I've seen several folks on here talking about the quail Surrogator and other release programs. I came across this article and thought it might be helpful for some of you that are looking into doing this.
The Incorporation of Pen Raised Quail into a Quail Management Program, Including Soft, or Pre-Release Systems
(Summary report. Marc Puckett. April, 2008)
Releasing pen-raised quail, and other game birds, has been a common practice on hunting preserves throughout the U.S. for at least 50 years. There are many reasons why people release pen-raised quail and many variations of how they are released. Three of the most common reasons are: 1) releasing the day of the hunt, or training session, strictly for harvest, or dog training, 2) releasing solely with the intent of restocking and re-populating quail, regardless of method used, and 3) pre-season, or soft-releasing to supplement the harvest of wild quail, or to provide a more natural dog training or hunting experience.
Regardless of the “whys”, many wildlife biologists are hesitant to recommend the practice for a variety of reasons. The most important to many biologists are ethical concerns. Others have biological concerns, or may be opposed for a number of different reasons. This report will try to shed some light on the most recent developments, and provide technical information for advising landowners.
There have always been concerns with how releasing pen-raised quail may affect the health and survival of wild birds in close proximity. These concerns include: disease transmission, parasite transmission, genetic modification through cross-breeding, food and / or mate competition, range modification, and concentration of, and increased exposure to, predators (Devos and Speake 1995). To my knowledge the question of the impacts of pen-raised quail on wild bird health have never been adequately addressed through science. It is still impossible to say definitively that, “based on such and such study, pen-raised quail do, or do not affect wild quail survival.” That is because it is a very difficult thing to study. Most recently, pen-raised quail were tested in Virginia for disease presence (Cook 2006). This study suggested that Virginia’s pen-raised quail were generally healthy, but the author prefaced the account by stating that results should be viewed with caution as the samples were small and non random (Cook 2006). New regulations on transport of pen-raised quail into Virginia from other states were designed to minimize the transport of sick birds, primarily to reduce impacts on domestic poultry operations.
The best evidence that pen-raised quail may have little impact on wild quail health is ancillary, or anecdotal, based on observation. With literally millions of pen-raised quail released annually, the decline in wild quail populations has been steady, occurring over 50 years, and reports of sudden, large die offs have not occurred. In addition, it is common for wild coveys to occupy hunting preserves and persist indefinitely, in spite of frequent, repeated release of pen-raised quail. And, quail have declined across large areas of their native range, most of which is not in close proximity to pen-raised quail release areas.
Devos and Speake (1995) concluded that:
• wild coveys in close proximity to pen-raised release sites in the short term experienced slightly lower survival than controls, largely through increased exposure to predators
• pen-raised quail exhibited their highest losses during the first month after release
• pen-raised quail had no effect on wild covey range size
• pen-raised quail did not displace wild quail
• pen-raised quail were frequently adopted by wild coveys
• pen-raised quail used habitat similarly to wild quail once acclimated
• pen-raised quail that survived the winter contributed to reproduction
• pen-raised quail had much lower survival than wild quail
• stocking pen-raised quail was not likely to contribute to wild quail recovery
Devos and Speake (1995) also made several valid points which have become even more relevant in 2008. Most releasing is done to supplement harvest, not to re-populate quail range. Plantations, hunting preserves and private landowners use soft-release techniques to provide an experience that more closely resembles wild bird hunting and supplements wild bird harvest through time, particularly on small properties (500) acres or less). The use of release systems can, in some cases, provide quick response to habitat management / establishment. Landowners invest time, money and effort into developing their land and are impatient to see results. Using released quail can provide encouragement and stimulate continued habitat management efforts.
On Stockpiling Quail…
One reason pre-season release has become so popular is that you cannot “stock pile” wild quail on small properties (less than 500 acres). On average, with good habitat management, Virginia landowners managing small properties can produce and maintain one covey of quail per 50 acres. On larger properties (2000 acres plus) with intense quail management including supplemental feeding and predator control, it is possible to achieve a wild covey per 15 to 25 acres (Rosene 1969). Only on very large landholdings, those larger than 10,000 acres, can higher quail densities be achieved.
