I used to raise quail for my own use and training of my dogs. Everything I read about the process, indicated that one could not mix different age birds in a pen. I did it routinely and did not suffer any losses of young birds. It is my hope that this knowledge, I learned of necessity, may help others in increasing their success, at the least, with raising more birds.
I am new to you guys here but have hung out on GON traditional archery forum for a long time. I know Mark (Rapidfire) from archery hunts and shoots. Bird hunting has always been my passion, (most fun a man can have standing up with pants on.)LOL
I went whole hog into hatching and raising quail and this is what I did, starting from taking bird's out a hatcher:
I had built about seven boxes with 1/4" hardware cloth in the bottom to let droping fall through. The chicks were placed there with a feeder and waterer, and they would stay in there until reaching 6 to eight weeks of age...make the boxes big enough for 60 -65 birds. I set a hundred eggs a week in each tray of the incubator, and there were three trays. Kept up with hatching dates for each tray and moved the eggs to a hatcher accordingly.
hatching success was about 66%. When hatched, were moved to those boxes mentioned before. Hung a light bulb for warmth and used lids on the boxes. I thus had birds of all ages in a few weeks! When they were fleged and looked almost grown in apperance, as I recall at about 7 -8 weeks old, I would release them into my flight pen with a light bulb on a timer there for warmth at night. They would covey there . My flight pen was only about 18' by 12" partly roofed and partly exposed. I had to enter it every day to gather the eggs from the twenty pair of adults I had. These adults were in a pen about chest high in one end of the flight pen. It was communal and I would just reach in with a walking cane to roll the eggs close enough to pick them up. During the season of raising birds I lost one hen of the adults due to prolapse of cloaca. The 19 hens produced enough eggs in a week to load a 100 egg tray, with a few left over. Hard to peel but delicious boiled!
Back to the chicks, I had to release the older chicks into the flight pen each week! So once each week I was mixing younger birds with older ones. Everybody said you can't do that!
This is the important part:
I learned to slip quietly into the pen after dark when the birds are settled set the pet caddy down quietly and open the door to it and leave quietly. The younger birds in the cage thus awakened with the birds in the FP and quietly walked out. The transition was very calm, and I lost ZERO birds doing this! You can't release birds in daylight into a flight pen as they will be searched out and killed by the others as intruders! I hope someone finds this info helpful and it allows them to be more successful in raising quail for fun and profit. If so we all profit!
By the end of my patience and budget which was about time for the grouse season I had more quail than I could afford to feed! Somebody told me to count their legs and divide by two and I'd know how many I had! LOL I'm guessing around500-700 I probably had 12 to 13 weeks of hatching about 66 chicks X 13 = 858. You'll have some caught in feeders and drowned etc.
That many birds eat a lot of food. I wasn't licensed and could not sell them legally so I quit. I had fun, but it got old too, so don't complain too much about the cost of birds. I will say mine were very strong flyers often 2-300yds which was surprising to me as the flight pen was so small.They were all well feathered and looked like wild birds, not plucked and pitiful like some you buy knowing they aren't going to fly well.
I don't have a birddog anymore, but I have enjoyed reliving the memories you all have created for me on this board. I especially like the pictures of some beautiful dogs on point! There's nothing to compare with it. I wish I had a place with suitable fields and room to raise birds and experiment a bit with Mr Bob's peculiar problems these days. It is a shame that the Quail Capitol of the World has come to what it is these days!
Good luck guys and if anyone wants to contact me for further info PM me with your phone #. I'm a d--n slow typist! I'm wrestling with my thoughts right now thinking about getting another dog. If I lose... or win... the battle I may be seeing you guys somewhere!
Bill
I am new to you guys here but have hung out on GON traditional archery forum for a long time. I know Mark (Rapidfire) from archery hunts and shoots. Bird hunting has always been my passion, (most fun a man can have standing up with pants on.)LOL
I went whole hog into hatching and raising quail and this is what I did, starting from taking bird's out a hatcher:
I had built about seven boxes with 1/4" hardware cloth in the bottom to let droping fall through. The chicks were placed there with a feeder and waterer, and they would stay in there until reaching 6 to eight weeks of age...make the boxes big enough for 60 -65 birds. I set a hundred eggs a week in each tray of the incubator, and there were three trays. Kept up with hatching dates for each tray and moved the eggs to a hatcher accordingly.
hatching success was about 66%. When hatched, were moved to those boxes mentioned before. Hung a light bulb for warmth and used lids on the boxes. I thus had birds of all ages in a few weeks! When they were fleged and looked almost grown in apperance, as I recall at about 7 -8 weeks old, I would release them into my flight pen with a light bulb on a timer there for warmth at night. They would covey there . My flight pen was only about 18' by 12" partly roofed and partly exposed. I had to enter it every day to gather the eggs from the twenty pair of adults I had. These adults were in a pen about chest high in one end of the flight pen. It was communal and I would just reach in with a walking cane to roll the eggs close enough to pick them up. During the season of raising birds I lost one hen of the adults due to prolapse of cloaca. The 19 hens produced enough eggs in a week to load a 100 egg tray, with a few left over. Hard to peel but delicious boiled!
Back to the chicks, I had to release the older chicks into the flight pen each week! So once each week I was mixing younger birds with older ones. Everybody said you can't do that!
This is the important part:
I learned to slip quietly into the pen after dark when the birds are settled set the pet caddy down quietly and open the door to it and leave quietly. The younger birds in the cage thus awakened with the birds in the FP and quietly walked out. The transition was very calm, and I lost ZERO birds doing this! You can't release birds in daylight into a flight pen as they will be searched out and killed by the others as intruders! I hope someone finds this info helpful and it allows them to be more successful in raising quail for fun and profit. If so we all profit!
By the end of my patience and budget which was about time for the grouse season I had more quail than I could afford to feed! Somebody told me to count their legs and divide by two and I'd know how many I had! LOL I'm guessing around500-700 I probably had 12 to 13 weeks of hatching about 66 chicks X 13 = 858. You'll have some caught in feeders and drowned etc.
That many birds eat a lot of food. I wasn't licensed and could not sell them legally so I quit. I had fun, but it got old too, so don't complain too much about the cost of birds. I will say mine were very strong flyers often 2-300yds which was surprising to me as the flight pen was so small.They were all well feathered and looked like wild birds, not plucked and pitiful like some you buy knowing they aren't going to fly well.
I don't have a birddog anymore, but I have enjoyed reliving the memories you all have created for me on this board. I especially like the pictures of some beautiful dogs on point! There's nothing to compare with it. I wish I had a place with suitable fields and room to raise birds and experiment a bit with Mr Bob's peculiar problems these days. It is a shame that the Quail Capitol of the World has come to what it is these days!
Good luck guys and if anyone wants to contact me for further info PM me with your phone #. I'm a d--n slow typist! I'm wrestling with my thoughts right now thinking about getting another dog. If I lose... or win... the battle I may be seeing you guys somewhere!
Bill
