I just built a Johnny House and will be getting some adult quail soon to start exposing my new pup (12 weeks) to birds. Question is where to out it right off the bat. I have access and permission on a couple large ranches, both of which border a river. Although i plan on moving it around as cover returns, most if not all the fields have been grazed down to a couple inches but they have williow, cattails and some sage brush around them. The other option is 75+/- sage brush field (waist to cheat high) that is bordered by a wetland and then grazed meadow on 3 sides. Has anyone used tall sage brush as cover for bird dog training with quail (pen raised bobwhires)? Plenty of room to run around and it will keep the raptors off them, correct?
Setting up a Johnny House
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remy3424
Well-known member
Sounds like a great project. If I had one, it would be to try (in vain I am sure) to get a covey of them established and wild. I think I am just a bit to far north for them to survive well. My cover is getting better...maybe before I am gone I will try it! This winter would have been a challenge for them. I hope it works out well for you.
Quailnerd
Well-known member
My thought would be the Johnny house should be close to the habitat you would train in. The bird dog club I’ve used in the past has a house that’s in a mowed, very unimpressive part of the property but is a short walk to the good cover for training. Never seen your property but I hear river and immediately think predators from ground to air. Good luck, keep us informed.
birddude
Well-known member
I would put it in pretty open country 1st. I would make my own little brush piles to plant my birds in. I've heard all sorts of does and don'ts. Some say don't let your pup see the birds in the pen and such. I don't think it matters, it may even help spark some prey drive. The first few months I would make it easy on yourself and the pup. As your pup gets older then move to your brush to more imitate the real deal. The brush might help some evade the raptors, but they will find your Johny house anyway in a couple days. Make sure you build a small pen around the inside of your call back funnel so (not if but when) the other predators find it they can only kill what's in it and not all your birds.
How do the birds get out of the interior pen once they enter through the funnel?
birddude
Well-known member
I build a small interior pen that's just big enough to hold a few birds. I put the funnel close to the door i use to feed and water with a lid/door on it. Open it when I feed. A mink or weasel can easily get through the throat. Usually, they are smart enough to get back out. A young opossum will go in and kill every bird, then eat part of one and pile the rest in a pile for latter and take a nap!!
So here’s an update and lessons learned on the past 6 months of using Chuckers and a Johnny house.
#1. Chuckers recall very well to the Johnny House. I would predict that well over 75% of the non shot Chuckers returned into the pen within 24 hrs if the following was in place.
A. At least 5 Chuckers were left in the hutch to call the others back in. More was better, 3 in the hutch had less then a 50% recall rate in 24hrs, but as the #s increased in the hutch, the rest might slowly come back in over 3 days. However, this would increase predation out in the fields for sure as the dog would find feather piles. Stopped doing that early on.
B. The ramp needs to be wide and sturdy. I started with just the 1/2 inch plywood door at an angle, but moved to the ramp shown in the pic and it helped a lot. With the smaller ramp, I had some birds come back but not into the hutch. Instead, they were hanging out in the immediate vicinity of the hutch, so I learned to flush them out first and then go after them with the pup.
C. The older the birds, the better they recalled.
D. I had initially a problem with a pack rat but found placing the hutch on a pallet enabled me to shoot it ( used a 22’) and then the “openness” of it didn’t provide refuge for anymore so no more were seen. Never once had problems with a predator in the hutch. Hawks, skunks, raccoons and foxes everywhere but predation was not a problem. What was interesting is that the Chuckers that wouldn’t go back into the hutch but would stick around would roast underneath the hutch, guess they felt safe under there.
Couple of things not to do!
Started with the hutch in rabbit brush. To hard for a small
Pup to find birds in that because they would run like crazy. Moved close to the outbuildings with thick grass and that helped. HOWEVER, some chuckers would recall and some would go to the chicken coop, which was about 100 yards away and stuck around there with the chickens. They are now “pets” of my friends that own the farm as they hang out around the houses and my friends love seeing them running around
. Moved it out away from buildings and that problem was solved. Went back to the rabbit brush field after she learned the game. Now the running chuckers provide the added challenge similar to wild birds. This is key when the dog is older and I saw a huge leap in improvement with point after I left the alfalfa field.
Don’t put 12 or more Chuckers in the hutch if you have an alternative. Too many flush out At once if you use the “gate” or if instead you go in to get a couple if you are wanting to plant them is a terrifying experience !!!! Think Alfred Hitchcock here
PM me if you have questions on how I kept them fed/watered/hutch hygiene etc.
#1. Chuckers recall very well to the Johnny House. I would predict that well over 75% of the non shot Chuckers returned into the pen within 24 hrs if the following was in place.
A. At least 5 Chuckers were left in the hutch to call the others back in. More was better, 3 in the hutch had less then a 50% recall rate in 24hrs, but as the #s increased in the hutch, the rest might slowly come back in over 3 days. However, this would increase predation out in the fields for sure as the dog would find feather piles. Stopped doing that early on.
B. The ramp needs to be wide and sturdy. I started with just the 1/2 inch plywood door at an angle, but moved to the ramp shown in the pic and it helped a lot. With the smaller ramp, I had some birds come back but not into the hutch. Instead, they were hanging out in the immediate vicinity of the hutch, so I learned to flush them out first and then go after them with the pup.
C. The older the birds, the better they recalled.
D. I had initially a problem with a pack rat but found placing the hutch on a pallet enabled me to shoot it ( used a 22’) and then the “openness” of it didn’t provide refuge for anymore so no more were seen. Never once had problems with a predator in the hutch. Hawks, skunks, raccoons and foxes everywhere but predation was not a problem. What was interesting is that the Chuckers that wouldn’t go back into the hutch but would stick around would roast underneath the hutch, guess they felt safe under there.
Couple of things not to do!
Started with the hutch in rabbit brush. To hard for a small
Pup to find birds in that because they would run like crazy. Moved close to the outbuildings with thick grass and that helped. HOWEVER, some chuckers would recall and some would go to the chicken coop, which was about 100 yards away and stuck around there with the chickens. They are now “pets” of my friends that own the farm as they hang out around the houses and my friends love seeing them running around
. Moved it out away from buildings and that problem was solved. Went back to the rabbit brush field after she learned the game. Now the running chuckers provide the added challenge similar to wild birds. This is key when the dog is older and I saw a huge leap in improvement with point after I left the alfalfa field.Don’t put 12 or more Chuckers in the hutch if you have an alternative. Too many flush out At once if you use the “gate” or if instead you go in to get a couple if you are wanting to plant them is a terrifying experience !!!! Think Alfred Hitchcock here
PM me if you have questions on how I kept them fed/watered/hutch hygiene etc.
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mlmich@pldi.net
Active member
Well presented, thanks for the detailed instruction. Quite helpful..