Game Bird News & Views
Raising Quail, Pheasants, Peacocks,
Partridges, Ducks, Products & More!
Thursday, September 2, 2010 
Editors' note: We receive many questions each week from website visitors on how to feed gamebirds, housing, incubation, hatching, brooding the chicks, where to buy equipment and products, etc. You will find answers to all these questions in the upcoming issue of the Game Bird Gazette magazine. In addition to detailed information and great pictures on how to raise game birds, there are thousands of quail, pheasant, partridge, and duck eggs, chicks, ducklings and adults (duck, pheasant and quail eggs and young) for sale from many reputable and reliable breeders for you to compare and choose from. Many birds and eggs are available all year long from producers advertising in the magazine. You can subscribe to the Game Bird Gazette magazine at an extraordinary discount right now using our fast and secure online subscription order form or at the Gamebird.com Shopping Center and receive your first issue right away!
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Says Leslie Anderson, "I first learned about the Game Bird Gazette at the University of California website and it has helped me enormously. Producing game birds or eggs like bobwhite, coturnix, chukars, ringnecks, etc. can help to supplement one's income in these tough economic times. There is very good demand for eggs and meat for the gourmet food market. Hunting clubs buy lots of bobwhite quail, chukars and ringneck pheasants. Hobby breeders also purchase thousands of eggs each year. Many of the quail breeds are especially in demand now and some of them can be produced all year long. We will have quail eggs for sale through the fall and winter."
In the Gazette appeared a super article and pictures by John Kerr of Duck Haven Farm telling all about how they keep, breed, and market gamebirds and ducks. Jenny, one o
f his daughters (picture above right), shows us some of their newly hatched ringneck pheasant chicks!
Donna Marsden writes, "I got my first Gazette today and am enjoying it so much! I've never seen a magazine with so many helpful tips telling how to do things in such detail. The pictures are marvelous and I really like the pictures of kids with their birds and showing their pens. I can see how important it is to buy quality stock from reputable game farms. It's also so important to read up and be prepared before purchasing your first eggs, chicks or adult quail, pheasant, or ducks. I would have made a lot of mistakes if I had not found the Game Bird Gazette. Thanks for a such as wonderful and informative magazine and website!"
From Madison, Ohio, Richard Nielson writes, "I could not get along without the Game Bird Gazette. The large number of ads 
have helped me locate the birds I have needed. I've found some breeders in the Gazette classified ads that live near me that I didn't even know about! Although we raise mostly quail and ringneck pheasants, my wife saw some Bahama Pintail Ducks advertised in the magazine (picture at left) and she has fallen in love with them! The breeders selling birds to me over the years have been wonderful and have gone out of their way to help me. I haven't found that kind of care, kindness, and comradery at the auctions I used to visit. What they say about bird breeders being some of the best people in the world is really true!."
We receive many inquiries about diets for game birds and waterfowl. There is a lot of information on feeding game birds in each issue of the Gazette. An extremely popular feed among game bird and waterfowl breeders are the Mazuri Waterfowl Diets by Purina Mills, Inc. It is often mentioned as the diet of choice by many successful breeders writing about their breeding experiences in the Gazette. This feed is of th
e highest quality and formulated especially for these types of birds. To locate a dealer nearest to you or for more information check out their website at www.mazuri.com or call 1-800-227-8941.
More and more people are raising quail and producing eggs to supplement their incomes in these difficult economic times. Coturnix are a type of quail that are easy to keep and breed in small cages and some hens will produce up to 200 or more eggs during their first year. So just about anyone can raise coturnix and produce eggs to sell, even if you don't have much space. Coturnix quail are produced by many breeders the year round.
Coturnix Quail (pictured at right) have been an important source of 
meat and eggs in many countries for a long time. Coturnix can be a good sport bird and are also often used in field trials and to train gun dogs. Pickled coturnix eggs are a tasty and increasingly popular gourmet food item. Another market for the eggs is from egg crafters, as the distinctive mottled brown eggs are used for decorative purposes. Coturnix quail are often sold to laboratories and used in research, as they can thrive in small cages and are capable of producing several generations in a single year. You will find many quail and eggs listing in every issue of the Game Bird Gazette. Whether you want to produce just a few coturnix or thousands of quail and or eggs in larger scale production, the
Gazette is an invaluable resource!
The Gazette office receives many inquiries on where to obtain leg and wing bands for game bird identification (such as on leg of the Snow Goose above). One of the advertisers in the magazine and an excellent source of leg and wing bands is the National Band and Tag Co. They have been in business since 1902 and are an excellent source of bands as well as blinders and bits for preventing cannibalism in gamebirds and poultry. This is a family run business and is recipient of the Tri-State 
Family Operated Business of the Year Award from the University of Cincinnati. Check out their ad in the Gazette and go to their web site at www.nationalband.com where you can see all that is available.
