Second quail hatch

Crossing shot

New member
Saw a quail pair yesterday. No chicks seen. Couple questions. On warm days, do quail leave the nest? Seems like incubating eggs would not be necessary 100% of time during hot weather.

Is the first hatch completely left on their own? Do the adults check on them? Do they stay near the nesting site? Are they full grown when renesting starts? Hen lays eggs while first hatch still small?

Thanks.
 
It is interesting to note, there are no absolutes in nature. Not all hens nest. Some never will. When incubating, the incubating bird will leave the nest for short periods to feed and rehydrate. However, for most of the 23 days it takes to hatch the eggs, he or she will sit the eggs religiously.

As for the "proverbial" second hatch, I have a somewhat intestinal repulsion to the phrase. It indicates that there is some distinct delineation within the nesting period somewhat like a ball game where the 1st quarter is over and the second has begun. That's not a natural phenomenon. Each hen comes into mating condition in her own time. Each mating is completed when it's completed, and each nesting attempt starts thereafter. If we were talking pheasants, my "gut" reaction would be totally founded as once they hatch a clutch, a hormonal change in the hen prevents her re-nesting before going through the calendar again. However, with quail, a certain percentage of hens will bring off 2 and 3 nests. They do not do this by themselves, however. To pull this off in the limited time available to them, they enlist males to incubate some of the nests. These second clutch efforts may comprise some % in the teens some years and the third nests some single digit component. However, logic would dictate that each successive effort is smaller than the previous effort due to the hen's reserves being depleted with each offering. If you do the math of laying, incubating, and brooding, you will find that there would be little time for a female to fulfill all those job duties and have enough calendar left to do it twice. Further, the further north you go, the shorter the nesting season is.

Now, hatching for both species is reasonably represented in a graph as a typical bell curve. Yes, this curve may not be symmetrical most years, but it is a fair representation none-the-less. In the curve, there are few early hatches, a typical peak, and few late season hatches. Remember too, that coveys mix and mingle every day with adjoining clutches and you will see different aged chicks in a single covey that are not related. Many things in nature are hard to explain with a snap-shot view or a simple cause and effect thesis based on a single observation. I highly suggest that everyone buy a copy of Fred Guthery's book "On Bobwhites" and expand your knowledge of what is going on in the field and what is important to quail and what is not. It will make you a better hunter and a better voter as well.
 
There was a study done in Texas in July of 2001 and 2002 on nesting behavior of quail. The average off-nest time was 4.5 hours. There were 2 distinct leave time peaks: 6-9am and 3-7:30pm. The adult quail was usually back on the nest when air temps hit 90 degs in the morning. In the afternoon the quail would leave the nest once the air temps started falling and would return to the nest before the air temp went below 90 degs. One graph that they show is that the nest temp stayed between 90-95 degs throughout the day and night even with low nighttime air temp of 70 degs. The adult quail insulates the eggs from the middle of the day high temps and at night when the temp drops. There was another study done in Florida where the average off nest time was 3 hours.

"Incubating adults are commonly known to limit off-nest duration so the egg temperature does not fall below physiological zero temperature, or the point at which the chick stops developing"
 
I am still hearing a little calling but it has dropped off significantly.

But I am still seeing adult quail most days I go to the farm. But I have not seen any broods.
 
I noticed and enjoyed hearing a lot of quail whistling while fishing at the lake this morning. Sounded like two groups of birds in two different coves... Music to my ears!:thumbsup:
 
I saw my first brood of quail this week at the farm. They were big enough to fly about 50 ft or so.

But when I move around the place around 7-8 pm I am seeing adult quail pretty much every night.

I have done a fair amount of habitat work, and it is paying off.
 
Back when quail hunting was good, we would see quail that could barely fly on November 1. Always wondered if they survived winter.
 
Great photo Maynard of that young male pheasant. Your place looks like a "Garden of Eden" for wild critters. That photo reminds me of the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". For starters check out that lush green vegetation forbs and grasses, thanks to the spring and summer rain. A lot of fat juicy insects live in that kind of vegetation.

