Covey Base System

[Granddaddy]

Can anyone share some first-hand experience with this system of releasing quail? Does the system factually enable you to release pen-raised birds in early fall & maintain the covey through the winter? Does this system enable pen-raised birds to become independent over time & become established as a self-supporting covey relative to food, water & weather? And finally can anyone substantiate claims that these pen-raised birds actually survive & reproduce?

 

[Duramax]

Grandaddy, I used to be involved heavily with QU (quail unlimited) We have had success in doing this. We have also been successful with pen-raised birds establishing and raisng their own coveys. Some say once a pen-raised bird eats Natural food, food in the wild the bird then becomes more like a natural wild bird? But it does help in the long run.

Duramax

 

[Boyd Green]

I also have experience

with covey coups. The man that owns the farm I hunt put out 15 or 20 a year ago. He put 15 or 20 birds in each one. Every afternoon birds would come back to the coup to roost.
After several months he moved them and put in more pen raised birds. I can tell you that the birds are surviving enough to hunt them regularly.

 

[rip18]

Please, don't anyone take offense at this, but the covey base camp system is the most "idiot-proof" way of releasing birds that you want to hang around for a while. When properly managed, it takes care off all the birds' primary winter needs - food, water, escape cover. Note, I most emphatically did NOT say that anyone who uses the covey base camp system is an idiot... I've worked on a few properties that use the system & have put one in my backyard with the entire release just so that I could have year around personal access without depending on someone else's manager filling the feeders, etc. I've also worked on several properties that release birds without the system.

Yes, it allows an early fall release & sustains the birds through winter - IF it is properly located, set-up, & MAINTAINED.

Yes, the birds (if healthy when released) can be sustained "relative to food, water, & weather" and I would add escape cover & other important habitat variables. The covey base camp takes care of all their basic winter needs.

Yes, I will substantiate that some of these released birds will survive & reproduce IF THE APPROPRIATE HABITATS (seasonal feeding, bugs, nesting cover, escape cover, brood habitat, lack of bermuda invasion, etc..) are available.

There are a lot of little details for winter release that the covey base camp takes care of. In "good" habitat, these things should be taken care of anyway, but the base camp system makes things as fool-proof as possible. Whether the birds do well will depend partly on the surrounding habitat, quality of bird released (meat strain vs flight strain, health, etc), and how heavy the hunting pressure is.

Good luck!!!

 

[Granddaddy]

I have some wild birds but not near carrying capacity. Any issues with pen-raised verses wild bird exposure, particularly disease exposure issues?

 

[jbroadnax]

Base Camp

The base camp is effective and is the easiest. Please note the most important part of this is the electronic call. The base camp is not much more than a quail feeder. It does have a waterer but bird get enough moisture from dew in the morning. Liberated quail only need need initial food and a method of calling them back to that food in the event they are broken up. The system does work. The bird rely on the base camp less and less ever day. It can be moved after a couple weeks or more birds can be established around the existing base camp because the other birds have homesteaded some where else. I have release over 5 thousand birds around these camps are they are effective. If you really want to get serious a bout replenishing a property with quail, you will want to investigate surrogate propagation. This system was developed by Greg Koch at Quail Restoration. Good luck.

 

[sweet 16]

Quail base system

I agree, when putting up a system you still have to think about 12 month plan to rebuild Quail population. You can have these bases built with a little help from a local welder for 1/2 the price. Gotta local Field Trail for Hospice this weekend. Great fund raiser, Great cause. My 1 1/2 year old is braced with a 6 year old. Just hope she doesn't trail along with the more dominant dog. Good luck to everyone working for Quail Habitat.