Quail price and releasing on a leasE???

[webstertroy]

I am able to get some adult quail at $2 each right now.. The time I have been on our lease I have seen 1 or 2.. Have been told the numbers have gone way down thats why they dont hunt them... What are the chances yall think they will live if I release some? I was thinking about getting 40-50 of them....

[bigbad243]

First of all where are you getting fully mature quail for $2 each? Second, you cannot just release them unless you want to feed the predators for a week. They need to be wild raised (best you can) and released. This means you need to raise them as day old chicks in a surrogator or the like. It is a ton of work

[ultrastealth]

Not gonna work.

[webstertroy]

well thats not what I wanted to here....

[clayg08]

Second, you cannot just release them unless you want to feed the predators for a week.

there is a "healthy" population of coyotes out there. not to mention all those blasted ants.... that's what i'd worry about.

[lameduck]

Bob cats and fox will thank you.

[webstertroy]

Would it work better if I got younger birds? he has a few that are about a month old for sale also...

[3DW5]

Gotta keep the ants, bobcats, yotes all away to have any chance... Plus they need to be legit wild.

[Randy]

That's cheap. I've had good success over the past few years turning out pen raised birds. I'd say its about 15%. I generally turn mine out when insects populations are the highest and I really work hard on my predator control.

[Atfulldraw]

if you release them with one hand and shoot them with the other, you might get half of them.

[louieagarcia]

If you are getting them for that price, might as well, prep them and throw them straight in the pot! Pen raised mature birds don't last long in the wild...Unless you are going to go out and hunt them the next day or so, I wouldnt release them. Good luck!

[bigbad243]

Does he have all health paperwork/certs on said mature birds? I would bet now because going rate is $6-8 each.

[webstertroy]

I didnt ask if he did

[unclefish]

Where are you getting them for that price? You need to buy all you can and eat the crap out of them!

[Cajun Blake]

my guess, 90% mortality rate , perhaps higher depending on your geography (area of Texas)

pretty sure in quail friendly habitat, GA, SC, AL, etc... biologists expect a 25% survival rate of pen raised birds released into the wild

numbers gotta be lower in hotter climates with less rain


other TBH'ers have done this, no clue on their experience