Birds for sale to release to wild

[rosscrazyelk]

I recently have made a friend with a large amount of acreage. There are pheasants there but not a great number. Is it possible to buy birds to put out there? Chance of survival? If buying from chicks how long should you keep them before releasing so they become wild?
I do not have the resource to raise them here. But I want to try and grow the bird population there.

[Old Dog]

  Plant habitat instead of birds, and you will be way ahead in the long run.  I suspect the land is already at it's carrying capacity.  In other words the habitat is already holding as many birds as it can.  Improve the habitat, and the bird population will expand to fill it.

[wildweeds]

Not to mention ................. you will not know for certain that birds you release are disease free,some can be carriers and unaffected............. turn those loose in a native setting and the few birds that are there will become non existant.......................I'll second the vote for habitat improvement and hunting management on your part.

Plant habitat instead of birds, and you will be way ahead in the long run.  I suspect the land is already at it's carrying capacity.  In other words the habitat is already holding as many birds as it can.  Improve the habitat, and the bird population will expand to fill it.

[grundy53]

Not to mention ................. you will not know for certain that birds you release are disease free,some can be carriers and unaffected............. turn those loose in a native setting and the few birds that are there will become non existant.......................I'll second the vote for habitat improvement and hunting management on your part.

Plant habitat instead of birds, and you will be way ahead in the long run.  I suspect the land is already at it's carrying capacity.  In other words the habitat is already holding as many birds as it can.  Improve the habitat, and the bird population will expand to fill it.

If you want to release them in a native setting you have to go to China. NONE of the ringnecks in America are native...

[Old Dog]

Getting disease free birds is easy.  Just make sure you buy from a dealer that is a member of the NPIP.

Yes, Eastern Asia is the home of the ringneck, but since their introduction into the US there are more pheasent here, especially in the Dakotas, than there are in their native habitat.

[grundy53]

Getting disease free birds is easy.  Just make sure you buy from a dealer that is a member of the NPIP.

Yes, Eastern Asia is the home of the ringneck, but since their introduction into the US there are more pheasent here, especially in the Dakotas, than there are in their native habitat.

I understand that. Just pointing out they are an introduced species not native. So we should really worry about the Introducing birds to the "native" population as long as they are disease free.

[wildweeds]

Sorry should have said............release new birds  raised in captivity into the population of released birds from over 100 years ago brought from china by the railroad workers immigrants.................Native............ hmm after 100 years of surviving on their own................ they are native IMO,they survive,and reproduce with help from no one,the genetics are wild.Raise some birds in a pen,turn em all loose and see how many you can count or see 6 months after release. Can anyone on this thread name the "native" upland birds that are virtually extinct in washington but used to be plentiful ?.

Not to mention ................. you will not know for certain that birds you release are disease free,some can be carriers and unaffected............. turn those loose in a native setting and the few birds that are there will become non existant.......................I'll second the vote for habitat improvement and hunting management on your part.

Plant habitat instead of birds, and you will be way ahead in the long run.  I suspect the land is already at it's carrying capacity.  In other words the habitat is already holding as many birds as it can.  Improve the habitat, and the bird population will expand to fill it.

If you want to release them in a native setting you have to go to China. NONE of the ringnecks in America are native...

[Birdguy]

Habitat will likely be the most successful endeavor if there are already birds there. Predator control will be a huge assist to anything you decide to do (hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, raccoons, possum, weasels, mink, stray dogs and cats, etc). I am NOT advocating lethal removal of any animal that is not legal to do so. For the predatory birds try to remove perching areas, be sure there is plenty of escape cover from overhead threats. Some trapping may be a good idea for the groud dwellers as well providing it is done within the current laws. Food sources year round (not necessarily a feeder that will concentrate all the birds for easy dinner for others). A good source of relatively clean fresh water goes a long way for birds. As mentioned if you buy chicks or birds be sure to buy NPIP certified birds as that is a requirement for birds released into the wild and it will also ensure you will not be introducing any disease in the area. Sometimes this time of year you can find some hens that are NPIP certified that you can release and hope they live long enough to raise some young, most will likely be eaten though. If you go with chicks I would start them as early as you can and release them when the cold rains are done for the spring but while there are still lots of bugs out and water is easy to locate. The young ones do not do to well when they do not know where to find water or they get cold in the spring rains. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Special T]

