quail – Gentleman Farmer

Bobwhite Quail Habitat and Feeders

I’m into the middle of my annual season to raise bobwhite quail for quail hunting. I’m actively running surrogator batches, improving the habitat and experimenting with wild quail feeders. It’s a marvelous adventure that allows me to spend time with my dog and my kids – how could things get any better?

Full Stock Tank for Water Conservation
Quail Habitat Water Conservation	Texas has been in a long term drouth for several years and we’re having a wet Summer. It’s also cooler this year due to the frequent rainfall. Water conservation is a big aspect of quail habitat management and something we watch and manage carefully. Bobwhite quail get their water from metabolism, dew and then surface water – primarily in that order. The collection and storage of rainfall in stock tanks is very valuable but the challenge in our arid country is finding ground suitable to collect and hold the rainfall. But, when you do, it is wonderful – to overflowing!
Cutting Trees to Build Improve Quail Habitat
Building Quail Habitat	We also actively manage the invasive plant species to improve the quail habitat. This will also provide easy walking when quail hunting. Western Cedar or Juniper Ashe trees are highly invasive and will take over cleared pastures within 10-15 years if left untreated. Juniper trees aren’t actually as thirsty as most people think but they do have a big impact on water conservation. Here’s why. The leaf needles of the trees hold up to 1/3 if the rainfall. The dead leaves underneath the trees hold another 1/3 of the rainfall. Thus, only 1/3 of the active rainfall actually makes it into the ground – the rest is evaporated. Clearing large trees is a challenge but I have a tractor with hydraulic shears on the front that will make short work of trees up to 14 inches in diameter. And, I have to say, it’s a blast chopping those suckers down!
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Small Water Holding Ponds
Small Water for Bobwhite Quail Habitat	Clearing cedar and other invasive species can have a big impact on getting ground water spring to percolate and flow again. These small creeks and springs provide an excellent place for quail to brood protected from hawks and other raptors. Getting your springs flowing again is a great indicator of good quail habitat management.
Fence Brush Management for Bobwhite Quail
Clearing Fence for Quail Habitat	Another aspect of quail habitat management is preserving their favorite locations. If you remember when you were a kid and there WERE quail, you found them on fence rows near a dirt road with grain fields on the side. Keeping the fences cleared is a normal part of any ranch management but spraying the trees growing on fence lines instead of chopping them down preserves the bobwhite quail habitat and lessens the work without having an impact on the fence itself. It’s not practical everywhere but where you can take this approach, it will benefit the bobwhite quail.
Steady to Flush!
Releasing for Quail Hunting	My poor dog – she get’s this “steady to flush” training three times every summer when I release my surrogated birds for quail hunting. I’m not actively hunting and harvesting them yet but we do hunt them and then I use a starter pistol instead of a real shotgun. Yes, it’s a bit disappointing for the dog but leaves more to breed and hunt in the future.
Training Feeder
Quail Feeder Training	I’ve had some success with wild quail feeders. Most of the success has been supplementing the quail just after release from the surrogator. To increase my success, I start training the quail by using a smaller quail feeder inside the surrogator during the first 5 weeks so they are familiar with the sight and use of the quail feeder. I’m not sure it is a huge benefit but I’ve sen more quail at the quail feeders since I started doing it and it is such a simple thing to do. I’m learning that it is seldom one thing but a combination of several things that leads to success raising wild quail successfully.
Sharing a Bobwhite Quail Feeder
Sharing Quail Feeders	My post release quail feeder attracts a lot of attention and for the most part, I’m happy to share until you become a pest. The deer like to snoop around and feed on the tailings and the bobwhite don’t mind them either.
Feeder Raiders!
Homemade Quail Feeder	Coons, on the other hand, have become my quail feeder nemesis – especially when it becomes a “family affair”. These little critters not only feed, they raid and empty the feeder by shaking out too much feed. I’ve tried numerous approaches to keeping them away – none successful yet. But, I keep experimenting and will find the solution.
Electrified Feeder
Range Feeder for Quail	My highly electrified long term quail feeder was somewhat successful. It did attract wild quail and they did feed but it had some problems with leakage and moisture. I’m taking a different approach now as I found that while this quail feeder was effective, it wasn’t efficient to manage and use over the long term. That said, this has proven to be a good location to start quail hunting due to the prevalence of food.
Summary of Bobwhite Quail Habitat and Feeders
Management of quail habitat for bobwhite quail is tough work and requires sustained efforts. Quail surrogators work well to produce six week old bobwhite quail but they will only stay, survive and thrive if the quail habitat is sufficient and better than that available nearby. Quail feeders work but need to be designed and implemented with a specific purpose. Additionally, other wildlife will visit quail feeders and need to be managed appropriately

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Pre Season Raising Quail Warmup

The season for raising wild quail is just around the corner – baby chicks are usually available around mid May. So, it’s time to get everything inspected, repaired and ready! Surprisingly, there’s quite a bit to do to get everything ready to go for a successful season.

