most desirable gamebirds

S

shorthairs12

New member
Hello folks,

This year I raised 30 pheasant 20 chukar and 50 quail to see which I liked to raise better. I liked raising all of them. But what is the most desirable for hunters/dog trainers? I am trying to figure out what I want to raise this year but I want to raise what people want,
Thank you in advance
 
If you can handle them!

haymaker said:
My favorite is Hungarian Partridge.
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I agree! Bigger, tough, with an ingrained wildness. My least favorite are chuckars, wander around like clowns in the field, no upland camouflage, with their desert plumage, difficult to get to fly, and mostly short distance flyers. Watch the Bird dog challenge on TV! I wonder why they use them? Literally have to kick them out, pick them up a boost them, land in the nearest tree, or the dogs catch them. Try that with a Hun!
 
oldandnew said:
I agree! Bigger, tough, with an ingrained wildness. My least favorite are chuckars, wander around like clowns in the field, no upland camouflage, with their desert plumage, difficult to get to fly, and mostly short distance flyers. Watch the Bird dog challenge on TV! I wonder why they use them? Literally have to kick them out, pick them up a boost them, land in the nearest tree, or the dogs catch them. Try that with a Hun!
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I dont have that problem with chukars. The ones I have fly clean outta sight most of the time. Do land in trees sometimes but they plant better. Usually stay put for me. And they arent native so the licenses are more lenient. People can actually come buy em from you without having to have expensive licenses and travel permits. And they eat less so theyre cheaper to keep. Mine eat less than quail and pheasant. I havent tried Huns
 
As a dog trainer I just prefer spooky birds that are strong fliers. Those are my priorities.

That being said, the chukar I've used sit tigger than pheasants... So for my pointer I like birds that sit and my spaniel I don't mind runners.
 
mnaj_springer said:
As a dog trainer I just prefer spooky birds that are strong fliers. Those are my priorities.

That being said, the chukar I've used sit tigger than pheasants... So for my pointer I like birds that sit and my spaniel I don't mind runners.
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Like minded for what I want to use as training aid...I have had better luck with the quail and Pheasants if you want to teach your dog to track..There are methods to slow down the running somewhat and still get good tracking training.
If I lived in an area that was condusive to populations of live quail , I think most would use them in hopes of any left over birds nesting..even though it would be a small percentage...:cheers:
 
Hungarian partridge would be my vote. My pup is very fast she catches chuckers befor they can get up and my older dog is sneaky and she catches chuckers as well. Pats all the way.
 
Does anyone know the restrictions on Huns? With all the rave here I'm gonna give em a try. We raise quail, chukar, and pheasant. Sell more to restaurants and catering companies anymore than we sell for hunts or training. Mainly because of the restrictions. Guys cant just come get em anymore. Have to hunt them on the preserve unless they have the same licenses as me other than the breeders license. Makes me sick when we have to butcher a bunch of em but the buyers dont want pellets and feathers in the meat. We do have our good flyers that we release for hunts too. Would be non-native species for us I guess. Just seeing if anyone else has raised them to hunt. I buy eggs and do my own incubating the first year then keep layers to carry over to the next year. Only had to buy eggs for the other three species once in 11 years. Coons got into the chukar pen one year. What they didnt kill got loose.
 
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