Saw these birds on vacation and could not help myself from sharing.  These birds inhabit the trans pecos portion of far West Texas and are found mostly in the picturesque high elevations.  They would rather crouch and hide than run or flush when threatened.  When we saw them in the road they would crouch down in the middle of the road rather than run or fly away.  Ilike to describe the rooster plumage as a guinea fowl turned rodeo clown!

Every 12-16 weeks it is necessary to move your quail recall pen to some fresh ground and away from the accumulated quail droppings.  The droppings can cause a number of problems like respiratory issues and coccidiosis that can kill the birds. 

This task can be handled relatively easy with a few simple tools.  You will need a shovel, 4×4 wood block, 2″ PVC pipes, and some elbow grease.  All you have to do is tip up one end of the house using the block and shovel and then place a 2″ PVC pipe under one end of the house.  Now go to the other end and push it over on to the fresh ground.

You will also need a pipe about 5 feet from the end of the house to continue the movement of the house in the direction of travel.  This is rather primitive but it works really well.

Now that the house is on fresh clean ground, you can tip up each end with the shovel and the block to remove the 2″ PVC pipes.  Keep these pipes around as they will come in handy for moving the house in the days to come.

If you have a garden or some flower beds in need of attention, these quail droppings make for a very rich organic fertilizer.  They can also be added to your compost piles as well to speed up the compost process.

I decided to add another Phantom Quail Kennel to my training grounds and needed some new birds so I headed to DeLeon, Texas to meet up with Kent Matherne of Fly Bye Birdie Quail Farm.  I met Kent several years ago looking for flight conditioned quail on the internet.  I purchased 50 birds to stock a Phantom Quail Kennel and was very impressed with the flight and weather condition of his birds.  I bought them in late September and had over half of them left in March after lots of flushing, training, shooting a few for young dogs, hawks, and the spring pair off.

I often hear people complain about the high price of pen reared quail.  Usually, it is up to and sometimes over $5 per bird.  I can relate, having just invested $250 in quail for training my dogs.  Looking back on the situation I was quite pleased and will gladly do business with Kent in the future.  I got several young puppies pointing, holding, backing, retrieving, and had regular opportunity for these young dogs for around six months.  Take that same $250 to a dog trainer and it will get you about two weeks of their time.  That being said this investment is a good foundation if you are planning on sending your dog in for training.  The professional trainer will appreciate the exposure to birds that your young prospect is getting.  However, if you buy an inferior bird that does not flush for a dog and is not flight conditioned your money is wasted. 

As with many things it usually pays to invest in quality for the long term.  I sat down to breakfast with Kent and asked him a few questions and this is what he had to say.

WLJ-What is the most important factor in raising a quality bird that is flight and weather conditioned ready for bird dog training or hunts?

KM-ISOLATION RAISING!!!  ISOLATION RAISING!!!  ISOLATION RAISING!!!

WLJ-Where do you acquire your foundation birds?

KM-I purchase day old chicks from Stan Wheeler Hatchery in Spring, TX.

WLJ-How many birds do you raise in a 1 year period?

KM-I purchase 5000 birds every seven weeks until my total is 20,000 starting in Mid-June.  The average death loss is around 12-15%.

WLJ-When are the birds available to the public?

KM-Normally mid September to mid March.  I suggest that you contact me in advance and reserve birds.  In Texas the deer season ends in January and there is a big demand at that time until the end of the season.

WLJ-Do your customers contract birds, or are they available at all times?

KM-I have a 50% mix of contracted and for sale birds.

WLJ-What is the distribution of your customers?

KM-99% are within the state of Texas.  I have shipped to other locations, but I am not in favor of doing this.

WLJ-Can you ship these quality birds and what are the terms?

KM-I am really not in favor of shipping birds.  I have done so in the past, but there are so many factors that are beyond my control and can cause stress or even death.  I offer a delivery service through a local courier and it is the most reliable way of getting healthy quail and is normally less expensive than shipping. 

WLJ-If I keep these birds for six months and use them for training, what precautions should I take to maintain a healthy covey of birds?

KM-Isolation when not being used for training, clean water, and a quality 24% gamebird flight conditioner feed.

 

If you would like to try some good, quality, flight and weather conditioned bobwhite quail give Kent Matherne of Fly Bye Birdie a try.  I think you’ll be happy with the results.  He can be reached here:

Toll Free-800-644-4103

Local-254-893-3558

Cell-254-734-6653

Website – www.flybyebirdie.com

E-Mail – getquails@flybyebirdie.com

It is time to set up your Johnny houses and Phantom Quail Kennels if you have not already done so. Abilene, Texas is a relatively mild winter climate and the farther north you go the earlier this process begins. I like to have 12-16 week old birds in the house 45-60 days before the first freeze. If the birds are not acclimated to the weather they will not survive harsh conditions. I have reserved my birds well in advance from a reputable gamebird breeder. Remember that most game bird breeders only raise birds that are contracted. I will be getting 50 birds for my Phantom Quail Kennel. In order to prepare them for the upcoming training season I will sanitize the entire unit. This process is essential as I will have $250 invested and want to give them no preventable reason to die. Here is the list of what I will be doing in preparation.

1. Move the existing birds to another location
2. Remove main section and recall section feeders
3. Remove water barrel and automatic watering dishes
4. Move the entire unit over to a fresh piece of ground away from accumulated droppings
5. Leave all doors open and spray the entire inside of the unit with a  mixture of 1 cup chlorine bleach per 1 gallon of water with a pump up garden sprayer
6. Take the feeders, barrel, and waterer home and sanitize with bleach/water mixture
7. The clear vinyl tubing usually has algae growing inside and I will discard and replace

Please stay tuned as I will be posting pictures of this process and will follow up with training the new birds.