Why? A variety of studies have shown that wild quail are genetically programmed to disperse (Fies et al. 2002, Cook 2004). Dispersal occurs primarily during spring when coveys break up and nesting pairs form, or in fall during what is referred to as the fall shuffle. Regardless of season, individual quail inhabiting small pockets of isolated quality quail habitat often disperse into areas of poor habitat quality. These dispersers are rarely replaced by immigrants because there are few other sources of quail nearby. Therefore, through time, a 200 acre property that has 3 or 4 coveys of quail will very rarely have more than that. And, the small population on the property may not sustain itself through time, as it is particularly susceptible to extreme weather events, disease or over harvest. This is a “nutshell” example of meta-population theory. The bottom line is, four coveys of quail can tolerate a limited amount of hunting before adverse effects are seen. This is the backbone of the argument for using release methods to supplement harvest on small properties, particularly in the fragmented landscapes typical of Virginia.
The large quail plantations in the Deep South are able to maintain high densities of quail through time because the majority of the dispersing quail remain somewhere on the property. Only those quail near the perimeter of such large properties may disperse off the property. On the very largest properties quail can essentially be stockpiled. In addition, hunting pressure can be rotated in a fashion to minimize impact on any one segment of the population.
Soft, or Pre-Season Release Systems…
Let’s define soft-release, too. I use “soft-release” because, while most of the releasing is done pre-hunting season, supplemental releasing often occurs during the hunting season. Whether you say soft, or pre, they are the same systems. The “soft” comes from comparison to simply “dump releasing” quail out into cover abruptly just prior to shooting, or training. The SRS uses a method that allows the quail to gradually release themselves once the handler leaves. The quail typically have 4 to 6 weeks to acclimate before hunting season begins, thus behave more like wild quail when hunted.
The most common system in use today is called the Covey Base Camp® (CBC) and is a pre-fabricated version of the Smith/O’Neal systems developed over 50 years ago.
The basic method is:
• Must have good cover that already supports, or is capable of supporting wild quail
• Use one release system per 25 to 40 acres (sold as 40 acre unit)
• Must be set up in an area of good shrubby cover, such as plum thicket, sumac thicket, blackberry thicket, or similar, often known as a covey headquarters area
• Video warns NOT to set up in VA-70 or bi-color lespedeza thicket, as very little cover is provided during winter
• Use initial release coveys of 25 adult birds in mid- September to mid-October using the protocol outlined in CBC video consisting of a crate and an ice block frozen in plastic bag lain flat to form a sheet of ice. A whole is cut in the cardboard crate, the ice block is removed from the baggy and leaned up against the hole and the quail can only exit after the ice melts an hour or two after the handler leaves. Handler returns before dark to remove cardboard crate
• Must release early enough in the day to allow the ice block to melt and the coveys to enter the cover
• Must use weather and flight conditioned quail (we cannot recommend one source, but the CBC video recommends a group called Quail Valley in North Carolina that sells over 1 million quail a year and is preferred by numerous Virginia operations. I leave this up the landowner to research)
•Proper use of the electronic recall bird “Total Recall” for at least 2 weeks post release
•Most use wheat as the feed, some use milo, some cracked corn, CBC video recommends wheat
•Must check and maintain feeders at least every 2 weeks (cannot allow feeders to run out of feed)
•A follow-up release is often conducted during December (or as needed) to further supplement harvest using 10 birds per covey, or crate
•It is recommended the feeders be maintained throughout the year, except summer
• Predator control is also recommended
• Monitor each system for use. If a system is not being used by the released quail, it is in a bad location and needs to be moved into better cover
• Like anything else, it takes some work, time and study to become proficient with the system
It is important to note that no matter what release system is used, they all say habitat is the key. You must create and maintain great quail habitat through time. The systems will not work in a cow pasture.
