Quail pen in yard

[bicks]

My quail supplier will only sell a minimum of 6 quail at a time. That is more than I want to use in a single training session, therefore I need to build a cage/pen in my yard to keep them in for a week or so. I live in CA, so my yard is small at best. I am concerned that having quail in my yard, which my dog is also in, will make quail be "normal" to have around and potentially decrease her hunt drive. Do I have anything to worry about? What is your experience with this? Thanks in advance!

[RichK]

I have pigeons in my yard that my dogs see on a daily basis. It certainly doesn't decrease their prey drive, if anything it increases it.

[diplomat019]

i built a johnny house from a 55 gallon plastic drum. works fine for my situation. i keep about 10 in there at a time. if you google "plastic drum johnny house" you will see some pics and directions. I had mine tucked in the corner of my yard, kinda in a wooded area. when my dog found they were there he would bolt right for it every time. this year I put the pen in some deeper woods where he wont go for it unless i bring him out to train.

[Boolywooger]

How has your recall experience been? Are you using Bob Whites or Pharoah quail?

[diplomat019]

im using bobwhites. recall has been good. from what i read and my own experience this is how i make it work. i keep them in the pen for about a week without releasing any. then every day/other day after the first week i will release a few, without letting the dog go for them. just release them and leave the recall funnel open for them to return. then after a week or so of that ill start with the dog on them. i read that if you pressure them too quickly they wont recall. ive had quail come back after a few days of being out.

[Boolywooger]

I'm going to be getting some quail this week. I'm going to try to get them trained, just as you have, for the home turf barrel johnny house. But I have also built a mini recall pen using a 20 gallon plastic barrel. I have a funnel on on side a screened partition in the middle and then a 2nd chamber with one wall lined with screen but the only way out of that side is the lid. I'm hoping to be able to take some of the quail in that to a training area near me and letting 4 or 5 go and keeping 4 or 5 in the 2nd chamber to recall them. I would I wonder how successful that will be? I intend to work the dog on the quail in the morning and pick the recall pen up in the evening and return them to the johnny house.

[diplomat019]

Thats not a bad idea. I think I might have to do that as well.