Cortunix Quail for training?

[bobbaganoosh]

I asked this on another forum but wanted to get a few more opinions.

I got the change to get quite a few Japanese (Cortunix) quail for pretty cheap and was wondering if they would be good for training/planted hunting for my young GSP.

Some concerns already listed were they dont fly well or often and mainly just hop around...which would mean my pointer will prolly end up just catching them.

But didnt know if somebody else had a different experience with them.

So should I use them for training or just stick to flight conditioned bobs (expensive around here)? Thx

-Bob-

[RayGubernat]

Pigeons in traps are a great way to go.

Cheap to buy most places and if you have a loft that they have been homed to, they are re-useable.

They will not land on the ground so, no matter how far your youngster chases them the dog will not catch them.

The only down side is that you really cannot plant pigeons and have them stay in cover unless you plant them really hard. One fellow I know uses a baby sock over the pigeon's head which he removes by pulling a string attached to the sock.

RayG

[jlp8cornell]

A friend of mine raised Corturnix last year and they would not fly. We planted them in a field as to create a mock NA test situation. When we flushed them it was comical. The darn things had to be picked up and thrown and even then they flew about 30 feet and landed. Pigeons in traps worked great.

[Birddog3412]

About all pen raised quail that are not in flight conditioning pens fly poorly. Work your dog up a fence with cover and plant the bird on the other side of the fence, flush it away from you. Doesnt work well if you are incorperating a retrieve also, but good to teach to hold point.

[kninebirddog]

Cortunix Quail are a meat bird..literally they are larger breasted birds which makes them desire for table fair and NOT great for the field and dog training

[wems2371]

I have a friend that is raising both bobwhites and bobwhite/cortunix crosses. She raises them in some old farm buildings, and they have some pretty good flight space and terrific care. I got bobwhites from her, and they flew great, even after I had them in a small ground cage for a month or two. Probably didn't hurt that I have 3 dogs that burn a path around the cage, causing the birds to exercise a lot. We had some of the cortunix crosses at the last training day. I wasn't over in that field, but heard that they didn't fly or fly well, so they stopped training with them. Same thing too, they were picked up and launched by hand, and still didn't fly well. I'm not very familiar with cortunix, and maybe these were young birds, but they were 2/3 the size of an adult quail. Seemed like they would be too easy for a young dog to chomp/eat/swallow.

[hustonmc]

Guy I train with has been using them for over 20years. All we use, 1/2 the price of bob's, very very hardy. We've shot birds, and maybe broke there wings, put them back in the pen, and re-used them later on. Are not prone to all the diseases you get with bob's, almost impossible to mess them up. Did I say they were tough. Our birds will fly over 400yds, I have a 640 acre field to train on, I've planted birds in the middle and let the birds fly using a blank pistol, within 3 flights they were off the property. Oh ya, did I say they were tough. They are a smaller bird, and must not put off must scent because at first dog point them pretty close. After a while dogs hit them hard, really teaches them to use their nose, very rarely miss a bob in the field. My opinion.....................the few people that have used them and didn't like them, their dogs couldn't smell them. Don't know if that says something about the birds or the peoples dogs, because most people loved them. I won't use anything else.

[smokinsam]

I used them alot to and also had problems with flying.
sometimes they would need to be picked up and thrown. when they did take flight on their own they flew way to low.barely shoulder height.
the best bird i found for training are tennesee reds.fortunately I can get them close to home for a good fair price.they cost more than cortunix but I get better results from field work and that is priceless! JMO

[RayGubernat]

+1 on the Tennessee Reds. Now THAT is a top shelf training bird.

They make a LOT of commotion when they get up, for a bird that is not all that much bigger than a bobwhite. They really seem to put a dog up on its toes and in all other ways are very similar to a bobwhite.

BTW, I don't know about Coturnix quail or Pharaoh quail as they are sometimes called...never used them myself, but if you keep your birds in the total dark for about 12-24 hours prior to using them, they seem to flush more quickly and fly better. I think keeping them in the dark weirds them out or something... dunno, only know it works.

RayG

[Prairie Hunter]

I would not use Cortunix Quail with pups that aren't staunch yet. They tend not to want to fly. They will often bury up in the grass, and just sit there. Young pups will often just reach down and catch them on the ground. Tennessee Reds are much better birds to train with, and they are pretty hardy.

[mcbosco]

they are pretty easy to get in NJ but they are a lazy low scent bird..young pheasant hens are just as easy to get by me

[smokinsam]

they are pretty easy to get in NJ but they are a lazy low scent bird..young pheasant hens are just as easy to get by me

this is where cortunix are a necessary evil.the low scent will make the dog a better bird finder in the long run but it is hard to shoot that bird if you need to for the dogs reward.these birds would be the perfect bird if they would ALWAYS fly strong reliably.they dont,so reds are the next best thing.

[mcbosco]

i guess thats true to some extent but all the dogs that I have seen train on them looked so bored....lol

[smokinsam]

i guess thats true to some extent but all the dogs that I have seen train on them looked so bored....lol

haha yeah i guess your right.
thats half the reason why their good once in a while.

[M1Tanker]

I will never use those cotournix after a bad experience 3 years ago...almost ruined a dog because they just do not fly good.