🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec29.093026.1007@doug.cae.wisc.edu> richm@bella.corp.sgi.com (Rich McKay) writes:
>Keywords:Raising and Releasing Game Birds... Advice Needed
>
>My family owns a cattle ranch in South Central Nevada and we are
>interested in raising and releasing game birds in order to establish a
>self sustaining population.  [Lots deleted]
>
>Does anyone know of any organization I could contact to get more
>information?  I would be interested in purchasing chicks or even
>fertilized eggs.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
>
>...Rich

Dear Rich,

There are several organizations that would probably be able to help
you such as Pheasants Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks
Unlimited, and I think there is a Quail Forever or something like
that.  I don't have access to addresses or phone numbers at the moment
but if no one else resonds with them I will try to get ahold of some
for you later.

I only wish everyone took such interest in wildlife populations.
However, judging by my own experience with raising and releasing
quail, your time and money may be much better spent in trying to
improve habitat than producing the birds yourself. It seems to me that
if you have had birds there in the past, any more that you would
release would soon succumb to whatever got the original birds.
Especially since pen-raised birds never seem to have the survivability
or vigor that wild birds have.  I know the repopulating of wild turkey
project in Iowa suffered decades of pure failure until they gave up on
pen-raised turkeys. As soon as they started trading for wild trapped
turkeys with other states, the population really boomed until there
was a good population all over the state.  I'm sure that any of the
above mentioned organizations will have many wortwhile suggestions on
habitat improvement. Good luck and keep us posted with progress
reports.


Sincerely,
Jim Wahl
 

richm@bella.corp.sgi.com (Rich McKay) writes:

>My family owns a cattle ranch in South Central Nevada and we are
>interested in raising and releasing game birds in order to establish a
>self sustaining population.  There is a small native population of
>sage hens already on the property, and we have also seen several small
>bunches of chukar.  We were thinking of raising and releasing chukar
>and quail.  There were populations of both in the past, but they have
>dwindled over the last few years due in part to the increase in the
>number of coyotes and hawks.

The best advice is: DON'T DO IT.  If you release pen-raised birds into
the area, you'll probably lose the native populations you've already
got to the increased predator population that the pen-raised birds
will attract.

At the Quail Unlimited national convention this past summer I attended
a lecture on this very subject, and they found that 99% of pen-raised
birds don't survive a week on thier own.  The few introduction
projects that have been successful (like pheasants and chukars) were
conducted by highly trained scientists and game experts, not the
general populous.

So far, the only things I've seen happen by introducing pen-raised
birds to the environment without careful study have been disaster.  On
the east coast, some of the duck hunting clubs buy *thousands* of
pen-raised mallards and release them each year.  The effect??  The
black duck is just about gone, due to the increased predation and
competition for food.  Nice job, boys.


-- 
Todd++;
------------------
todd@refrig.dixie.com
**** I voted with the majority this past election - AGAINST Clinton! ****

In article <1992Dec30.144343.5655@doug.cae.wisc.edu> todd@refrig.dixie.com (Todd H.) writes:
>richm@bella.corp.sgi.com (Rich McKay) writes:
>
>>My family owns a cattle ranch in South Central Nevada and we are
>>interested in raising and releasing game birds in order to establish a
>>self sustaining population.  There is a small native population of
>>sage hens already on the property, and we have also seen several small
>>bunches of chukar.  We were thinking of raising and releasing chukar
>>and quail.  There were populations of both in the past, but they have
>>dwindled over the last few years due in part to the increase in the
>>number of coyotes and hawks.
>
>The best advice is: DON'T DO IT.  If you release pen-raised birds into
>the area, you'll probably lose the native populations you've already
>got to the increased predator population that the pen-raised birds
>will attract.

I guess this doesn't surprise me, but I would like to suggest an 
alternative: alter the environment.  Either find a way to make it less
friendly for the coyotes and hawks, or more friendly with better cover 
for the game birds you want.  In Ohio, I believe it was morning doves
and/or quail that were nearly wiped out.  Sportsmen's clubs around the
state sought permission from landowners and set up coveys wherever 
possible.  The population is back to a reasonable level for the 
food and area available now.  

Hope this suggestion is helpful.

>>The best advice is: DON'T DO IT.  If you release pen-raised birds into
>>the area, you'll probably lose the native populations you've already
>>got to the increased predator population that the pen-raised birds
>>will attract.
> 
> I guess this doesn't surprise me, but I would like to suggest an 
> alternative: alter the environment.  Either find a way to make it less
> friendly for the coyotes and hawks, or more friendly with better cover 
> for the game birds you want.  

     I too have considered raising and releasing game birds, but have
also been discouraged by the poor success others have had.  I believe
habitat and some degree of predator control is the key to
reestablishing diminishing bird populations, but how?  My main
interest lies in upping the local pheasant numbers on a moderately
sized piece of private farm land which myself and others have hunted
in the past.  There seems to be ample cover, but I'm not so sure that
the feed is adequate.  If we were to plant small parcels of land with
some type of grain or other feed, what would be the best type?  Also,
there is an abundance of hawks and skunks in the area, as well as a
few foxes and coyotes.  Aside from declaring open war on them ( for
the most part illegal), what is the best way to rid an area of
predators.
     I'd love to do what I can to bolster the bird population on this
particular tract of ground, but I need ideas.  The farmer who owns it
is one the few still left around here who specifically leaves part of
his ground untilled for the benefit of wildlife, and he too is open
for suggestion.  I invite anyone who has experience in this area to
share your ideas and opinions with us.
 