A system that is gaining in popularity, and in some ways contradicts the claims of the CBC folks, is called the Quail Surrogator® (www.quailrestoration.com 1-316-200-0134). This system relies on partially raising, or surrogating, hatchling quail to an age of 5 weeks old, during summer. They believe that pen-reared quail retain many wild characteristics at a young age and state that after 7 weeks of age, pen-raised quail lose their innate survival abilities. For more information you need to look at their website and get a copy of their free video and brochure.
The Surrogator is set-up in good quail cover where the manager wants to establish quail and provides food, water, safety and cover for 5 weeks. The Surrogator uses up to 125 one day old quail chicks per system. It is the most complex of all systems I am aware of. They recommend one unit per 160 acres of land. They stress that 3 to 4, 5-week cycles can be completed per year depending on length of the natural breeding season. In Virginia, we like to see 80% of quail chicks be at least 150 days old when the hunting season starts. This suggests that the latest day old chicks could be started in the Surrogator would be in early July. You would need to begin running cycles in late April to achieve 3 cycles in one breeding season.
A study was conducted in Georgia to address the efficacy of using both traditional “dump release” and the Surrogator systems (Thackston et al. 2006). This study released 1,641 - 5-week old quail using the Surrogator and 1000 - 12 to 16 week old quail using “dump release” onto an approximate 1000 acre portion of a private shooting preserve where supplemental feeding and predator control occurred. All Surrogator released quail were raised and released per manufacturer’s protocol. Relative to total number of birds released, hunter bag returns were 0.80% (eight tenths of one percent) for the Surrogator released quail and 7.5% for the “dump released” quail. Excluding the cost of the release systems used, the cost per quail returned to hunter bag was $74.53 and $42.00 for the Surrogator and dump release methods, respectively.
Another system that is receiving some mention, mainly from dog trainers, is called the Texas Covey House®. It is essentially a modified quail re-call pen, commonly called a “Johnny house.” These houses are set up one per 150 - 200 acres and quail are kept in them fall, winter and spring. Prior to beginning a training session, a number of quail are released and flushed out into the training area. Or, they may be captured from the recall pen and transported in a hand crate for planting at various locations throughout the training area. After training is completed, the released quail are “re-called” to the pen by the birds that remained in the pen. At least a few re-call birds are always left in the pen. The quail can enter on their own, but not exit…functions essentially like a minnow trap. They are also using the Texas Covey House® in a fashion similar to the CBC to establish wild acting “coveys” prior to hunting season. It is a portable system that can be repositioned throughout a property to establish coveys.
Lastly, some folks are conducting quail releases without using any of the systems described above. They are simply using good habitat, supplemented with feed, as release / covey establishment sites. Some use the “ice block” method described under CBC. They take their cardboard crate of 25 quail to the identified release site, make the opening in it, set the ice block, and leave. The birds gradually exit the crate into the natural cover where feed is abundant. The handler returns before dark to remove the crate. Others simply cut a hole in the box and use no ice block. Supplemental feed is broadcast at the release site and along trails and roadways on the landowner’s property, throughout fall, winter and spring.
For landowners thinking about trying these systems for the first time, I would advise them:
-of the need for lots of good quail habitat
-make sure they know why they want to use a release system (may work for supplemental harvest, but not for range re-population)
-advise them of cost
-give them contact information for conducting their own investigations
My final note, I hunted on a 200 acre farm using 8 of the CBC systems, or equivalent, this winter (January 6th). This farm had excellent quail cover throughout. We hunted hard for 3 good hours. We found 6 coveys of quail, most near the systems. They flushed well and flew strong. We were able to follow-up and hunt singles, too. The way this landowner is using his systems I would consider successful for his goals…being able to hunt close to home, repeatedly, on small acreage with a result more pleasing than simply releasing quail the day of harvest.
