# Keeping quail



## Augustabowhunter (Aug 2, 2009)

I want to buy some quail and keep them at my house. I have two puppy I am working on. I found a place that has some qauil but they are 45 mins the wrong way from where I hunt. What would it take to keep 20 or so quail alive for a month or so?


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## JBowman (Aug 3, 2009)

You can buy a quail recall cage from most any of the hunting web site stores that has a recall funnel.  Buy a small waterer and feeder at a local feed store (made for chicks) and they can also sell you some game bird feed.  If they don't have game bird feed, turkey feed will work.  Release a few at a time and the remaining birds will recall them and they will enter through the funnel.  You need to put the recall cage in a safe place at night, or possums (among other things) will crawl through the funnel and eat all your birds.  Let them out a few at a time every day for a week or so before you start working your dogs on them.  Also, make sure the pups don't start messing with the birds in the pen.  I would release a few birds and then put the pen where the dogs can't get to it while you work them, then put the pen back down to recall the birds.  Good luck and have fun.


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## Augustabowhunter (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks for the help. I have two young dog. both are a year old. I was wont to keep 20 or so quail at my house so when l ride to the club l can work my puppies. I only want to take 5 quail when I go. That why I wanted to find a way to keep them at my house so I didn't have to drive all over town for 5 quail everytime. If I bought 20 I could hunt for a month.


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## bobman (Aug 3, 2009)

pen raised quail are the dumbest things on earth and are not worth much for training a year old dog, unless you have launchers and know what you are doing. 

Even then they are not worth much  the worst thing you can do is have a bird flsuh them land 20 feet away or worse not flush at all.

Augusta is full of feral pigeons I would recommend you catch some and use them if these are pointing dogs 

a year old dog will catch pen raised quail and then you will have a dog that wants to flush instead of point


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## Augustabowhunter (Aug 3, 2009)

I use pigeons. I have had my pigeons for a few year and dont want to shoot them. I have been buying flight pen quail but its hard on my gas tank. My year old GSP is doing good on pigeons and is doing good on quail.  He just needs more birds. I am in school work full time and have a house payment. I was trying to find a way to buy flight pen quail and keep them at home so when l want to go work my dog I can get a few and drive 15mins to the club. I just dont know what I need to build to keep them in so they will live and still flush ok.


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## Luke0927 (Aug 3, 2009)

If you can build you a dark pen with an 8-10' high pen to keep the birds in if you buy flight conditioned birds and have very low contact you can keep them going pretty good.

if your going to just keep them in a Johnny house for a month they won't be worth much for flying they're not like pigeons if they don't fly much they are useless


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## zzweims (Aug 4, 2009)

Keeping 20 birds for a month is no problem.  Any old cage will do.  However, keeping 20 birds spooky and flight conditioned is next to impossible without a flight pen and/or johnny house where they are released every few days.  Bobman and Luke are right.  A poor flying bird is worse than no bird at all.  I am not a fan of launchers, (I have several just collecting dust) but until you can get on some land that has wild and/or flight conditioned birds on site, then launchers and pigeons may be your best option.

I know that time and money are tight for you right now, but dogs don't need to see birds every day to develop.  Get them into nearby fields for a good hard run now and then and don't worry about the birds.  Then consider joining navhda at http://navhdaga.org and go to McGarrity's in Covington once a month or so to work the pups on birds.  Or come down here and we'll work out a day rate.


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## killa84 (Aug 10, 2009)

My dad owns a quail plantation with released birds. I help guide and train dogs. Depending on how far along  the pup is the best way to start the pup is with a wing. It needs to become familiar with the scent and learn basic commands. A cane pole with a line attached to a wing works wonders. As for the 20 birds, you will need a big enough pen so the can fly and stay conditioned. I don't know how spooky you want them but generally the less human contact they have the spookier they will be. As for feed any scratch feed will work and poultry waterers are good as well.


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## Augustabowhunter (Aug 10, 2009)

Ok thanks. I have a GSP that hold to wing and shoot. He is a year old at the end of the month. I just want to put him on more birds so he becomes better. He has been hunted solo for about 2 months. I am not sure if he is ready to be hunted with other dogs yet. 

Killa84 I use to live in Vidalia.


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