Quail

[Caustic Burno]

Have any of yall been successful at or tried restocking quail?

 

[Jogeephus]

Waste of time. If you don't have quail on your property you are not managing the land properly.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Waste of time. If you don't have quail on your property you are not managing the land properly.

Have one small covey left.
Woods were full the clear cutting practices here almost wiped them totally out.
I am the only person I know that still has any.
Just can't get them off high center.

 

[TexasBred]

Have any of yall been successful at or tried restocking quail?

CB a few years ago I raised a couple hundred and turned them loose. They had no idea what they were suppose to do. Can't remember seeing or hearing a single one of them since I turned them lose.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Have any of yall been successful at or tried restocking quail?

CB a few years ago I raised a couple hundred and turned them loose. They had no idea what they were suppose to do. Can't remember seeing or hearing a single one of them since I turned them lose.

I was wondering if they would take up with native covey here and if they would hurt them.
Have about 12 birds in the covey they just can't seem get past that size.
Just hanging on.

 

[Brute 23]

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2012 ... ndex.phtml

 

[Jogeephus]

They might but odds are you will do more harm than good. You have something wrong on your place and until you fix it adding more birds will not help.

I actually know a little about quail management. Releasing them is just feeding the critters a high priced diet. Quail like diversity. Grown up fence rows and everything that you as cattleman probably hate to see because it makes your place look ill kept. Feeders are one of the worse things you can use because it patterns the predators to the birds. If you want to increase your birds you need to do little things like letting a field grow up in weeds then mowing about a 100' of it then turning the mower off and travelling about 200' and mow another 100'. You repeat this and alternate this with time as the weeds and brush grows back. This gives maximum diversity and makes plants grow at different stages.

This is just one of the small things you can do to help the birds out but its these small things that you have to consciously do to make the habitat the birds need to raise and survive the predators. I implemented these small practices on a farm several years ago and the state biologist estimated I had a bird per acre which made for some wonderful hunting. But managing wild bird population is more of a conscious effort on your part. Most people would look at your place and think you are some lazy azz because your fence lines aren't clean and you have briars and bramble patches scattered all over the place. Good quail habitat isn't pretty....unless you know what you are looking at.

 

[Kingfisher]

I heard of a place in Winters that sells em deboned pepper stuffed and wrap in bacon for $1.89!
Seriously I just read an article( can't find it now) about restoring Texas prarie which turns into habitat. Lots of free money for seed.

 

[Caustic Burno]

They might but odds are you will do more harm than good. You have something wrong on your place and until you fix it adding more birds will not help.

I actually know a little about quail management. Releasing them is just feeding the critters a high priced diet. Quail like diversity. Grown up fence rows and everything that you as cattleman probably hate to see because it makes your place look ill kept. Feeders are one of the worse things you can use because it patterns the predators to the birds. If you want to increase your birds you need to do little things like letting a field grow up in weeds then mowing about a 100' of it then turning the mower off and travelling about 200' and mow another 100'. You repeat this and alternate this with time as the weeds and brush grows back. This gives maximum diversity and makes plants grow at different stages.

This is just one of the small things you can do to help the birds out but its these small things that you have to consciously do to make the habitat the birds need to raise and survive the predators. I implemented these small practices on a farm several years ago and the state biologist estimated I had a bird per acre which made for some wonderful hunting. But managing wild bird population is more of a conscious effort on your part. Most people would look at your place and think you are some lazy azz because your fence lines aren't clean and you have briars and bramble patches scattered all over the place. Good quail habitat isn't pretty....unless you know what you are looking at.

I have several fence rows that I have grow up.
Left several berry thickets along open forest.
Have planted Alamo switch grass in rows so I can maintain different stages last year.
That has not progressed yet to the point I know or not its going to work.
Also have planted several small plots of millet.

 

[Commercialfarmer]

I agree with Joe, but weather has to cooperate during brooding season as well.

Lot of biologists claim predator numbers are a low factor, but I don't buy that. They also tell me mountain lions don't exist in Oklahoma, and I've seen 3 myself.

People kept hawk numbers in check years ago, and fur bearers were more scarce. About every section has a pack of coyotes. All those mouths add up, especially when numbers are scarce.

But weather I think is just as important as environment.

Bermuda is destroying numbers around here as much as anything. A lot of old native and blue stem has been seeded to Bermuda.


Had a good hatch this year compared to years past, buy they've been so hurt that 100% increase of a 5% stocking rate just isn't much.


I don't have data CB, but I have some serious thoughts that people introducing smaller and flightier birds changed the genetics enough that they aren't selected to match the environment. I think it's like dumping a highlander in Texas and expecting them to keep up with long horn reproduction. They just don't have the same skills.

I was young, but remember my old dog was the king of stopping birds on the run. He'd break off on a dead run and circle them wide. He'd work his way back to you and hold them. They weren't quick to fly. Twenty years later, they are smaller, the breast meat is red tinged, not white and their leg muscles don't look like Earl Campbell's. They are quicker to hold and fly vs try to out run you. I think this favors the predators.

This is all just opinion, but I suspect their is some validity to at least part if not all.

 

[skyhightree1]

On our farms there is quail everywhere and a Dr. lets me have exclusively deer hunt his land and I let him have exclusive right to quail hunt ours. I guess we have tons of quail cause i'm bloody thirsty according to CB and kill predators for fun ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) :lol2: I am far from a genius but CB I bet... I just bet if you started wearing out the predators that population may grow.. :tiphat:

 

[Caustic Burno]

On our farms there is quail everywhere and a Dr. lets me have exclusively deer hunt his land and I let him have exclusive right to quail hunt ours. I guess we have tons of quail cause i'm bloody thirsty according to CB and kill predators for fun ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) :lol2: I am far from a genius but CB I bet... I just bet if you started wearing out the predators that population may
grow.. :tiphat:

Keep playing pretend Indian I am going to pretend to be a Japanese aviator.