The Incorporation of Pen Raised Quail into a Quail Management Program, Including Soft, or Pre-Release Systems
(Summary report. Marc Puckett. April, 2008)
Releasing pen-raised quail, and other game birds, has been a common practice on hunting preserves throughout the U.S. for at least 50 years. There are many reasons why people release pen-raised quail and many variations of how they are released. Three of the most common reasons are: 1) releasing the day of the hunt, or training session, strictly for harvest, or dog training, 2) releasing solely with the intent of restocking and re-populating quail, regardless of method used, and 3) pre-season, or soft-releasing to supplement the harvest of wild quail, or to provide a more natural dog training or hunting experience.
Regardless of the “whys”, many wildlife biologists are hesitant to recommend the practice for a variety of reasons. The most important to many biologists are ethical concerns. Others have biological concerns, or may be opposed for a number of different reasons. This report will try to shed some light on the most recent developments, and provide technical information for advising landowners.
There have always been concerns with how releasing pen-raised quail may affect the health and survival of wild birds in close proximity. These concerns include: disease transmission, parasite transmission, genetic modification through cross-breeding, food and / or mate competition, range modification, and concentration of, and increased exposure to, predators (Devos and Speake 1995). To my knowledge the question of the impacts of pen-raised quail on wild bird health have never been adequately addressed through science. It is still impossible to say definitively that, “based on such and such study, pen-raised quail do, or do not affect wild quail survival.” That is because it is a very difficult thing to study. Most recently, pen-raised quail were tested in Virginia for disease presence (Cook 2006). This study suggested that Virginia’s pen-raised quail were generally healthy, but the author prefaced the account by stating that results should be viewed with caution as the samples were small and non random (Cook 2006). New regulations on transport of pen-raised quail into Virginia from other states were designed to minimize the transport of sick birds, primarily to reduce impacts on domestic poultry operations.
The best evidence that pen-raised quail may have little impact on wild quail health is ancillary, or anecdotal, based on observation. With literally millions of pen-raised quail released annually, the decline in wild quail populations has been steady, occurring over 50 years, and reports of sudden, large die offs have not occurred. In addition, it is common for wild coveys to occupy hunting preserves and persist indefinitely, in spite of frequent, repeated release of pen-raised quail. And, quail have declined across large areas of their native range, most of which is not in close proximity to pen-raised quail release areas.
Devos and Speake (1995) concluded that:
• wild coveys in close proximity to pen-raised release sites in the short term experienced slightly lower survival than controls, largely through increased exposure to predators
• pen-raised quail exhibited their highest losses during the first month after release
• pen-raised quail had no effect on wild covey range size
• pen-raised quail did not displace wild quail
• pen-raised quail were frequently adopted by wild coveys
• pen-raised quail used habitat similarly to wild quail once acclimated
• pen-raised quail that survived the winter contributed to reproduction
• pen-raised quail had much lower survival than wild quail
• stocking pen-raised quail was not likely to contribute to wild quail recovery
Devos and Speake (1995) also made several valid points which have become even more relevant in 2008. Most releasing is done to supplement harvest, not to re-populate quail range. Plantations, hunting preserves and private landowners use soft-release techniques to provide an experience that more closely resembles wild bird hunting and supplements wild bird harvest through time, particularly on small properties (500) acres or less). The use of release systems can, in some cases, provide quick response to habitat management / establishment. Landowners invest time, money and effort into developing their land and are impatient to see results. Using released quail can provide encouragement and stimulate continued habitat management efforts.
On Stockpiling Quail…
One reason pre-season release has become so popular is that you cannot “stock pile” wild quail on small properties (less than 500 acres). On average, with good habitat management, Virginia landowners managing small properties can produce and maintain one covey of quail per 50 acres. On larger properties (2000 acres plus) with intense quail management including supplemental feeding and predator control, it is possible to achieve a wild covey per 15 to 25 acres (Rosene 1969). Only on very large landholdings, those larger than 10,000 acres, can higher quail densities be achieved.
