Quail Ranch of Oklahoma - Ranch Tid

Dan's goal is to bring to customers the best hunting and family companions around. If you have needs for great bird dogs, visit their website today!

Mustang Ridge Ranch & Kennels

Dave Lincoln Jr.

Konawa, OK - *Phone* 580-925-4044

AKC Brittany - Puppies and Gun Dogs

Dave offers Stud Service and Gun Dog Training.

www.starfire-rapport.com

Stephen Rafe is a wonderful author, columnist, seminar leader, and researcher. Helping bird-dogs and their owners and trainers use positive, behavior-based methods for more than 20 years. See articles written by Stephen on our Quail Ranch Report page, we have commissioned Stephen to write helpful articles for dog trainers and dog owners. For more information on all that Stephen can offer you please visit his website. He also provides a free information forum on behavior and training for customers, professional trainer and other friends at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SportingBreed/join

www.dogsafield.com

Dogs A Field offers a great source of dog training aids, such as bottled quail scent, and much much more.

www.pointinglabs.com They are dedicated to the Pointing Labrador Retriever. You will find a wealth of information from Pointinglabs.com and you can join in on the discussions in the talk forums for the Labrador enthusiast.

Hunts:

www.quailridgeok.com

Quail Ridge

Dave has a Commercial Hunting Preserve, offering upland game and archery exotic hunting. For Hunting at it's finest, visit Dave's web site for more details.

www.mandmbrittanys.com

M & M Brittanys and Hunting Guide Service, LLC

Mike Pritchard, owner and guide, has been hunting the Texas area since 1970.
Mike's passion and love for the outdoors, as well as his expertise of the land enables him to provide a top quality quail hunting experience.

Let Mike and Mary Pritchard provide you with a personal hunting experience to remember and cherish for years to come.

www.wingshootingusa.org This website features searchable lists of more than 1,000 preserves, making it easy for hunters to find a place to enjoy a day afield.

Wildlife Management:

Intergrated Wildlife Management Services

Upland Birds, Waterfowl, and White-Tailed Deer

For Management Plans and Scientific Breeder Inspections call

Dan Van Schaik, Wildlife Biologist

903-523-6045

Gordonville, TX

Email: danv@texoma.net

Forum:

www.thatquailplace.com

This site has an wonderful Forum, "That Quail Place" you will find a wealth of information from fellow bird keepers.

Quail Ranch Tips:

Quail Tip: Bobwhites avoid death from predators by remaining perfectly still, running, or flying. The primary flight muscles in the breast are large, but poorly supplied with the nutrients that release energy for sustained flight. The heart is small, relative to body mass, which reduces endurance. This combination constrains the bobwhite to short distance flyers. Bobwhites will not push their limits of endurance if acceptable cover is nearby. Fully mature birds are rapid flyers, but lack endurance. Immature birds have even less endurance and can sometimes be caught by a dog after two or three flights. Bobwhites do a great deal of wing exercising while feeding and moving about, although they may go days at a time without flying.

Quail Tip: The Bobwhite loves companionship. The quail covey remains together for several reasons. One of the reasons is safety. The more eyes the covey has, the less chance of a predator to catch them. They also roost together. The bobwhite is one of the few birds that roost on the ground. It�s a beautiful site to see a covey of these birds in a circle with all their heads facing out. This covey instinct makes them great for a recall pen. When you let birds out of your pen, the ones in the pen will communicate with the ones out, and with their natural instinct will covey up again.

Training Dogs with Bobwhites (Planting Quail)

Bobwhite quail have been the choice of bird dog trainers for many years. It is critical to use strong, healthy flight-conditioned birds to train your dog. You must prevent your dog from catching your birds. Using older birds that are bigger, stronger and have more scent will help. Have your dog�s yard work done. Your dog must know their obedience commands before you take them to the field.

Buying flight-conditioned birds does not guarantee that they will stay that way; if you put them in a small recall pen or holding pen and only take them out to train your dog, they may not be strong flyers. You must keep your birds flight-conditioned in a flight pen or releasing them and recalling them as often as you can.