 

[Hook]

We had quail just 2 years ago here but the feral cats have wiped them out. I haven't seen 2 all year

 

[Caustic Burno]

I agree with Joe, but weather has to cooperate during brooding season as well.

Lot of biologists claim predator numbers are a low factor, but I don't buy that. They also tell me mountain lions don't exist in Oklahoma, and I've seen 3 myself.

People kept hawk numbers in check years ago, and fur bearers were more scarce. About every section has a pack of coyotes. All those mouths add up, especially when numbers are scarce.

But weather I think is just as important as environment.

Bermuda is destroying numbers around here as much as anything. A lot of old native and blue stem has been seeded to Bermuda.


Had a good hatch this year compared to years past, buy they've been so hurt that 100% increase of a 5% stocking rate just isn't much.


I don't have data CB, but I have some serious thoughts that people introducing smaller and flightier birds changed the genetics enough that they aren't selected to match the environment. I think it's like dumping a highlander in Texas and expecting them to keep up with long horn reproduction. They just don't have the same skills.

I was young, but remember my old dog was the king of stopping birds on the run. He'd break off on a dead run and circle them wide. He'd work his way back to you and hold them. They weren't quick to fly. Twenty years later, they are smaller, the breast meat is red tinged, not white and their leg muscles don't look like Earl Campbell's. They are quicker to hold and fly vs try to out run you. I think this favors the predators.

This is all just opinion, but I suspect their is some validity to at least part if not all.

,
It is not just quail we no longer have horned toads, haven't seen one in thirty years.
We don't have meadowlark's either, the deforestation of natural forest and replacing with pine plantation along with fire ant infestation we don't have much game of any kind. Most of this country was native hardwood forest and 100 to 200 acre family farms.
No farms left as most of the land 96% of the county is owned by timber company now.
We were talking over coffee the other morning we could only come up four people that had over 75 head now.
The last small flock of turkeys roosted on my place and roamed my place and neighbors they are gone as well.
They closed the season in the county a couple years ago.
If I had to hang my hat on an item it would be fire ant, feral cat and feral hog infestation.
The fire ant making it rough on ground nesting birds and the hogs depleting the food sources of many of the native species.

 

[kenny thomas]

I agree with Joe, but weather has to cooperate during brooding season as well.

Lot of biologists claim predator numbers are a low factor, but I don't buy that. They also tell me mountain lions don't exist in Oklahoma, and I've seen 3 myself.

People kept hawk numbers in check years ago, and fur bearers were more scarce. About every section has a pack of coyotes. All those mouths add up, especially when numbers are scarce.

But weather I think is just as important as environment.

Bermuda is destroying numbers around here as much as anything. A lot of old native and blue stem has been seeded to Bermuda.


Had a good hatch this year compared to years past, buy they've been so hurt that 100% increase of a 5% stocking rate just isn't much.


I don't have data CB, but I have some serious thoughts that people introducing smaller and flightier birds changed the genetics enough that they aren't selected to match the environment. I think it's like dumping a highlander in Texas and expecting them to keep up with long horn reproduction. They just don't have the same skills.

I was young, but remember my old dog was the king of stopping birds on the run. He'd break off on a dead run and circle them wide. He'd work his way back to you and hold them. They weren't quick to fly. Twenty years later, they are smaller, the breast meat is red tinged, not white and their leg muscles don't look like Earl Campbell's. They are quicker to hold and fly vs try to out run you. I think this favors the predators.

This is all just opinion, but I suspect their is some validity to at least part if not all.

,
It is not just quail we no longer have horned toads, haven't seen one in thirty years.
We don't have meadowlark's either, the deforestation of natural forest and replacing with pine plantation along with fire ant infestation we don't have much game of any kind. Most of this country was native hardwood forest and 100 to 200 acre family farms.
No farms left as most of the land 96% of the county is owned by timber company now.
We were talking over coffee the other morning we could only come up four people that had over 75 head now.
The last small flock of turkeys roosted on my place and roamed my place and neighbors they are gone as well.
They closed the season in the county a couple years ago.
If I had to hang my hat on an item it would be fire ant, feral cat and feral hog infestation.
The fire ant making it rough on ground nesting birds and the hogs depleting the food sources of many of the native species.

CB, I think you have the answer to what i causing the problem. All you have mentioned are enemies. The issue also is that no matter how well you manage your property for the quail there are 10's of thousands of acres that are managed for timber instead. I have tried releasing birds with no success at all. Fexcue is also an enemy here.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I haven't heard a Whiporwill in years.


CB, what's up with that crack on Sky's ancestry?

 

[skyhightree1]

I haven't heard a Whiporwill in years.


CB, what's up with that crack on Sky's ancestry?

Double T its OK I'd expect nothing more from him..He attacks my character.. Says I'm the reason hunters get a bad rap... but ol cb and i will both pretend together that some that are near and dear to him are legal citizens. ;-)

 

[Caustic Burno]

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2012/jul/ed_1_quail/index.phtml

Just finished reading the article we are screwed.
What few are left don't have a chance with the land management practices here.

 

[M5farm]

CB is right about the piss ants and quail. We still have some quail around not alot but a few. We.never had horny toads. But I suspect the regular toads get horny cause I see alot of little ones. Still hear whiporwills every summer. Didn't have turkeys here growning up and now there everywhere.

 

[kenny thomas]

"]I haven't heard a Whiporwill in years. [/b]

Florida guys, when I am there and working night shift there is a bird that just at dark will sit in a high spot in a dirt road and call. It sounds just like a whipperwill to me but I hear them called a night hawk. Is this the same bird?