Thanks,

Lance Robinson
Utah State University 

In article <1992Dec30.144334.5621@doug.cae.wisc.edu> jwahl@iastate.edu (H J Wahl) writes:
= In article <1992Dec29.093026.1007@doug.cae.wisc.edu> richm@bella.corp.sgi.com (Rich McKay) writes:
= >Keywords:Raising and Releasing Game Birds... Advice Needed
= >
= >My family owns a cattle ranch in South Central Nevada and we are
= >interested in raising and releasing game birds in order to establish a
= >self sustaining population.  [Lots deleted]

I sent some of this to Rich but it occurs to me that it may be
worth posting for all.

First, anyone contemplating the release of game birds of any kind
should consider (in addition to Jim's good advice) that the
practice is regulated by the same agency that regulates hunting and
fishing in most states ( Department of Game & Fish, ..of Natural
Resources, ..of Wildlife, what have you in your state ).

This is generally for very good reasons among which are to try to
prevent introduction of species which may compete with native
species, introduction of disease into wild populations, etc.
Please discuss it with your state agency and the game biologists
there before you even consider releasing game animals of any kind.
(Or any other kind of animal, for that matter.)

= >Does anyone know of any organization I could contact to get more
= >information?  I would be interested in purchasing chicks or even
= >fertilized eggs.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
= >
= >...Rich
= 
= Dear Rich,
= 
= There are several organizations that would probably be able to help
= you such as Pheasants Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks
= Unlimited, and I think there is a Quail Forever or something like
= that.  I don't have access to addresses or phone numbers at the moment
= but if no one else resonds with them I will try to get ahold of some
= for you later.

I can supply that for Quail Unlimited.  QU's charter is the
improvement of *all* upland game, not only quail, mainly through
habitat improvement.  Their bimonthly magazine, _Quail Unlimited_
has many good articles on research and on practical work to improve
upland game populations.  Unlike many such organizations, most (60%
as I recall) of funds raised by local chapters go to the local
chapter for *LOCAL* projects.  (The magazine also has one of my
favorite gun-dog training columns, Steve Rafe's "About Dogs."

Address(s):

			Quail Unlimited National Headquarters
			P. O. Box 610
			Edgefield, SC 29824-0610

For information about starting you own local chapter, if one does
not already exist in your locale, direct your query to Winona
Overholt, Assistant Director of Chapter Development at the same
address or phone 1-803-637-5731.

= I only wish everyone took such interest in wildlife populations.
= However, judging by my own experience with raising and releasing
= quail, your time and money may be much better spent in trying to
= improve habitat than producing the birds yourself. It seems to me that
= if you have had birds there in the past, any more that you would
= release would soon succumb to whatever got the original birds.
= Especially since pen-raised birds never seem to have the survivability
= or vigor that wild birds have.  I know the repopulating of wild turkey
= project in Iowa suffered decades of pure failure until they gave up on
= pen-raised turkeys. As soon as they started trading for wild trapped
= turkeys with other states, the population really boomed until there
= was a good population all over the state.  I'm sure that any of the
= above mentioned organizations will have many wortwhile suggestions on
= habitat improvement. Good luck and keep us posted with progress
= reports.

Good points, Jim.  Also, pen-raised birds seem to be more afflicted
with disease (perhaps due to great population density in pens) than
do wild birds--or so I seem to recall.  Another problem is that
pen-raised birds may bring in disease against which *they* have
immunity or against which *they* have been medicated but to which
wild birds are susceptible.  As you can guess, the result may be
the decimation of wild populations as well as the loss of the pen-
raised birds through predation and the rigors of the wild.  And,
of course, they are not typically as strong flyers, lack fear of
man and dog (and therefore coyotes, foxes, etc.), are typically
unaccustomed to foraging in the wild, etc.  Consider, instead,
joining or forming a local QU chapter and raising funds for habitat
improvement (or simply learning from them how to improve habitat on
any property you may have) and working in cooperation with your
state game management agency.

Happy hunting!

Charlie -- Upper Rio Grande Chapter, Quail Unlimited


-- 
Best,

Charlie "Older than dirt" Sorsby				"I'm the NRA!"
	  crs@lanl.gov

In article <1993Jan4.083518.26042@doug.cae.wisc.edu>
   slv4b@cc.usu.edu writes:
 
>>>The best advice is: DON'T DO IT.  If you release pen-raised birds into
>>>the area, you'll probably lose the native populations you've already
>>>got to the increased predator population that the pen-raised birds
>>>will attract.
 