Linda Kerry writes, "We received our first issue of the Gazette and it has already answered a lot of questions we had about how to care for our gamebirds and waterfowl (ducks and geese). Interesting how so many game bird farms breed and sell both ducks and the upland game birds like chukars (on Gazette cover above left), quail and pheasants. The people writing in there are so knowledgeable and they are really friendly, too! We are so glad we found the Gazette and such great people and places to find birds and eggs. We love the pictures in the magazine!"
Says Robin Hansen, "I just received my first Gazette and it's fantastic! The article and pictures on Mo
untain Quail by George Johansen really caught my attention! What a magnificent quail this is... Love the way he describes how he raises his quail in such detail. In 
fact, I loved all the articles and pictures on quail, pheasants, and partridges... I've never seen a magazine where so many different breeders tell you exactly how they do things and with so many pictures. It's wonderful that people share their knowledge and experiences so freely in the magazine to help others!" In the next Gazette will be much more on Mountain and other types of quail, including the fabulous Mearns Quail (Mearns Quail male shown at right). Most quail and many other kinds of gamebirds are available for sale in every issue of the magazine
From Debbie Rosen, "I visited the Michigan State University web site and some of the other state university poultry sites looking for info (and reliable sources for birds) on how to get started raising ducks, pheasants, chukars and quail. At the university website, it says the Gazette has all the information required to raise game birds. We subscribed to the magazine and are very happy with it. The magazine is a fantastic source for eggs, chicks, breeder birds, incubators. I've also purchased some of the good books and the vionate vitamin supplement at the Gamebird.com webstore. This has been helpful -- the birds love it! What a wonderful business or hobby… especially for the kids!"
Betsy Thatcher in England writes, "I bought a book on game bird breeding and
care and saw where the book's author references and highly recommends your Gazette. I saw in this book that there are dozens of references to the articles and pictures in your Gazette magazine. And my friend, who breeds quail and pheasants, also said your magazine is of great help to him. So I thought to myself, 'I must have your publication for myself!' I want to tell you that I am very, very impressed with my first issue. I can see why there are so many recommendations everywhere for this magazine. I am in turn recommending your Gazette to others here in the United Kingdom. Thank you for a great magazine."
Says Thomas Cole, in part, "I had heard the Gazette is great with articles and pictures from breeders all over the place, but it has far exceeded my expectations. I even bought some back issues which are great for reference (the article on raising quail by Nancy Egerer showed me a great way to provide water for newly hatched chicks!). The care and feeding tips are really insightful. The Gazette is the best "how to" publication I have ever seen."
Incubating And Hatching Gamebird Eggs & Other Products Offered in the Gazette
One of the world's leading manufacturers of incubators and other products for hatching and rearing gamebirds is Brinsea Products, Inc. Brinsea has a fabulous line of incubators to meet any need. Shown at right is the R-com 3 egg incubator whic
h is great for kids especially. Although desi
gned in Korea as an educational toy, the R-com really works so buyers must be prepared for the welfare of newly hatched chicks! Three hens eggs are gently warmed and turned automatically as they incubate and the display even counts down each day to tell you when they are due to hatch. Shown in the picture at left (photo by Frank Pearce) is Brinsea staff member, Pascale Deffieux, showing chicks hatched in a Brinsea Octagon 20 Incubator. Pascale takes care of Brinsea's export business from Florida. She can talk about incubation to customers in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Go to the Brinsea Products website for information on the outstanding range of incubators, brooders, and other great products that are available. You can also reach Brinsea by phone at 888-667-7009.
Another excellent manufacturer of incubators and other equipment you'll find in the Gazette is GQF Manufacturing Co. of Savannah, Georgia. In addition to incubators and accessories, GQF sells brooders and heaters, breeding pens, feeders, waterers and systems, health care items and much more.
You will find helpful information on pens and aviaries in every issue of the Gazette. Netting is very popular among game bird breeders in covering all or portions of pens and enclosures for all types of game birds and waterfowl. The advantages of netting include its flexibility which helps to prevent injuries. One of the oldest and best sources of high quality netting is the J. A. Cissel & Co. of Lakewood, New Jersey. You can go directly to the J. A. Cissel website at www.jacissel.net. E:mail: info@jacissel.net. Or, you can call them toll free at 800-631-2234. You can also buy catching nets other products for your game farm from them.
