info about things I don't know.

I will definitely scratch the idea of having blues. That was a breed my husband was familiar with growing up in south Texas. I wasn't sure if we had them here or not. I know we have bobwhites. I used to hear them some, but not much anymore. I'll check with the local regulations about those and proceed from there.

Thanks for all the help and information!

...off to chase a coon! DH says one is out there eating the cat food

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Even if you decide against turning quail loose and attempting a reintroduction, you could always build some pens and keep some for yourself.

You'll still hear the calls and be able to enjoy them, both the calls, eggs, and meat.

-Kim