Gun Dog article- chukar recall pen

steingre · Post by **steingre** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:09 am

I've tried this post on a couple of other forums- no luck- maybe someone here can help!

I'm looking for a specific article out of GunDog magazine- probably mid to late 90's- about building a recall pen for chukars. It was a "double decker", with plans- release half from the top, allow the remaining ones to move up to the top, and the released ones recall back to the bottom- looked pretty slick, and would work for quail, too.

I'm sure someone out there has a good collection of the old GunDog issues- I have most of them, but this one must have gotten left out in the open, and my darling "life partner" must have spied it-she denies it of course, but I think it was trashed!

PM me if you can find a copy of the issue!

Wagonmaster · Post by **Wagonmaster** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:22 am

have never heard of that one. are you sure you are not thinking of the johnny house? generally speaking, it is tall and has boards around the inside about 4 or 5 feet up. there is poultry wire or hardware cloth at the boards, so the birds can see out. you can install a door at the level of the boards, so that the birds that fly up to the boards can be released from there. but there is no barrier between the floor level and the upper part of the house.

there is a funnel at ground level so the birds can return.

i believe there are plans and descriptions at www.uplandbirddog.com

steingre · Post by **steingre** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:36 am

Nope- it is not a "Johnny House" -it was a pen built specifically to use with chukars- the author said they recalled well when fairly young, but got more "independent" as they aged!

I really liked the concept a lot- that's why I kept the magazine so long- I just never got a chance to build it! I may have to try from memory!

It was about 4x4x8 feet- somewhat "portable" witha truck, a trailer, and coule of good friends!

Wagonmaster · Post by **Wagonmaster** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:38 am

i have a johnny house that i use for chukar. the only difference is the size of the funnel at the bottom. it is 4x4x8 and is somewhat portable with a truck/trailer/or bobcat with tongs. or enough people.

there is nothing about chukar that would require a house divided by a barrier. that is helpful with quail, so you keep the boys on one side and the girls on the other, and only let one sex out at a time. that way, they do not decide to set up house keeping after you release them to train, and decide that is more fun than coming back to the pen. but that is not a big deal with chukar. they call back, actually better than quail.

if you go here, you will see lots of stuff on johnny houses, and a pic of one with chukar in it. i really think this is what you were looking for. http://www.uplandbirddog.com/dogcamp/recall3.html

steingre · Post by **steingre** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:01 am

Thanks, John- I've looked at that site before, and it is not "exactly" what I'm looking for.

The pen was made with 2x2 lumber, and covered entirely with hardware cloth. It was really more like a pen on top of a pen- the birds were released from the top pen, and portion of the top pen floor could be dropped down to provide a ramp for the birds in the bottom- they author said they moved up to the top pen rapidly, he'd move the floor/ramp back into place, and the released birds recalled to the bottom pen! He had two sets of birds that could be easily be alternated!

Wagonmaster · Post by **Wagonmaster** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:43 am

ok, i understand that you have a different pen in mind. but the standard johnny house works just dandy, and has some advantages you might want to consider.

one of the biggest problems in keeping birds for training is predators. predators love pens or cages that are wire all the way around, and even better if they have a wire floor that the predator can get under. this way, they can get at birds appendages, such as feet and heads, and eat them. i have tried several of the "all-wire" methods of keeping birds over the years, and just had so many predator problems i decided it was not worth it.

the johnny house i have, has plywood on all sides going up about four feet. it has a wire floor for bird poop to fall through, but i protect that floor so that critters cannot get under it, with brick or block all around. it helps if the birds can fly up and sit on the boards on the upper level, to escape one of these attackers.

good luck, hope you find what you want - or just reinvent it.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:17 pm

http://www.griffonpoint.com/recall.htm

steingre · Post by **steingre** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:58 am

Thanks, Ryan; I had found that link, too. It looks like they used the plans I am talking about, with modifications.

The Gun Dog article was so well written, and had lots of helpful hints about raising, releasing and care of the birds, too!

I'm going to keep trying- someone out there has to have that article!

Wagonmaster · Post by **Wagonmaster** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:11 am

if this was in Gun Dog, i have every issue since day one. can you say what month and year it was, so i do not have to look through all of them, something closer than mid-90's?

steingre · Post by **steingre** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:21 am

I wish I could, John! I do remember that it was one of the "feature" stories, so it was listed on the cover- maybe "Build a Chukar Recall Pen"?

I'm not much help, huh?

Wagonmaster · Post by **Wagonmaster** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:30 am

i will give it a shot, maybe over the weekend, but that is alot to look through. i still say just do the johnny house. they are bullet proof from a predator standpoint. anything that is "wire all around" really has to be elevate three or four feet, or those feet and heads start disappearing.