Indiana quail

Familytradition

Active Member


We do not have many of these in the county that I live in. It is a corn desert that goes back and forth with another county in Indiana as the worst place in the state to deer hunt; normally around 100 deer a year. There is an area around an old landfill with several large parcels of CRP. Both pheasant and quail are reported to reproduce in this area. I saw him on this fence post 2 mornings in a row and the third sighting this year at this location.
 
We have the same problem here in areas its an Ag dessert. Luckily down around our farm there is some ground that is not easy to farm, though on occasion some moron with try it. We finally had a decent quail population last year and looks like it should be good again this year from what I have seen. They are by far my favorite upland game bird to hunt.
 


We do not have many of these in the county that I live in. It is a corn desert that goes back and forth with another county in Indiana as the worst place in the state to deer hunt; normally around 100 deer a year. There is an area around an old landfill with several large parcels of CRP. Both pheasant and quail are reported to reproduce in this area. I saw him on this fence post 2 mornings in a row and the third sighting this year at this location.

I think I know where that fence post is!
 
What is that!?!?!:D

I have a few of them on and around my place but yes bobwhite quail are in big trouble in the Hoosier state (you don't want to know about the grouse). The main issue is habitat loss.....the "brushy fence row" is a thing of the past in many places. And those fence rows provided lots of small game everything they needed and a means to move from one place to another safely. The landscape becomes more and more fragmented and quail in particular need their habitat needs in a fairly small area as compared to deer. They naturally suffer high mortality rates as it is as well. I get a few whistlers at my place, but not many. Every once in a while the dog will jump a covey but not very often. I have not even seen a significant increase with the install of my NWSG. I realize I didn't go crazy with it but I figured it would help at least some, but I have not seen a difference. I know they manage for them in the south, but many of those management practices simply are not used here. I have NEVER seen a wild pheasant in IN......what are those!!!!
 
What is that!?!?!:D

I have a few of them on and around my place but yes bobwhite quail are in big trouble in the Hoosier state (you don't want to know about the grouse). The main issue is habitat loss.....the "brushy fence row" is a thing of the past in many places. And those fence rows provided lots of small game everything they needed and a means to move from one place to another safely. The landscape becomes more and more fragmented and quail in particular need their habitat needs in a fairly small area as compared to deer. They naturally suffer high mortality rates as it is as well. I get a few whistlers at my place, but not many. Every once in a while the dog will jump a covey but not very often. I have not even seen a significant increase with the install of my NWSG. I realize I didn't go crazy with it but I figured it would help at least some, but I have not seen a difference. I know they manage for them in the south, but many of those management practices simply are not used here. I have NEVER seen a wild pheasant in IN......what are those!!!!
We had many of them around when I was a kid. They have really dropped off the last 20 years. Quail provide one heck of a heart check; I was about 12 and stepped into the middle of a covey on the way to my treestand one morning. I have seen pheasant twice; who knows if they were wild. My friend has most of his 40 acre farm in CRP; they have tons of quail. My beagle that I had as kid always provided a mixed bag; she pointed quail and ran rabbits. I miss that dog and I hope my son gets to kill a few in his lifetime.
 
Quail do best in early successional plant growth. Mature CRP tends to be too thick for quail. Ideal quail habitat is fairly open cover on the very ground level, overhead security cover such as brush for protection from predators and then a solid food source.
 
I planted milo for the first time at my Missouri farms. Every time I got around it last time I was there I flushed all kinds/sizes of quail chicks and adults. I'm guessing they like the type of cover it's providing right now. It's adjacent to a 60 ac CRP tree planting.
 
The loss of roadside and fenceline habitat coupled with the almost complete lack of farmers planting milo in my area are the main reasons why our quail numbers went down the toliet.
 
Fescue is bad for quail as well, because of the habitat limitations that come with it.

My switchgrass is planted in rows with lots of "run to run" at ground level, I still struggle to have them. I know they need small hard seeds which may be another issue for me. I read that the south planted some sort of lespedeza for them.....I have considered planting some myself, but others say it can be invasive.

