Raising chukars

Raising birds can be very enjoyable and educational as a family project. Here are some pictures of my granddaughter's Emily and Megan with the chukar's they raised this year. They incubated them, watched them hatch, watered and fed, and released them. They even caught insects like grasshoppers to help them get the protein they need.
Although survival rate is minimal in the wild, (3 to 8 per cent), we release most of them at the age of five weeks. The studies say that is the release age that is most effective. Some of the birds are used for training. When training we always try to train in an area where the bird has a chance of survival since most birds aren't shot.
It's amazing how soon the birds can fly. At five to six weeks they can fly quite a distance if they have been in flight pens.
One year I helped a young man, Kelly Dooms, raise pheasants for a school project. Out of 19 rooster's 11 of them survived after release for two month's. Their biggest problem was lack of fear of people. Hunting season came and the pheasants soon disappeared.
I have raised as many as 200 chukar's some year's.
Next year Emily and Megan are wanting to try Bob White quail to raise. We have plenty of habitat around my house here, so it will be interesting to see how they survive.