It’s no secret that there is an ongoing bobwhite quail decline – not only in Texas but all across the United States. There are several things being done but I’ve decided to see about raising bobwhite quail in a surrogator. Our ranch is located, and we will be raising quail neat San Antonio, Texas. The plan is to raise the bobwhite quail to release in the wild. We will be raising quail for hunting but that a long term goal after learning how to properly use the bobwhite quail surrogator, establish successful wild quail feeders and then have the wild population of bobwhite quail thrive on their own.
There are wild quail in Texas. But, if you live in Central Texas, you’re going to need to drive other 5 hours to South Texas or 7 hours to West Texas.
You’re also going to need to spend several thousand dollars for a lease.
Even then, you’ll need to outfit yourself when you go.
The other option is to bring the wild quail to you!
I did some research and found a company call Wildlife Management Technologies who build a device called a Surrogator.
I liked what I read but was skeptical.
The basic idea is that you put 125 day old chicks in the Surrogator, check them once a week and release them when they are five weeks old. Then, clean the Surrogator, move it to a new location and reload it.
Sounds simple enough to get genuine wild quail.
I called them and asked for the names of a couple people in my areas who were happy customers.
I talked to two people who had great things to say about the Surrogator.
So, I decided to order one and give it a try.
Here’s what I got.
My Surrogator is the XL version which conveniently breaks into two pieces for easier transport. This picture is of the two halves stacked on top of each other in the bed of my truck.
Now, all I needed to do was wait for chicks!
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