By James Cash, Texas A&M WFSC ‘17
Some people may see supplemental feed as their go-to fix for
low quail populations. This is usually not the best strategy, especially if it
is the only management technique being utilized. Quail populations, like all
wildlife, are limited by a set of factors, of which one is most severe and is
considered the limiting factor. These factors are water, food, cover, and
space. In order to significantly improve a population, you must improve the
factor that is most limiting. More information about limiting factors can be found in the blog post "Limiting Factors." In quail
populations the limiting factor is usually cover, not food. If that is the case on your
property then providing supplemental feed will have little positive benefits. A
habitat appraisal conducted by a wildlife professional can determine what the
limiting factor on your property is. If your property turns out to have great
cover but is lacking in food sources then you have several options for
providing supplemental feed. These include quail feeders, planted food plots,
and strip disking.
Photo credit: Dr. Rollins, Rolling
Plains Quail Research Ranch
Providing quail with grains from a commercial or homemade
quail feeder is a common practice for increasing available food for quail, but
it may also be the most inefficient. Studies at the Rolling Plains Quail
Research Ranch have shown only a 5-15% visitation rate by quail at quail
feeders, as discussed in the video “Species Visitation at Quail Feeders.” This means that the vast majority
of your (expensive) feed is going to all sorts of undesirables, from rodents to
feral hogs. There may be some situations were quail feeders are the only
practical solution for a land owner to increase available food on their land.
If this is the case, one type of feeder that can be considered is the Currie
quail feeder, pictured above. This inexpensive feeder is made using a metal
drum and helps to limit non-target species grain consumption. Watch the video “The Currie Quail Feeder” for instructions on making and using
this feeder. Note Dr. Rollins’ recommendation in the video to place feeders
near cover to reduce predation mortality. A common critique of quail feeders is
that they attract predators who know that they have a good chance of finding
quail at the feeders. Also be sure to
check aflatoxin contents on bagged feed to make sure they are below 20 ppb, the
safety threshold for quail. Keeping feed dry in properly sealed feeders will
reduce the risk of aflatoxin buildup. Grains such as corn, milo, or wheat are
commonly provided during the fall, winter, and early spring months on ranches
with inadequate natural food supplies. A variation of this strategy is to
spread the commercially available feed on a road instead of providing it in a
feeder. This is often used to concentrate quail for hunting purposes. This has
similar downfalls as feeders, such as increase predation (both human hunters
and natural predators) and reduced home range. One south Texas study found that
road baiting did not benefit quail during normal climate conditions and that it
might actually be harmful during drought conditions (Haines et al. 2004).
If time, space, and money allow, another option is to plant
food plots to increase the available food for quail. Because food plots spread
out the feeding area they are less prone to some of the common problems
associated with quail feeders, such as high population densities leading to
disease transmission and high predation mortality. You may still have problems
with non-target species consumption by deer, feral hogs, non-game birds, etc. Exclusion
fencing can be used to keep some non-target animals out while still allowing
quail access. A distinct disadvantage that food plots have is that they
generally do poorly during extreme environmental conditions such as prolonged drought.
It just so happens that these times are when natural food supplies are the
lowest and quail stand to gain the most from food plots. This means that you
may need to spend money irrigating and/or fertilizing food plots to keep them
productive. Planting native, locally sourced plants may be most efficient
because they should be adapted to local climate conditions and thus require
less work to keep healthy. Quail prefer hard seeded plants such as sunflowers,
sorghum, bundleflower, and ragweed. Like
feeders, food plots should be located near escape cover to reduce predation.
The result of strip disking is a long
path of beneficial forbs through the surrounding grass land. Photo courtesy of
Dr. Dale Rollins.
Possibly the most efficient option to increase available
quail food is strip disking. Pulling a harrow disk through the ground with a
tractor will turn up the soil and promote the hard seeded forbs that quail feed
on such as ragweed and croton. Disking during winter and spring will promote
the growth of forbs during late spring and summer. Disking is low cost compared to food plots
because you do not have to buy seed and the native plants that you are
promoting are adapted to your area and thus should not need irrigation or fertilizer
treatments. Start by picking a location large enough to maneuver your tractor
that is close to escape cover. Locations near nesting cover are also very
helpful because they can provide brooding habitat for chicks. Choose a location
that looks like it has the sufficient soil quality and moisture content to
support plant growth. Disking should be
done in strips so that there is alternating areas of new growth and old growth
to provide both food and screening cover. When disking a strip with a lot of
old growth you should shred it first to cut down the tall grasses and small
shrubs, and then run the disk harrow through it a couple times with the blade
set at 2-4 inches. Re-disk areas only as necessary, i.e. when the hard-seeded
forbs begin to be out-competed by less desirable species. Watch the YouTube video “Disking for Quail Habitat in the Rolling Plains of Texas” for more information on the
benefits of disking and using plant succession to your advantage. Strip disking
has two main weaknesses. Even native forbs that are adapted to the local
environment can succumb to extreme drought conditions, although they are
generally hardier than store-bought varieties planted in food plots. Another
weakness with disking is that you are limited to whatever plant seeds are
already in your soil’s seed bank or that can be naturally dispersed from the
surrounding area. Food plots may be your only option if there are little
naturally occurring seeds in your area.
It is important to remember that increasing food resources is
usually not a priority in quail management. If possible, make sure to address
deficiencies in cover first. If your
time and financial resources available to quail management are limited, only
use them on supplemental food sources if food is deemed a limiting factor.
Works cited
Haines, A. M., F. Hernandez, S. E.
Henke, R. L. Bingham. 2004. Effects of road baiting on home range and survival
of northern bobwhites in southern Texas. Wildlife Society Bulletin 2004 32(2):401-411