Quail recall pen???

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duckn66

Well-known member
The dreams of having a full on flight pen have come to an end for this year I do believe. Sometime back I ordered "Wing and Shot" on DVD. I saw that Whele had a rather large recall pen he used.

Not sure of the demensions on the one he had. I was thinking of perhaps building one 8'x4'x6'. Thinking 3 sheets of plywood and maybe a few 2x4's is all I will have to buy, the rest I have on hand for the most part.

How many birds (quail) do you think this would house? Not planning on housing them over the winter. I think by mid December I would start shooting them over the dogs.
 
Start with 12 week old birds, and about 100 to start. There will be casualties here and there. Release after they are acclimated, about 2-3 weeks. 12-15 birds at a time. Some will recall immediately, some will recall to the pen, but not immediately enter, don't be surprised to lure in a love lost rooster, he'll be the one with the bloody head, from mashing himself into the wire and walls, even if you get him out, he will probably come back! I feed and water the recall birds who did not get in, it's a positive, easier to work, and pretty wild, after a few weeks. I made mine tall, believing the old timers theory that it was the height tower, which built up the flight muscles. I have seen great flight from birds regardless of the height. The key is start early on, the 10-12 week old birds, train the best, not to heavy to fly out of the bag. Of course you know the courtunix quail as useless, and the Georgia/Wisconsin strain birds are short-flighted as they get older. One of the wildest is the Tennessee red quail, and it distinguished from the regular bobwhite, but will join a covey and remain wild, with good results. I may try Gray Partridges, ( huns) this year. I have heard they are wilder, sturdier, and recall well. I tried chukars, and even pheasants, some came back religiously, others were gone with the wind!
 
So you think that size house can hold 100 birds? May have to look for the TN reds. I have a wild covey around here as well. Perhaps the ones that don't end up getting killed one way or another could be turned loose then and remain wild. As soon as I figure out exactly how I want to do it I'm turning my little piece of paradise into quail habitat that is also condusiive to bird dog training.

I'm going a little overboard with these pointy dogs. I'm having a good time with them! Love to work them as much as hunt over them.

I'll have to get your number again and get your advice on what I should plant and how to set up my area on the little bit of ground I have.
 
I have a 4'x4'x6' Johnny House I built from the plans you can buy on qualitywildlife.com. I start out with 20-25 12-weeks or older birds (this yr. I am raising them from chicks in a brooder until old enough). I usually get a couple that get picked-on over the summer but not bad. Over the summer my bird count goes down a bit from what I started with due to the occasional bird not returning. I seem to have the best luck with birds returning if I grab-out birds of the same sex when I release them. I have Bobwhites. I have an ESS and he actually catches them at times after they flush (not always the strongest or longest distance flyers) but has a soft mouth and I just take them from him and put them back. Good Luck!
 
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