Quail in a travel cage overnight?

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whinder1
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Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by whinder1 » Wed May 22, 2019 3:40 pm

Hi,
I have the opportunity to buy some full grown quail for training purposes and was curious about keeping them in a bird travel crate overnight (the type preserves use to release birds)? I'd have to drive about 2 hours round trip to get them and would use them the following morning for training, would a dozen or so quail be ok to stay in this type of cage for like 10-12 hours? Of course I'd give them food and water while theyre in there...

Also as far as transporting them to the training location will they be ok in the SUV with my dog? she would be in her crate in the cargo area and theyd be in their crate, I guess in the middle or front seat with a trash bag under? Just wondering how my dog may react and could this type of arrangement be detrimental? Of course it wouldnt be that often either...

Any help on any of this would be appreciated, thanks!

averageguy
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by averageguy » Wed May 22, 2019 3:54 pm

I have purchased and kept quail and chukars in a similar crate for similar timeframes and used them successfully. I did not perceive keeping them in a crate for that length of time created any new issues, but my general experience has always been that if guy uses say a dozen pen raised quail there will be at least a couple that are there to sabotage your best training efforts through their non performance. (That is assuming you are buying good birds, with bad birds it may be that none of them perform well) And you can never tell which ones it will or won't so plan accordingly on that relative to handling your dog.

On the transport issue, I don't know for sure and can only report I never like having my dog ride beside what has to be an overwhelming amount of bird scent right next to them. When I can avoid it I do, including sliding the passenger seat so far forward that I can squeeze my dog crate in the back seat of extended cab PU and putting the birds in the truck bed under my camper shell. The times I have transported them both underneath my camper shell I did not notice any problems with how my dog trained that day, I just don't like overwhelming my dog with an unnatural amount of scent right next to him for any but the shortest of drives.

cjhills
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by cjhills » Wed May 22, 2019 4:34 pm

The birds will be fine and so will the dog. But quail in a SUV Stink terribly. Keep as many windows open as you can....Cj

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Sharon
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by Sharon » Wed May 22, 2019 4:52 pm

whinder1 wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 3:40 pm
Hi,
I have the opportunity to buy some full grown quail for training purposes and was curious about keeping them in a bird travel crate overnight (the type preserves use to release birds)? I'd have to drive about 2 hours round trip to get them and would use them the following morning for training, would a dozen or so quail be ok to stay in this type of cage for like 10-12 hours? Of course I'd give them food and water while theyre in there...

Also as far as transporting them to the training location will they be ok in the SUV with my dog? she would be in her crate in the cargo area and theyd be in their crate, I guess in the middle or front seat with a trash bag under? Just wondering how my dog may react and could this type of arrangement be detrimental? Of course it wouldnt be that often either...

Any help on any of this would be appreciated, thanks!

They would be just fine. Make sure they are well secured though; I had a bunch start flying around in the car once when I was driving them home. :)
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

birddogger2
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by birddogger2 » Wed May 22, 2019 7:26 pm

As long as the quail are not right net to the dog it should not be a problem travelling with both.

As far as keeping them overnight, you really don't need to feed or water them in a formal sense. If you cut up a half head of iceberg lettuce, that should provide all the food and water the birds will need. Slice up an apple and that should work also, especially for the water requirement. It is important to keep their energy level up if you expect them to flush and fly well.

I have found that the more you keep quail in the dark, the "wilder" they will behave when released. I would cover them with a breathable cover (a bath towel or something similar) until ready to use them. Also the less you jostle them around, the better.

RayG

whinder1
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by whinder1 » Thu May 23, 2019 6:00 pm

Haha awesome thanks for the replies guys, I knew this has had to have come up before :mrgreen:

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Featherfinder
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by Featherfinder » Sun May 26, 2019 8:23 am

I'd put the bird crate inside a large cardboard box without closing the box lid or partially closing it. This will contain the mess and keep visual stimulation to a minimum for your dog. It will serve you/your SUV, big time as well as your dog because as mentioned the stench will be strong so, if you open the windows, you will have quail feathers all over the place. The floating feathers will drive your dog crazy too.

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DonF
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by DonF » Sun May 26, 2019 9:21 am

Haven't used game birds in years but I did notice something about quail when I did. If you have them in a pen, they covey up and sleep at night in about the same space as you might have in a travel crate! When I did shoot to retrieve, they brought the quail in in those large travel crates and kept the birds in them from the time they got them until the time they used them, easy couple days or more.

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by gonehuntin' » Sun May 26, 2019 3:43 pm

I crate them and keep them on a roof rack.

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Featherfinder
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by Featherfinder » Sun May 26, 2019 8:31 pm

I haven't used pen-raised quail in 15 years myself but that's an aside. If you want to use quail have at 'em. I found some time ago that pen-raised quail can ruin a good dog.
On rare occasion, a good johnny-house set-up can work but it has to be just right. And, dogs are environmentally acute. Moving them to another area can get a variety of results, at first. Moving said johnny-house to a variety of venues can be....challenging. :lol:
The only (wild) quail my dogs see are in the central mid-west and they aren't catching them, no-how!

JONOV
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Re: Quail in a travel cage overnight?

Post by JONOV » Tue May 28, 2019 3:01 pm

For tests we do so regularly.

I recommend putting in watermelon slices. The water helps hydration and I think the sugar gives them a little more boost.

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