Next, if that photo was taken around Aug. 8, the colors on that young rooster should put him around 12 to 13 weeks old. That means that he hatched between May 1 and May 7, 2015, an early hatch. Warm March 2015 temp. set us up for early initiation of mating activity. Look at map below:

http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/spring-fever-warm-up-midwest-march2015

Wild pheasant ( if nutritional and moisture along with undisturbed nesting cover is available) do indeed have a "second hatch".

Google: "Experimental Pheasant Restoration Project" go to page 49 and on the middle of that page on the section on Nesting the article will discuss "Double-Brooding" or second hatch.

A copy of page 49 below:


"Survival of the radio-marked population may not be indicative of the entire population. Collars could have negatively impacted survival as observed from field notes and winter roadside surveys. During the first year, radiocollared populations comprised 8.0% and 13.6% of the population of released pheasants for Centre and Juniata Counties, respectively. During winter roadside surveys, however, only 0.05-3% and 0-0.2% of the observed birds were radio-marked in Centre and Juniata Counties, respectively. These low proportions of radiocollared pheasants in the survey results help substantiate our belief that radio-marked birds exhibited lower survival than actual survival of the uncollared population.
Nesting
Ring-necked pheasants typically begin egg-laying in early April and continue throughout the summer, even until September in Britain (Hill and Robertson 1988). Our findings agree with those of Hill and Robertson (1988). However, during both years, ringnecks began egg-laying 5-7 days prior to Sichuans. The slight delay in Sichuan egg-laying corresponds with observations on our game farms (C. Reigner, personal communication).
According to Hill and Robertson (1988), average ringneck clutch size is approximately 11 eggs with early clutches often being much larger. Our results support those of Hill and Robertson (1988) with Sichuans tending to have slightly smaller clutch sizes than ringnecks.
Nesting success typically is highly variable, between 10-51% (Hill and Robertson 1988). However, Potts (1980) suggested that nest success of partridges may be density-dependent in that proportionally more nests are lost in high density populations than those with low density. Population densities in our study areas still are low which may be a reason for the average to good nesting success.
Only in 1994 was the predation rate on ringneck nests significantly higher than Sichuan nests. Overall, more Sichuans abandoned nests than ringnecks, 22.2% versus 5.0%, respectively. This marked difference between nest abandonment and nest predation may be a behavioral difference between subspecies. Sichuans are stressed easier than ringnecks and could be more likely to abandon a nest at the first sign of disturbance, possibly to avoid predation.
Of particular interest, several pheasants of both subspecies produced second broods after successfully hatching a nest in 1994. One Sichuan hen was still brooding her first hatch, which was approximately 6 weeks old, when she began laying her second clutch in fallow field habitat. Two ringneck hens also attempted second broods. During 1995, only 2 ringneck hens attempted double brooding. This behavior of double-brooding also has been noted in New York (Penrod et al. 1982). Double-brooding may be density-dependent such that during periods of low population densities, females will produce more than one brood in a season in an attempt to quickly increase population levels.
The high percentage of initial nesting attempts in nonagricultural habitats could be due to very poor habitat conditions in agricultural areas in early spring. Essentially, the only cover for nesting during early spring was in nonagricultural areas. However, if an initial nest failed and the hen renested, the likelihood of the hen establishing the nest in agricultural areas, especially haylands, increased. Ringnecks were significantly more likely to renest in agricultural areas than Sichuans. Most haylands in Pennsylvania are planted to cool season species. Cool season grasses are often cropped late in the fall, leaving little time for new growth before becoming dormant. Because no spring nesting cover is available in hayfields, hens are forced to nest in nonagricultural habitats, which contain marginal herbaceous cover. If this first nest is predated, hayfields become attractive sites for renesting, due to spring growth. However, there often is not enough time for a hen to lay her clutch and"
49

This year was the perfect storm of condition for some pheasants to have a second hatch.
 
Last edited:
Great photo Maynard of that young male pheasant. Your place looks like a "Garden of Eden" for wild critters. That photo reminds me of the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". For starters check out that lush green vegetation forbs and grasses, thanks to the spring and summer rain. A lot of fat juicy insects live in that kind of vegetation.