What area of the state are you trying to do this? I know that when my bro in law has planted bird habitat, we started seeing more birds. He has some stripps on the edges of his cropland that will require a few more years before they will really provide much cover. Talk to the local WDFW office. You can get good info on what kind of plants to help you property. I know the Bio that worked with my bro in law put together  a good plan, then they even sent out a crew to plant the stuff at a more than reasonable cost. 

[rosscrazyelk]

Thanks for all the info guys, the property I am talking about is just outside of colfax going towards poluse on the river. when I was invited to go out there we walked for 5 hours on this guys property . Place looked awesome. Lots of quail but only saw 5 pheasant. Got 2.the  owner and I are trying to come up with a plan. We will see what happens. I know this , he has tons of white tails on his property and I am welcome to bring whoever to help eliminate his problem. So if anyone can help with the bird problem. I can guantee you a doe for sure.

[Special T]

I know in the Basin quail seem to be doing better than the Pheasants. I think a lot of it has to do with the kind and quality of cover. The paluse has more options than the basin because of the extra rain. One of the things you can check out is the Phesants forever and Quail unlimited web sites. they have lots of good info. Good luck!

[wildweeds]

Very familiar with that general area, does the property have a creek on it? If so what type of cover is near it? Russian olive trees would be a great start for drawing in more birds as well as some evergreen shrubbery,they appear to be pyramidals that are drought resistant that phez forever plants ,Another thing the farmer could do is leave some standing wheat along the edge of the field in close proximity to good holding cover,not so much that it hurts the pocket book mind you but enough to hold some birds around.That area around colfax/St.John/Endicott can be pretty tempermental in bird production,some years there are so many you could get em with a slingshot and other years you can hunt the better part of a day and see nothing but hens and not very many of them............Cover,Feed,and water,Get some guzzlers going in strategic spots,Stratgically get some holding/roosting cover established and leave a little feed and don't spray the fencerows.Try to think like a bird,it draws you to the areas that are most likely frequented,little swales,the area where a ridge breaks to a slope,fence corners,creek bottoms with a fair amount of brush/thistles,russian olive/willow trees.

Thanks for all the info guys, the property I am talking about is just outside of colfax going towards poluse on the river. when I was invited to go out there we walked for 5 hours on this guys property . Place looked awesome. Lots of quail but only saw 5 pheasant. Got 2.the  owner and I are trying to come up with a plan. We will see what happens. I know this , he has tons of white tails on his property and I am welcome to bring whoever to help eliminate his problem. So if anyone can help with the bird problem. I can guantee you a doe for sure.

[hunting4sanity]

Unfortunately pen raised birds aren't as smart as wild birds, so you'll have a worse mortality rate with pen raised birds and predators are tough on all pheasants, even more so on the hatchery birds. I sent you a PM with some more info. Good luck.

[Special T]

There is a product that helps with the raising of "Wild" birds called the Surigator. http://wildlifemanagementtechnologies.com/  Its not cheap but I think would do a good job of raising smarter birds. I still think that habitat improvement is a better investment. 

[YJ Guide Service]

The Inland Northwest Wildlife Council in Spokane sells babies in the spring usually May. They were selling babies for .40 females and $2.25 for males. I bought 85 babies for our property that has wheat, barley, alfalfa and chicory food plots as well as crp and timber  land. I hope a few survive. I was supprised by how hard it actually is to raise them. I've had them for 3 weeks now and have only had 6 die for whatever reasons. I agree habitat is a key to their survival. I think if you have water, food and cover your on the right track. We have a few pheasants right now along with quail and Hungarian partriage. I wanted to see if they would take, just a test...