Late hatch possible?

And like mustistuff said, most second try/second nests are smaller than the first. Quail will do it. Some believe that quail will pull off a third. Studies have shown that the percentage of birds that do this is VERY small. Seconds are not that uncommon though in Bobwhites, especially if conditions are favorable. She will leave the male to raise the brood and move on.
 
A friend of mine in Ness County had a hen in his yard yesterday with 7 young chicks. He said they were just a few days old. I have been mowing quail strips, and saw a covey of quail that could barely fly Thursday. So the rains have spurred some hens to try. I remember a few years ago in Ness county there were a lot of pheasants that were only 8 or 10 weeks old opening weekend.
 
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Last year we saw a lot of very young pheasants on opening day. They had very little to no coloring and there tails were extremely short. We didnt shoot any til the end of day two and were shocked at the size and color or lack there of. I hope they make a late push and add a couple more for us to chase. Every bird will help

JF
 
I have shot lots of roosters that were not fully colored at season opener, I let several go because I was not sure it was a rooster. I shot a quail on opening weekend in Nebraska 3 years ago out of a 20 bird covey, I have raised them for years, it was 6-7 weeks old. The old timers called them "peepers", and that they were, could even make a mature quail sound. I gave them a break for the year, we need them out there rather than on the dinner plate. It's hard to tell on the flush, what size of bird you see, but in the hand it was obvious. I figure late hatch after many a tries. Nature is random, and persistent, it will burst thru any barrier to ensure the species, if it has time.
 
My friend in Ness County saw some more chicks that couldn't fly this last weekend. Another friends dad who lives sw of Wakeeney also saw some this week that couldn't fly. So it sounds like some of the hens renested after the late summer rains.
 
fsentkilr said:
My friend in Ness County saw some more chicks that couldn't fly this last weekend. Another friends dad who lives sw of Wakeeney also saw some this week that couldn't fly. So it sounds like some of the hens renested after the late summer rains.
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This is great news!:cheers: Late hatches are better than not having a hatch at all!
 
My hunting buddy was out chicken hunting yesterday, and said he saw some very young pheasants. He said one was not much bigger than a quail. I hope that these late hatch birds survive. The cover is certainly good enough i believe. Fingers crossed!
 
smizell said:
My hunting buddy was out chicken hunting yesterday, and said he saw some very young pheasants. He said one was not much bigger than a quail. I hope that these late hatch birds survive. The cover is certainly good enough i believe. Fingers crossed!
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Will be interesting to see if there are many young birds.

How did he do Chicken hunting?
 
birds

still have to wait for what kansas has to say on their survey but s. dakota was a shocker but even they may have a prayer like maybe the cold and wet produced a later hatch the the mail guy's didn't get to see, same maybe for kansas. ya gotta hope anyway but my travels recently in the atwood area didn't leave much room for enthusiasm.

cheers
 
A friend of mine in that farms in several different counties in west central Ks. is picking milo and can't believe all the young pheasants he is seeing. He thinks some are so small if its a cold winter they won't make it. Some don't have any color yet! They are seeing more birds than last year for what its worth.
 
fsentkilr said:
A friend of mine in that farms in several different counties in west central Ks. is picking milo and can't believe all the young pheasants he is seeing. He thinks some are so small if its a cold winter they won't make it. Some don't have any color yet! They are seeing more birds than last year for what its worth.
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I've heard reports of the same thing in SD.
 
Huntin' buddy reported seeing what looked like a couple of late hatchers in NW. I hope so.
 
Definite late hatch in SD which indicates the count was low. Not saying birds abundant, but better than the official count indicated.
 
Got a report from a NW farmer of sightings of immature cocks while he was cutting corn and milo.
 
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