I was told switchgrass can be invasive and I have not seen that personally.
 
A huge percentage of a quail's diet is also ragweed seed in many areas! Not great if you are an allergy sufferer, but take one for the birds :) My local biologist was trying to get me to put in a small plot of ragweed, great deer food early and great quail food later in the season
 
Here in southern Indiana the blizzard of '77-'78 all but wiped out the quail population. They never quiet recovered, now fall tillage and the lack of habitat just about guarantees that they won't.
 
Here in southern Indiana the blizzard of '77-'78 all but wiped out the quail population. They never quiet recovered, now fall tillage and the lack of habitat just about guarantees that they won't.
Yet another Hoosier? Tom, I see that was your first post. If you plan on sticking around - take a moment and introduce yourself. There a a few Hoosiers floating are here.
 
j-bird, I don't know if this is the right place for introductions but my wife and I bought 80 acres 6 year ago and we've been slowly trying to make improvements to the place. When I was a kid there were 5 coveys of birds around the home place and my old dog and I spent every free minute hunting them. Now I just turkey and deer hunt and I hope to make our property better habitat for them. I've already picked up some good info here and I aim to stick around a while.
 
I'm in northern Allen county, and while quail were commonplace here in my youth, I've hardly seen any since the harsh winters of the late 70's/early 80's. Imagine my surprise when I heard 2 bobwhites calling back and forth in the tall grass below my barn last summer. My wife and I stood in the garden swatting mosquitoes and enjoying the quail music till dark. Can't wait to see what ends up living here once the place brushes up.


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j-bird, I don't know if this is the right place for introductions but my wife and I bought 80 acres 6 year ago and we've been slowly trying to make improvements to the place. When I was a kid there were 5 coveys of birds around the home place and my old dog and I spent every free minute hunting them. Now I just turkey and deer hunt and I hope to make our property better habitat for them. I've already picked up some good info here and I aim to stick around a while.
Cool, where about in the state are you? Something we try to encourage new members to do is update your info so we can see where you are generally located. This helps us make better suggestions - you might even find you got some folks close to you. You will see in mine I simply list my county and USDA zone. Some folks will list the the town or city near them as well - this is totally voluntary and simply a suggestion. Welcome to the forum and hope to see you around.
 
j-bird, I'm not sure I know how to do that. I went to my profile page to add more information but can't see how. I'm in Warrick co. and thanks for the welcome.
I have done 2 things - I have create 2 new threads (both in the general discussion forum). the first is a place to introduce yourself. I started so you won;t be the first - hopefully others will follow suit and this will be a resource so you can figure out who some of these folks are. The second "tips, tricks & forum functions" - I go into how to update your location on your profile page. Lots of folks struggle with this so I figured I would post it for you and others as well.
 
Welcome! I think all Hoosiers would enjoy gamebirds being more common. I like wasting money so I feed 2 English setters. I hope my son can kill some quail over them some day.


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Welcome! I think all Hoosiers would enjoy gamebirds being more common. I like wasting money so I feed 2 English setters. I hope my son can kill some quail over them some day.


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Let me know when he's old enough, neighbor. I've been doing all kinds of habitat work that are benefiting the quail at my farm in NE MO. I actually tried hunting them without dogs the last day I was there. I put up 2 covey in about a 200yd stretch of sorghum. I didn't even hunt the edge feathered areas.
 
Let me know when he's old enough, neighbor. I've been doing all kinds of habitat work that are benefiting the quail at my farm in NE MO. I actually tried hunting them without dogs the last day I was there. I put up 2 covey in about a 200yd stretch of sorghum. I didn't even hunt the edge feathered areas.

That's sounds like a lot of fun. In my heart I am a small game dog guy. I love to deer hunt, but nothing beats following a couple of good dogs with family and friend while pursuing rabbit, quail, and pheasants.


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