How do they master humidity in the wild? Does that mean that valley quail don't do well in desert environments?

Very interesting stuff. I applaud your efforts and really hope that their introduction into Texas is wildly successful.

If you need another test area, I have a place in Coleman that used to be amazing bob territory. Plenty of cover and fields of wheat that I don't harvest.

They seem to thrive in the desert.

jja79 said:

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They seem to thrive in the desert.

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Well if that's the case, I got some country in San Saba county that is beginning to look like a desert!

In all seriousness, fantastic thread and I hope you keep us updated.

I've had a lot of fun the last few years chasing them in AZ when we go mule deer hunting. Terrific birds.

Where do you hunt in Az?

A couple coworkers of mine tried this on their places to re-establish quail populations. One in Lometa and the other around Llano. They incubated and released quail for 2-3 years in a row. They read every book, did all the research they could, and tried to improve the habitat. Both were unsuccessful and have since stopped trying. I do not think the quail lasted much longer than a few months after the releases from the incubators each time. I hope your venture goes much better than theirs' did.

jja79 said:

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Where do you hunt in Az?

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Unit 28 mostly.

Kind of around Safford.

Saturday about half an hour before dark here in Az I took a golf cart ride around the course and ran into a huge covey.that still had half grown hatchlings. Haven't seen any that small in a while. I turned a corner and most of the adult birds flew up on a house roof rather than running.

I hunted a release place up near Lampasas some this past year. The owner said that he sees an almost 0 percent survival rate in pen raised birds when not killed by shooters. They just don't have enough instincts left to avoid predation and work hard enough to feed themselves, he said. Hopefully your results will differ.

I used to hunt native quail some around Briggs. I would love to be able to do so again.

For the past 15 years we have been raising chukar and/or quail. We have long flight pens, raised food/water to increase wing strength, protein feed, and lots of predators roaming the fences to keep them busy. We use electric wire to keep the predators out. We release the birds all fall/winter and work the dogs. Water, cover, food sources are in abundance. Over 1000 acres of CRP and dense covers. The leftover birds rarely make it a day or two. In very rare instances, a chukar or two will make it thru a season and into the spring. I have seen a couple of nests with eggs in them. That's over 15 years and 1000s of birds being introduced. They just don't make it.

I spent a lot of time (and $) trying to establish quail by using a surrogator. They did not survive over a few months. In addition to the fact that pen raised birds don't have the smarts to avoid predators, they don't have the oil on their feathers that wild birds have, and subsequently they are susceptible to getting cold when it rains, and then they die.
I have been following the progress of the valley quail project and am very hopeful that it is successful. Years ago I had several places in Smith and Cherokee Counties where I could work my dogs and find several coveys. Have not seen or heard a quail in the past fifteen years.
If you need help finding locations to place birds or doing anything else which will help your project, send me a private message.

Still some fairly small birds even this late.

I'm not downloading tik Tok

Any of y'all read the user agreement for it?

You can watch the video without downloading the app.

I saw an adult pair late yesterday with just one chick that was too small to hop the curb when they crossed the street. That's a really late hatch I think