Not to mention the fact that is illegal in many areas to release pen
raised animals (even ones indiginous to the area).  An example of this
is in east Texas where many attempts were made to reintroduce wild
turkeys with first pen raised birds, then Rio Grande turkeys.  Both
failed miserably.  The pen raised due to predation from lack of exper-
iance and disease.  The Rio Grande turkey because the habitat was too
different from where they came from.  The only method that has worked
thus far is to trap wild eastern turkeys (the type that were indiginous
to the area) in Kentucky and swap release them here.  But when some
free lance people tried adding pen raised birds, the released wild birds
died off because of disease (introduced from the pen raised birds).
 
 
>> I guess this doesn't surprise me, but I would like to suggest an
>> alternative: alter the environment.  Either find a way to make it less
>> friendly for the coyotes and hawks, or more friendly with better cover
>> for the game birds you want.
>
>     I too have considered raising and releasing game birds, but have
>also been discouraged by the poor success others have had.  I believe
>habitat and some degree of predator control is the key to
>reestablishing diminishing bird populations, but how?
 
I firmly believe this is the key.  What I would do is improve the habitat
and then ask your state Wildlife deptartment to consider your land as
a part of their restocking program.  *Hopefully*, if you've done enough
to impress them, then they will pick up the tab for the birds.  At the
very least, they ought to send in a biologist to help you out by helping
you get wild birds from another area.  Of course, you will probably have
to have an agreement to not hunt them for some amount of time.
 
 
>My main
>interest lies in upping the local pheasant numbers on a moderately
>sized piece of private farm land which myself and others have hunted
>in the past.  There seems to be ample cover, but I'm not so sure that
>the feed is adequate.  If we were to plant small parcels of land with
>some type of grain or other feed, what would be the best type?  Also,
>there is an abundance of hawks and skunks in the area, as well as a
>few foxes and coyotes.  Aside from declaring open war on them ( for
>the most part illegal), what is the best way to rid an area of
>predators.
 
It would depend on your area, but in most places you can hunt the skunks
and coyotes to your heart's desire.  As far as what food to plant,
I'll defer to someone with more pheasant experiance......
 
 
      -----------------------------------------------------
Chris Barnes            |   President - Bryan/College Station
cbarnes@tamvm1.tamu.edu |         Retriever Club.
(409) 846-3273 (home)   |   "Dedicated to the betterment of
(409) 845-4437 (work)   |               the retrieving breeds"

In article: <1993Jan4.083518.26042@doug.cae.wisc.edu>

Lance Robinson wonders how best to improve a given parcel of land
for game birds as part of a thread about improving game bird populations.
(See snippet below)

There is a great resource available to Lance and anyone else interested in
these matters, and you might as well use it cause you _are_ paying for it.

Most universities with a Dept of Fishery& Wildlife Biology, typically
but not limited to the land grant universities, will have a cooperative
extension service allied with the dept.  The coop units function is
to serve the public in wildlife-related matters. They provide info on
habitat management, predator control, cutting up big game, planting for
songbirds, you name it.

Lance, you are at Utah State which if I recollect has a widlife dept.
Give them a call.  They should have publications that can help you and
someone to help you.

Another source is your state Division of Wildlife (or Dept of Natural
Resources, or Dept of Game & Fish, whatever they call it in your state).
Their job is not limited to checking on deer populations...They are being
paid by you as a taxpayer to manage the state's wildlife resources.  This
includes advising the public on wildlife and habitat problems.  I
guarantee you can call them up and get some advice.  Every state widlife
agency puts out a ton of publications, and they undoubtedly have some
to help you in your situation.  In any case, helping private landowners
and citizens to improve habitat is _part_of_their_job.

Another source to be considered is the US Forest Service.  The Forest &
Range Experiment Station will also have a bunch of info about habitat
management and improvement.  Yeah, most of it will deal with oak/pinon
forests or subalpine ecology or high plains grassland, etc., but there
may well be something that pertains to your situation.

Those of you who live in the town with the land grant university usually
will have the best resources available to you:  most state and federal
agencies will have offices in the town, and the research experts will
be located there.  Get on the phone, and get smart.

bws, who misses the wealth of info that was available and taken for
     granted in Fort Collins...

-------------------begin snippet------------------------------------------
interest lies in upping the local pheasant numbers on a moderately
sized piece of private farm land which myself and others have hunted
in the past.  There seems to be ample cover, but I'm not so sure that
the feed is adequate.  If we were to plant small parcels of land with
some type of grain or other feed, what would be the best type?  Also,
there is an abundance of hawks and skunks in the area, as well as a
few foxes and coyotes.  Aside from declaring open war on them ( for
the most part illegal), what is the best way to rid an area of
predators.
     I'd love to do what I can to bolster the bird population on this
particular tract of ground, but I need ideas.  The farmer who owns it
is one the few still left around here who specifically leaves part of
his ground untilled for the benefit of wildlife, and he too is open
for suggestion.  I invite anyone who has experience in this area to
share your ideas and opinions with us.
 
Thanks,

Lance Robinson
Utah State University 
------------------------------end snippet---------------------------------
--
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bws20@amail.amdahl.com      the human heart holds hidden treasures,
brian wesley simmons          in secret kept, in silence sealed
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