Why? A variety of studies have shown that wild quail are genetically programmed to disperse (Fies et al. 2002, Cook 2004). Dispersal occurs primarily during spring when coveys break up and nesting pairs form, or in fall during what is referred to as the fall shuffle. Regardless of season, individual quail inhabiting small pockets of isolated quality quail habitat often disperse into areas of poor habitat quality. These dispersers are rarely replaced by immigrants because there are few other sources of quail nearby. Therefore, through time, a 200 acre property that has 3 or 4 coveys of quail will very rarely have more than that. And, the small population on the property may not sustain itself through time, as it is particularly susceptible to extreme weather events, disease or over harvest. This is a “nutshell” example of meta-population theory. The bottom line is, four coveys of quail can tolerate a limited amount of hunting before adverse effects are seen. This is the backbone of the argument for using release methods to supplement harvest on small properties, particularly in the fragmented landscapes typical of Virginia.
The large quail plantations in the Deep South are able to maintain high densities of quail through time because the majority of the dispersing quail remain somewhere on the property. Only those quail near the perimeter of such large properties may disperse off the property. On the very largest properties quail can essentially be stockpiled. In addition, hunting pressure can be rotated in a fashion to minimize impact on any one segment of the population.
Soft, or Pre-Season Release Systems…
Let’s define soft-release, too. I use “soft-release” because, while most of the releasing is done pre-hunting season, supplemental releasing often occurs during the hunting season. Whether you say soft, or pre, they are the same systems. The “soft” comes from comparison to simply “dump releasing” quail out into cover abruptly just prior to shooting, or training. The SRS uses a method that allows the quail to gradually release themselves once the handler leaves. The quail typically have 4 to 6 weeks to acclimate before hunting season begins, thus behave more like wild quail when hunted.
The most common system in use today is called the Covey Base Camp® (CBC) and is a pre-fabricated version of the Smith/O’Neal systems developed over 50 years ago.
The basic method is:
• Must have good cover that already supports, or is capable of supporting wild quail
• Use one release system per 25 to 40 acres (sold as 40 acre unit)
• Must be set up in an area of good shrubby cover, such as plum thicket, sumac thicket, blackberry thicket, or similar, often known as a covey headquarters area
• Video warns NOT to set up in VA-70 or bi-color lespedeza thicket, as very little cover is provided during winter
• Use initial release coveys of 25 adult birds in mid- September to mid-October using the protocol outlined in CBC video consisting of a crate and an ice block frozen in plastic bag lain flat to form a sheet of ice. A whole is cut in the cardboard crate, the ice block is removed from the baggy and leaned up against the hole and the quail can only exit after the ice melts an hour or two after the handler leaves. Handler returns before dark to remove cardboard crate
• Must release early enough in the day to allow the ice block to melt and the coveys to enter the cover
• Must use weather and flight conditioned quail (we cannot recommend one source, but the CBC video recommends a group called Quail Valley in North Carolina that sells over 1 million quail a year and is preferred by numerous Virginia operations. I leave this up the landowner to research)
•Proper use of the electronic recall bird “Total Recall” for at least 2 weeks post release
•Most use wheat as the feed, some use milo, some cracked corn, CBC video recommends wheat
•Must check and maintain feeders at least every 2 weeks (cannot allow feeders to run out of feed)
•A follow-up release is often conducted during December (or as needed) to further supplement harvest using 10 birds per covey, or crate
•It is recommended the feeders be maintained throughout the year, except summer
• Predator control is also recommended
• Monitor each system for use. If a system is not being used by the released quail, it is in a bad location and needs to be moved into better cover
• Like anything else, it takes some work, time and study to become proficient with the system
It is important to note that no matter what release system is used, they all say habitat is the key. You must create and maintain great quail habitat through time. The systems will not work in a cow pasture.
