THE GAME BREEDER 



43 



A small Run and Brooder. 



HOW I BREED AND REAR CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL 



By Fred. D. Hoyt. 



I consider the California Valley quail 

 the easiest of all the American part- 

 ridges or quails to breed and raise in 

 captivity. While no success has been 

 made with the mountain quail, the val- 

 ley bird stands close confinement very 

 well and yields results almost as easily 

 as those obtained by pigeon breeders. 



My breeding pens are made of one- 

 inch wire mesh twelve feet wide and 

 thirty-five feet long, seven feet high. The 

 low top makes it easy to catch the birds. 

 It is beneficial also because the quail 

 have a habit of rising and flying in a 

 bunch just at daybreak, and if the top 

 of the pen is too high they get up too 

 much speed before hitting the wire and 

 often they hurt themselves. Running 

 lengthwise of the pen on top I weave 

 into the wire thin narrow strips of wood 

 about eight inches apart ; on the sides of 

 the pen similar strips are run up and 

 down. These save the birds from many 

 bumps since they can see these wooden 

 pieces and will not go into them. I also 

 use this method on my pheasant pens 

 and the birds, instead of butting their 

 heads, go into the wire feet first. 



I give details about my pens and runs 

 because the loss of birds will be far 



greater from a lack of proper equip- 

 ment than from any other cause. 

 Nothing larger than one-half inch mesh 

 wire will keep the young quail where 

 they belong. 



In the small run described I have had 

 as high as fifty quail and have had splen- 

 did results, with no signs of sickness. 

 I consider it is almost as necessary to 

 have as large a pen for a dozen quail 

 as for fifty ; the partridges fly when they 

 want to go somewhere in a hurry, but 

 get their exercise by running, instead 

 of flying. Therefore we place the wire 

 within a few inches of the ground and 

 the birds will run back and forth for 

 an hour at a time in trying to get out. 



For protection from cats and other 

 \ermin, a foot of half inch wire is nin 

 around the bottom, for if a quail flies 

 in the dark and hits the sides of the 

 pen it will drop straight down and stay 

 where it lands. Were it not for the 

 wire protection it would be in easy reach 

 of your neighbor's pet tabby. 



The quail may be mated or you may 

 run two females to one male with just 

 as good results. Do not let the females 

 l)ecomc broody. To prevent this, build 

 nests on the ground out of an eight- 