Rainwater Collectors and Quail

Blue and Silver Rainwater Collector for Raising Quail — Rainwater Collector for Raising Quail

Bobwhite quail don’t have a huge need for ground water. They fulfill most of their water needs from either dew or metabolic water. That said, the Texas Summers can be very hot and dry and providing a little water may mean the difference between life and death. Also, a watering location provides an excellent location for a game camera to keep tabs on the wild quail population as well as their predators.

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Forbs Feed Quail

Green Forbs Feed Bobwhite Quail — Forbs Feed Bobwhite Quail

Forbs and their seeds are the primary feed for wild quail. Forbs are essentially wild flowers and can be very abundant in Texas. It all depends on the amout of rainfall – it doesn’t take much rainfall to get them to sprout and bloom but it does take some. During the early Spring months, we monitor the forbs production and then make plans from there on how and if we will feed additionally in the quail feeders.

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Controlling Invasive Plants for Quail

Quail Habitat Manipulation of Brown Natural Grasses — Quail Habitat Manipulation

Non native grasses, like King Ranch Bluestem are hell on quail. The KR Bluestem is so dense and compact that the quail can’t get around in it. Additionally, KR Bluestem does a terrible job at producing seeds AND seems almost impossible to eliminate once it has started. This is a picture of a small tract where we disced heavily several years ago. The KR Bluestem has grown back in most areas except where we disced down to bare earth. In those areas, we are seeing emergence of native grasses. I plan to continue my experiments with the destruction of our KR Bluestem this year.

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Quail Feeders and Bobwhite Quail

I’ve built and used several different types of quail feeders over the years. I’ve come to understand that they don’t do much except to support the wild quail during their first week after their release. WE’ve been fortunate that most years have produced a decent crop of forbs so the bobwhite quail have sufficient feed available to the without the need for supplemental feeding. We are currently in the middle of a 10 year drought so we’re watching carefully and are prepared to supplement the feed if needed.

Custom Quail Feeders

White Plastic Quail Bucket Feeder — Bobwhite Quail Bucket Feeder

This type of electrified bucket worked OK – it sure kept the critters off! In the end, it wasn’t as durable as I wanted and I’ve discontinued using this design. Honestly, I think a regular broadcast deer feeder works the best but you do have to contend with everything else in the area that likes what comes out of a deer feeder.

Quail Predators

Black and White Night Picture of Bobcat Predator — Bobcat Predator on Bobwhite Quail

Predator control is one aspect of rebuilding a wild population of bobwhite quail. We don’t have a lot of predators but we do have some. It’s been said that a bobcat can wreak havoc on a covey of quail by destroying all of them and only eating a few. I’m a big fan of game cameras to monitor the wildlife population and then formulate actions based on what I see. However, I am loath to kill every predator out there as I do believe that this upsets that balance of nature and I’ll only end up paying the price at some later date with some larger problem.

Raptors and Quail

Predator of Brown and White Hawk — Bobwhite Quail Predator

Raptors are another bobwhite quail predator and this is an interesting picture of one coming down to peer into the surrogator. We do have several pairs of hawks on the ranch but we also have magnificent habitat in the areas where quail are being found. So, I’m not horribly worried about the raptors taking out my quail and have been pleased with the balance.

Surrogator Repair and Maintenance

Surrogator Repairs of Black Paint and Rusted Metal — Bobwhite Quail Surrogator Repairs

Early Spring is always the time for surrogator repairs and they always need a little love and attention. The surrogator is incredibly well built and sturdy and the repairs each year are mostly clean up and preventative maintenance. Nothing a little buffing and painting can’t easily take care of. I’ve been very pleased with my surrogator and hope it continues to last for many years.

