Red Legged Partridge (Chukar) and California Quail

[finches247]

Hi,

I got some Partridges and Cali's a few months ago as babies to colour they are all fully coloured and showing signs of breeding Partridges haved laid two eggs all ready.I don't really know what they use to nest in ? I did give them clumps of reeds.I am building a larger aviary for them.There lot more females than males in partridges Will they sit as Trios and only 1 pair of Cali's.

Cheers
Henry

[finches247]

Can anyone help ?
Thanks

[Trilobite]

Hang in there Henry dear henry, Seriously though here we go:
They nest usually in a depression in the ground and use flotsum and jetsum to make their nest if you can call it that. The material they use is grass leaves and small twigs etc. They will also nest on raised beds of grassy mulch. But most of all they like privacy and security, late night disturbance eg rats/mice will cause you lost clutches. You can run several females with one male as they are like chooks in that they are polygamous. The dominate male will belt up subordinate males and the females will do the same to their own kind if they dont had adequate space and resources. Oh and when i say belt up I mean scalp and decapitate each other - not nice. In terms of adequate resources your going to have to give them as much space as you can afford to give them and if your run is planted then even better. I trust your ones are naturally raised. If they were incubator raised they may not sit, incubate and raise their own young. However I have seen young Cali's and Chukar's from incubator raised generations put into large aviaries with good resources ( water, food, live food, nesting sites, privacy, space) return to natrual parental instincts after 1st or 2nd season. Both birds you mention lay around 15-17 egg per clutch, the young while able to be raised without live food have a far greater survival rate with it, my exp is out of 17 young you may loose 1-2 on live food, else 4-5 without - however, this is still good numbers. Be Prepared! with your cali's once the chicks become mobile the parents are ruthless at dispacthing anything on the ground that cannot get away, that is smaller then them, finches, doves and pigeons - no worries as they fly out of the road, but do not leave any other species of quail in the avairy with the parents - there own kind excepted. They relax a bit at the 3 week stage which is about when mum starts laying again.

Both are great birds, but due to their size and what they do best (look after their young) they (chukars) are not for an avairy under 6*8 in my opinion. The best results I have seen for Chukars was in a run apporx 20 *30 m fully enclosed with a small pond, plenty of green pick and natural live food. Cali's would be ok in a 6*8 and to a cetrain extent even smaller at leats until you have 17 additonal young matruing is such a small space.

Sing out if you have any further questions that i may not have answered for you in the above response.

[casehulsebosch]

Californians wild caught Henry?

Cheers, Case, Tauranga, New Zealand.

[finches247]

Thanks Trilobite

Californians wild caught Henry?

Cheers, Case, Tauranga, New Zealand.

No,They Come from breeder in Hamilton Plus They are Red Mutations cant find them in wild.

[Trilobite]

Henry, what does a red mutation look like?? please post a picture or two.
Geeze you guys get it easy - wild caught Cali's - damn!!!

[finches247]

I'll try get a pic The male is silver with red belly and hen is the same but not as much red on belly

[Danny]

Here's a good article and a nice pic of reds
http://www.nzbirdz.co.nz/newzealandbird ... article=29

[Netsurfer]

The best and safest way to breed them http://www.lpzoosites.org/artd/resource ... ridges.JPG a photo by Arthur Scott in the http://www.lpzoosites.org/artd/species/ ... php?id=154

[Trilobite]

Thanks for the pics, as a mutation I guess they are ok but would hate to see them ruin good wild strains with robust colours. As for raising birds under foster parent all good if your trying to save a species but sadly this sort of activity when used to try and make a few extra bucks when parents will raise their own is just plain wrong in my opinion. We should be concentrating on preserving the ones that self raise, that is the joyous part of aviculture.