Handling Quail?

[sandhillsgsp]

What is the best way to get your hands on and handle quail? I got myself a bunch to use for training and those suckers are fast and tough to get your hand on. Right now i have them in the box they came in and getting one out of there and into a bird bag is tough. I do have a pigeon coop i can use but i'm afraid they may go out into the aviary and try to fly through the cage.
Any advice on this?

[DonF]

Get them out of the box to a spot where you can catch them with a fishing net. When I kept game birds around, I caught what I wanted the night before and transported them in a pretty dark box. To get the box dark required putting a blanket over it and reaching in thru an opening on top made from either inner tubes or material with bungie cord thru it.

Box was similar to this one, this one's better.

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[sandhillsgsp]

Don, if you were to use them in a launcher would you just stick your hand in that box and grab and pull them out?

[mm]

I usea bait net from walmart to catch them in the coop. Then I put them in a kick cage and put that in a old feed bag or a hefty bag. When I am ready to plant I reach in the bag and keep it closed around my arm so he cant fly out. Get a good grip on him and then I plant him.

[DonF]

Don, if you were to use them in a launcher would you just stick your hand in that box and grab and pull them out?

The only birds I put in a launcher are pigeons. I've seen to many game birds come right up from a launcher and then right back down. Game birds I would just liberate. The'll stay on the ground till something makes them fly. Pigeons need to be either dizzied, put on a pole, carded or put to sleep to keep them on the ground.

[RobGSP]

I use to keep a pen in my garage and every once in a while a bird would get loose. The easiest way to catch them is to trun off all the lights. When it is totally dark they will just stay put. I would use a little pen light to locate the bird just before picking one up. If you can't get things dark just get a net.