The Field

Take a good look at your training field. Your field should be high enough to plant birds without your dog sight pointing. Around a foot high is good for a young dog. A field that is waist deep will not permit scent to travel and will only serve to tangle up you and your dog. Test the wind direction before you begin training. You should always work your dog upwind into the birds. This will give your dog the best scenting condition.

Planting Quail

Always wear gloves when handling birds and cages to prevent you from leaving human scent on the bird. Use a carrying cage or your portable recall cage to place the birds in your training field. Plant quail 50-75 yards apart in the field. There are different ways to plant birds dependent upon what you are trying to accomplish with your dog. You may want to release your birds right from your cage or take the carrying cage and spin it around and then open the door and shake a bird or two out into the grass. Another way is to tuck the head of the quail under its wing and lay it on its side. This method permits the bird to be flight ready immediately and prevents young dogs from catching the bird. You must be cautious dizzying quail. A young dog will catch a bird that is too dizzy to escape.

Release Cage

There is a lot of elaborate training equipment available to get your dog off to a good start with birds. An assortment of release cages are available, ranging from the simplest to the most sophisticated, all with the same purpose. Their purpose is to contain a live quail safely and exactly where you put it. Then releasing the bird when you so desire. Release cages are helpful if your dog creeps in on birds and can help prevent an unsteady dog on point from catching the bird.

Marking Birds

Use some method to mark the bird locations, like a ribbon on a branch, in your training field. This will help you remember where the birds are and help you with determining what kind of training your dog needs to focus on. Do not cast your dog into the field immediately after planting birds. Allow the birds to be planted as long as possible to build scent.

Always permit your dog to run and hunt for a while before casting him in to the planted birds. This will give him time to calm down after the initial burst of energy from leaving his kennel. Remember! Scenting conditions vary and may be different each time you train your dog. Don�t think it�s your dog all the time. The rest is dog training and hunting wild birds. Good Luck!

Quail Ranch Favorite Recipes:

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Barbecued Quail

12 Whole Quail Breasts

24 Quail Legs

Real butter

Lemon

1 Pkg. Wild Rice Blend

1 Can Diced Green Chilies

12 Bacon Strips

Bay Leaves (optional)

Boil breasts and legs in water until partially cooked. Brown legs in butter and a squeeze of lemon until seared. Set aside and keep warm. Prepare rice and set aside. Place a spoonful of chilies in cavity of each breast; wrap each breast with one strip of bacon. Place each breast on individual pieces of foil- top each with a squeeze of lemon, a pat of butter and one bay leaf. Wrap foil tightly. Cook 12 quail packets on hot barbecue for 10-15 minutes, or until breasts are thoroughly cooked. Serve foil packets with rice and fried legs.

Grilled Quail Breast

24 Quail Breasts

1/2 Cup Baking Soda

3-4 Tablespoons Salt

Fat Free Italian Dressing

Cajon or Creole Seasoning

Garlic Powder and Pepper to Taste

Thoroughly wash the breasts; cover with water and add baking soda and salt. Cover and refrigerate 2 - 4 hours, stirring once or twice. Wash breasts and drain.

Pour dressing over and sprinkle with Creole seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix, cover and refrigerate 2 - 4 hours, stirring a couple of times.

Grill breasts over medium heat for about 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking time. Approx. 10 minutes per side. Baste during cooking with fresh Italian dressing.

Baked Quail

8 Whole Quail, Dressed

8 Slices of Bacon

8 Orange Slices

1/2 Cup Melted Real Butter

4 Tablespoons Orange Juice

4 Tablespoons Honey

Grated Orange Peel

Place quail in roasting pan. Cover with sliced bacon and orange slices. Mix remaining ingredients for a basting sauce. Bake at 375 degrees, covered for 20 - 30 minutes or until tender, basting frequently with sauce.

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"Our Passion is Quail"

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