The Reason I Raise Wild Quail

Releasing Bobwhite Quail from Surrogator while Orange and White Brittany Watches — Releasing Bobwhite Quail from Surrogator

Lastly, the reason I got started doing all of this several years ago. I bought a hunting dog and then almost ruined her on pen raised quail. Now, she get’s exposed to hyper training at least 3 times each Summer. I have her sit at the end of the surrogator during the quail release and she doesn’t move. She get’s very excited and I do turn her loose to hunt them afterward but this is an excellent training regime for steadiness.

Very Steady Hunting Dog

Well Trained Orange and White Brittany Hunting Dog — Well Trained Quail Hunting Dog

Yet another shot of Jill waiting patiently while the wild quail become even wilder. She’s just turned 4 years old and is quite steady on command.

Summary of Pre Season Raising Quail Warmup

Spring is here and it’s time to get ready for another season of raising wild quail. The list of things to do and check get’s longer every year as I implement more practices to improve the habitat. This will be my 4th year of raising wild quail and I’m very much looking forward to it – Jill is too!

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Guest Post on Raising Wild Quail

Keeping Quail Safe, Secure and Happy

Raising quail can be an enjoyable experience, whether you’ve raised many quail before or if it is your first time trying your hand at caring for quail. Looking after quail is not particularly difficult; however there are a number of things to consider in relation to quail as they get older. Many people will keep quail chicks then release them into the wild when they are old enough to fend for themselves, but this is not for everyone; if you intend to keep them for longer there are some important pieces of information that should be remembered.

Daily Care

Looking after quails should not be viewed as a chore, and daily care of quails is an amazingly simple task. Quails should be kept in a house built specifically for their living area, which should be joined to a large enclosed run. Daily they should be let out of their house into the run, this rule holds true for all seasons of the year as they are very robust birds capable of coping with cold weather. Ensure they can still return into the house should they feel cold or want food, and never let them out of the run for numerous safety reasons. They can fly well, and even if they seem tame they could still fly away, causing them to get lost. Also they can be hard to catch once they are out in the open, so this is another reason to keep them within the confines of a run.

Weekly Care

Cleaning out the house and run of the birds should be done once or twice weekly; they are relatively clean birds, and as they tend to spend most of their time outside in a run their bedding should only need to be changed every few days. Whilst you are cleaning the house you can take this opportunity to handle and check all of your quail to ensure they are healthy and not showing any signs of illness or health issues, and to help with their general level of tameness.

Feeding the Quails

Quails have a decent appetite for their size, but they will not overeat, so they can be left with excess food as they will not eat it if they don’t want it. Their main diet will consist of mainly of corn and can be mixed with crushed pellets or whole pellets if they are slightly larger quail, such as the Cortunix family of quail. Another addition to the diet of the quail can be kitchen leftovers such as pasta, rice or even lettuce. They will not eat anything they do not want, so you will quickly learn the likes and dislikes of your quail. Never feed them meat, salty items, or garden cuttings as these are not something they can easily digest. Ensure the quails have access to fresh water at all times, you may also wish to consider adding some citricidal to the water as it is a natural antibiotic which will help keep the quail safe from diseases carried by wild birds.

Safety and Security

There is no way to keep the quail you are caring for 100% safe, but there are some precautions you can take that will help to keep them as safe as possible. At night, close the door of the house they stay in so as they cannot move into the run and attract any possible predators. Also check the run for any security issues it may have. Dependant on where you live there may be many predators around. If you live on a farm you may find there are certain types of farm insurance available to cover any damage to the property or animals you keep within your farm, which may be beneficial if you plan on keeping a very large number of quails. Most insurance companies will state what animals they cover if this is an option, so it may be worth enquiring if it is something you are specifically interested in.

Quail can be a delight to keep, whether you intend on just keeping a few or whether you plan on keeping a large number; they are easy to care for and simple to keep happy. Remember to never let them roam freely outside of an enclosed run, and to keep fresh water and food available at all times, as well as a warm shelter for them to hide in if they need or want to. Most of all, enjoy your new quail companions.

Full Stock Tank for Water Conservation

Cutting Trees to Build Improve Quail Habitat

Small Water Holding Ponds

Fence Brush Management for Bobwhite Quail

Steady to Flush!

Training Feeder

Sharing a Bobwhite Quail Feeder

Feeder Raiders!

Electrified Feeder

Summary of Bobwhite Quail Habitat and Feeders