Next, if that photo was taken around Aug. 8, the colors on that young rooster should put him around 12 to 13 weeks old. That means that he hatched between May 1 and May 7, 2015, an early hatch. Warm March 2015 temp. set us up for early initiation of mating activity. Look at map below:

http://www.weather.com/forecast/national/news/spring-fever-warm-up-midwest-march2015

Wild pheasant ( if nutritional and moisture along with undisturbed nesting cover is available) do indeed have a "second hatch".

Google: "Experimental Pheasant Restoration Project" go to page 49 and on the middle of that page on the section on Nesting the article will discuss "Double-Brooding" or second hatch.

A copy of page 49 below:


"Survival of the radio-marked population may not be indicative of the entire population. Collars could have negatively impacted survival as observed from field notes and winter roadside surveys. During the first year, radiocollared populations comprised 8.0% and 13.6% of the population of released pheasants for Centre and Juniata Counties, respectively. During winter roadside surveys, however, only 0.05-3% and 0-0.2% of the observed birds were radio-marked in Centre and Juniata Counties, respectively. These low proportions of radiocollared pheasants in the survey results help substantiate our belief that radio-marked birds exhibited lower survival than actual survival of the uncollared population.
Nesting
Ring-necked pheasants typically begin egg-laying in early April and continue throughout the summer, even until September in Britain (Hill and Robertson 1988). Our findings agree with those of Hill and Robertson (1988). However, during both years, ringnecks began egg-laying 5-7 days prior to Sichuans. The slight delay in Sichuan egg-laying corresponds with observations on our game farms (C. Reigner, personal communication).
According to Hill and Robertson (1988), average ringneck clutch size is approximately 11 eggs with early clutches often being much larger. Our results support those of Hill and Robertson (1988) with Sichuans tending to have slightly smaller clutch sizes than ringnecks.
Nesting success typically is highly variable, between 10-51% (Hill and Robertson 1988). However, Potts (1980) suggested that nest success of partridges may be density-dependent in that proportionally more nests are lost in high density populations than those with low density. Population densities in our study areas still are low which may be a reason for the average to good nesting success.
Only in 1994 was the predation rate on ringneck nests significantly higher than Sichuan nests. Overall, more Sichuans abandoned nests than ringnecks, 22.2% versus 5.0%, respectively. This marked difference between nest abandonment and nest predation may be a behavioral difference between subspecies. Sichuans are stressed easier than ringnecks and could be more likely to abandon a nest at the first sign of disturbance, possibly to avoid predation.
Of particular interest, several pheasants of both subspecies produced second broods after successfully hatching a nest in 1994. One Sichuan hen was still brooding her first hatch, which was approximately 6 weeks old, when she began laying her second clutch in fallow field habitat. Two ringneck hens also attempted second broods. During 1995, only 2 ringneck hens attempted double brooding. This behavior of double-brooding also has been noted in New York (Penrod et al. 1982). Double-brooding may be density-dependent such that during periods of low population densities, females will produce more than one brood in a season in an attempt to quickly increase population levels.
The high percentage of initial nesting attempts in nonagricultural habitats could be due to very poor habitat conditions in agricultural areas in early spring. Essentially, the only cover for nesting during early spring was in nonagricultural areas. However, if an initial nest failed and the hen renested, the likelihood of the hen establishing the nest in agricultural areas, especially haylands, increased. Ringnecks were significantly more likely to renest in agricultural areas than Sichuans. Most haylands in Pennsylvania are planted to cool season species. Cool season grasses are often cropped late in the fall, leaving little time for new growth before becoming dormant. Because no spring nesting cover is available in hayfields, hens are forced to nest in nonagricultural habitats, which contain marginal herbaceous cover. If this first nest is predated, hayfields become attractive sites for renesting, due to spring growth. However, there often is not enough time for a hen to lay her clutch and"
49

This year was the perfect storm of condition for some pheasants to have a second hatch.

oh boy, i am staying out of this one.........2nd hatch for most biologists is nothing more than a re nest for a failed first hatch........with which i tend to agree...done here.:eek:
 
Back
Top