Another outstanding company offering game bird netting and other products is Endurance Net www.endurancenetinc.com Endurance Net has been manufacturing Barrier Netting since 1966. They sell knitted nets, knotted nets, aviary netting, duck pond netting, privacy screen
, shade screen, and many other excellent accessories and products for game bird and duck producers. Their e-mail is 
endurancenet@aol.com or phone them toll free at 800-808-6387 or 609-499-3450.
One of the best and most reliable sources for game bird and poultry equipment and products (including parts and supplies) is Gillis Agricultural Systems of Willmar, Minnesota. Among the excellent products they offer are feeding systems, drinker systems, hanging feeders and waterers, pens, game bird netting, nests, incubators, brooders, heaters, peepers, catching nets, leg bands, etc. Contact Gillis Agricultural Systems by phone toll free at 800-992-8986 and visit their website at www.gillisag.com to see all of the products offered. They have a free catalog that is available upon request.
Fedex and UPS are under contract with the U. S. postal service to transport live birds for the post office as mail. This is very important to our industry. Requiring postal service contractors to carry lives for the post office is something the Gazette has advocated for years, and we must work to ensure that the service continues and is improved. Included among the species and breeds allowed to be mailed by the post office (see domestic mail manual) include quail, pheasants, partridges, doves, pigeons, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, swans, etc. Go to our bird shipping pages for more information.
Horizon Micro-Environments has an outstanding line of approved shipping containers for quail, pheasants, partridges, ducks, geese, swans, etc. The shipping containers available from Horizon Micro-Environments are attractive, have an excellent design, and are the most popular shipping containers used by game bird breeders.
The Gazette office receives many inquiries on where to obtain leg and wing 
bands for game bird identification. One of the advertisers in the magazine and an excellent source of leg and wing bands is the National Band and Tag Co. They have been in business since 1902 and are an excellent source of bands as well as blinders and bits for preventing cannibalism in gamebirds and poultry. This is a family run business and is recipient of the Tri-State Family Operated Business of the Year Award from the University of Cincinnati. Check out their ad in the Gazette and go to their web site at www.nationalband.com where you can see all that is available.
Another outstanding source for quality meshes for pens and cages is Louis E. Page, Inc. Products available include hexagonal netting, welded wire mesh, top netting, earth anchors, hog rings, pliers and more... They have been serving the industry since 1893! You can call them toll free at 800-225-0508. Or visit wirefenconline.com
Many breeders of certain types of game birds and ducks provide their birds with live food such as mealworms. Some breeders feed a handful or two of mealworms to their birds throughout the year to help ensure nutritional adequacy. Some producers believe that mealworms or other live food helps to stimulate breeding activities. Live food (most often mealworms because they are easy to feed) are also used by many breeders for starting their chicks of some of the species of quail, partridges, pheasants, guinea fowl, tinamous, grouse, doves, ducks, and other gamebirds. Techniques and considerations in providing live food is a subject you will find in the next issue of the Gazette. One of the best known companies producing mealworms with an advertisement in the magazine is Rainbow Mealworms of Compton, California. Their web site is www.rainbowmealworms.net phone 310-635-1494.
On keeping peafowl, Rosalie Adams said in part, "Peafowl are easy to keep and breed. The India Blue and its mutations are best if you are located in a colder climate. The Green Peafowl are more tropical and need to go inside during cold weather. Many people have let their India Blues roam about freely but we keep ours in pens. We really enjoy the articles on peafowl in the Game Bird Gazette."
Clutch sizes in my Blue Peafowl range from about 4 - 9 buff to pale creamy white eggs which take about 27-29 days t
o hatch. The Green Peafowl lays 4-6 eggs in a clutch with an incubation period of 28 days. They eggs are somewhat larger in size tha those of the more common India Blue Peafowl. Peafowl are pheasants so you can have them shipped to you through the post office." There is terrific information on peafowl coming out in the very next edition of the Gazette!
Shown at left is Karl Milner of Lakenvelder Farm, Gillette, Wyoming, holding two of his fine India Blue Peafowl. Karl wrote an excellent article with great pictures for the Gazette on how to breed pheasants and quail right through the fall and winter months! Also a fabulous article and pictures on button quail (see picture of one of Karl's gorgeous pair of button quail at right).
We receive many questions about how to properly catch and handle ducks and other birds (example of golden-eye duck being correctly held at right), how to clip or pinion waterfowl and gamebirds, and how to keep them in the best feather condition. Answers to questions like these appear in the printed magazine. 
Adult gamebirds such as quail, pheasants, partridges, ducks, geese and swans can be conveniently mailed through the U. S. postal service express mail using an approved shipping container.
Go to Quail Pheasant And Duck Breeding News Page 2
More Helpful Links:
Quail, bobwhite quail, coturnix quail, pheasant