C'mon Rain

Sure wish it would of done this back in April.... But can't complain about moisture at this point.:cheers:
 
I agree, rain is needed worse than desperately. On the flip side, rain, 55 degrees, and wind are going to be tough on chicks. Peak hatch time is now.

Remember, pheasants with chicks or eggs that are VERY near hatching don't renest.

Ultimately it doesn't matter, can't do much about the weather anyway!!

Point!
 
Rain, rain, wet and damp equals abundant green green vegetation lots of insects (nutrition) more broad leaf plants like wild sunflowers, equals cover that provides protection from predators and shade from the summer.

Rain is alway better than hot, hot and dry 100 plus temps, remember the summer of 2011 and 2012 with non stop heat.

Don't be concerned about the week old chicks they grow wings rapidly and they are not stupid and they will not drown. But in a long heat wave they can die of heat exposure and dehydration.

Go back and review all the wet and damp summers and compare them to the pheasant and quail seen in the fall of that year.

Both quail and pheasant will re-nest or try a second hatch when abundant green vegetation and abundant insects (food) is readily available all the way into september. Rain rain is always good.
This is especially true below I-80.
 
Preston,

If interested, please go back and re-read my post. I said nothing about quail or week old chicks. I merely stated that pheasants will not renest if they already have chicks or are VERY close to hatching.

In addition, I made no statement about week old chicks. Pheasant chicks cannot regulate their body temps until approximately 5 days old. This means they they are very susceptible to hyperthermia or hypothermia until they are roughly a week old. Water, cold temps, thick vegetation saturated with dew are all problems for hatchlings. High temps create problems as well. If to hot, chicks can over heat just trying to get out of the shell.

Lastly, I noted that we are at peak hatch meaning that more chicks will hatch during this period (early to mid June) than any other period during the year. In other words, cold rainy weather has more of an impact now on future populations that it will after peak hatch.

Quail are an entirely different story with regard to nesting attempts.

The best weather for hatch time? To have an average year. Unfortunately that doesn't exist.
 
Point,

My friend, my post was not intended to respond to your post. We just received some life saving rains in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and south plains and everybody is excited. But some people are concerned about flooding rains.

I have been wanting to post again on this thread for a week now. The post I made just happen to be after your post. I know it sounds (after I read it again) like I was responding, but I wasn't.

You gave us some great information.
 
Yeah! rain, wonderful, cold, and just in time to chill and drench the quail chicks! Hope for better weather during re-nesting. I know we need moisture, but April and May would be preferable.
 
oldandnew said:
Yeah! rain, wonderful, cold, and just in time to chill and drench the quail chicks! Hope for better weather during re-nesting. I know we need moisture, but April and May would be preferable.
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It's really too bad b/c we were starting to find good #'s of quail in some of the areas that are getting hammered with rain right now. I wouldn't have guessed this time last season that I would've been cursing the rain for arriving at any time during this spring/summer, but I'm right there with you in wishing it would've arrived in April or May instead!
 
Not everywhere is being totally drenched. There is plenty of diversity in the pattern and some area will see mostly benefit. I've only had 1.66 inches in the past 3 days and it didn't come hard. I don't think it will a lot of impact on the negative side. It was 63 this morning. That's not too cold. We'll all get the score card the second Saturday in November:)
 
5.5" here in Wellsville. Over 8" now the last 10-11 days. Wish I could send some of it elsewhere at this point, but I'll take it.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
Not everywhere is being totally drenched. There is plenty of diversity in the pattern and some area will see mostly benefit. I've only had 1.66 inches in the past 3 days and it didn't come hard. I don't think it will a lot of impact on the negative side. It was 63 this morning. That's not too cold. We'll all get the score card the second Saturday in November:)
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Yep, but after last season, I'll let folks buy into the doom and gloom. The reduced pressure on public lands was a blessing for my kids and I...yes, admittedly short-sighted and selfish:eek: I'd be more interested in seeing a fall "hunter forecast" than I am in seeing the fall upland forecast. The # of birds available is much less important than the # of hunters for a guy that spends so much time on public land.

In the areas where I spent most of my time last season, they seem to be getting a lot of rain. That said, the rainfall was diverse across the rest of the state, so I'm excited that there may be some good WIHA prospects in new places (new to my boys anyway) for my boys and I enjoy:thumbsup:
 
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Next ten days look pretty good for hatching. Only Wednesday night there is a good chance of rain . Temps no higher then 92 and it is only in the 90's 2 days and mostly dry with temps mid 70's and mid 80's just as long as they did not get washed off the nest....Which is what I hope didn't happen. I talked to a guy in Eastern Colorado and they missed the deadline to plant Milo because it was to wet and have not been able to get into the fields to plant. His wheat looks o.k. at about 50 and 35 bushel per acre depending on the fields. he has seen 3 hens and 1 rooster. Which is not too good considering he has about 7,000 acres.
 
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