A system that is gaining in popularity, and in some ways contradicts the claims of the CBC folks, is called the Quail Surrogator® (www.quailrestoration.com 1-316-200-0134). This system relies on partially raising, or surrogating, hatchling quail to an age of 5 weeks old, during summer. They believe that pen-reared quail retain many wild characteristics at a young age and state that after 7 weeks of age, pen-raised quail lose their innate survival abilities. For more information you need to look at their website and get a copy of their free video and brochure.
The Surrogator is set-up in good quail cover where the manager wants to establish quail and provides food, water, safety and cover for 5 weeks. The Surrogator uses up to 125 one day old quail chicks per system. It is the most complex of all systems I am aware of. They recommend one unit per 160 acres of land. They stress that 3 to 4, 5-week cycles can be completed per year depending on length of the natural breeding season. In Virginia, we like to see 80% of quail chicks be at least 150 days old when the hunting season starts. This suggests that the latest day old chicks could be started in the Surrogator would be in early July. You would need to begin running cycles in late April to achieve 3 cycles in one breeding season.
A study was conducted in Georgia to address the efficacy of using both traditional “dump release” and the Surrogator systems (Thackston et al. 2006). This study released 1,641 - 5-week old quail using the Surrogator and 1000 - 12 to 16 week old quail using “dump release” onto an approximate 1000 acre portion of a private shooting preserve where supplemental feeding and predator control occurred. All Surrogator released quail were raised and released per manufacturer’s protocol. Relative to total number of birds released, hunter bag returns were 0.80% (eight tenths of one percent) for the Surrogator released quail and 7.5% for the “dump released” quail. Excluding the cost of the release systems used, the cost per quail returned to hunter bag was $74.53 and $42.00 for the Surrogator and dump release methods, respectively.
Another system that is receiving some mention, mainly from dog trainers, is called the Texas Covey House®. It is essentially a modified quail re-call pen, commonly called a “Johnny house.” These houses are set up one per 150 - 200 acres and quail are kept in them fall, winter and spring. Prior to beginning a training session, a number of quail are released and flushed out into the training area. Or, they may be captured from the recall pen and transported in a hand crate for planting at various locations throughout the training area. After training is completed, the released quail are “re-called” to the pen by the birds that remained in the pen. At least a few re-call birds are always left in the pen. The quail can enter on their own, but not exit…functions essentially like a minnow trap. They are also using the Texas Covey House® in a fashion similar to the CBC to establish wild acting “coveys” prior to hunting season. It is a portable system that can be repositioned throughout a property to establish coveys.
Lastly, some folks are conducting quail releases without using any of the systems described above. They are simply using good habitat, supplemented with feed, as release / covey establishment sites. Some use the “ice block” method described under CBC. They take their cardboard crate of 25 quail to the identified release site, make the opening in it, set the ice block, and leave. The birds gradually exit the crate into the natural cover where feed is abundant. The handler returns before dark to remove the crate. Others simply cut a hole in the box and use no ice block. Supplemental feed is broadcast at the release site and along trails and roadways on the landowner’s property, throughout fall, winter and spring.
For landowners thinking about trying these systems for the first time, I would advise them:
-of the need for lots of good quail habitat
-make sure they know why they want to use a release system (may work for supplemental harvest, but not for range re-population)
-advise them of cost
-give them contact information for conducting their own investigations
My final note, I hunted on a 200 acre farm using 8 of the CBC systems, or equivalent, this winter (January 6th). This farm had excellent quail cover throughout. We hunted hard for 3 good hours. We found 6 coveys of quail, most near the systems. They flushed well and flew strong. We were able to follow-up and hunt singles, too. The way this landowner is using his systems I would consider successful for his goals…being able to hunt close to home, repeatedly, on small acreage with a result more pleasing than simply releasing quail the day of harvest.
