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Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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Posted by heckabore Zone9/Sunset15 (My Page) on Thu, May 15, 08 at 14:09
| We think that some quails are starting to build a next in some ornamental grasses near our front door. For the last several days, as we walk out the door, a quail or two bursts out from under the clump of grass and runs down the road. Are they friend or foe in the garden? my dog likes to chew on the grass (pennisetum) whenever she gets a chance. I think that quails eat mostly seeds and insects and they certainly don't seem to be aggressive, but I figure I should do something sooner rather than later if this will turn into a problem.
thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| I would love to have quail nesting in my yard! Not aware of any problems with them. By your profile, you have a different species (California quail, gambel's quail, or something like that) than we have here. In Ohio we only have bobwhite quail, and unfortunately, not many. The blizzard of '77-78 nearly wiped them out, and they never have fully recovered. |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| Honestly I don't know anything about quails on the west coast even thought I live there now.(I'm right that that is where you are?). But speaking as an East Coast native...what's not to like about quail? Not noisy, not overly aggressive/threatening when nesting or with young. Cute when they take the babies for a walk. I think they mostly like tall grass for safety, and eat mostly grain-like food. |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| Not a problem. Because of the destruction of their nesting habitat, many species of quail are disappearing. So enjoy these. |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| I would be giggly at the thought of quail nesting in my yard. |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| Thanks to everyone who responded to my question! My dog, my husband, and I are happy to know these little guys won't turn into a problem. --Hecka. |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| California Quails are a major problem in my garden. They destroy just about every plant in my fairly large garden. They will pull petunias right out of the pots, snip foot high plants down to the soil, will cut through 3/4nch thick tomato plants, clear cut dahlias.....will sever 30 to 40 tulips in a day. They will pile the flowers and stems in a pile, take them out to a brick path, or lay on the porch of my potting shed. I've tried b b guns, traps, wire cages, netting etc. I have a chicken wire enclosed area for my vegetables, wire cages around select plants and suffer the destruction and loss of many flowers. Placing artificial rubber snakes did not help either and they are not afraid of our German shepard dog. Help? I'm open to suggestions, anyone else have these problems with the quail? |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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- Posted by min3 9N.CA (My Page) on
Fri, May 13, 11 at 23:25
We love our California Quail! They don't destroy my gardens at all- they run along the fences and sit and talk quietly and companionably under the shrubbery and we love to hear them. Once in a while a male will make his 'woody woodpecker' call snd we like that too.
Kathy- I would be surprised if they are actually nesting so close to your house and dog- probably that's just a shady place they like to be during the day. I'm not sure what they would be doing with piles of fresh flower stems- the quail nests I have seen are dry grass and leaves. Maybe you have a sneaky rabbit or two.
It is such a good thing that quail have survived at all here in the West because domestic cats are almost the only enemies that can follow them into tangles of bushes where they are safe from most everything else. (Not sure about snakes.) They were very nearly wiped out by cats in the last century!
I would give up just about anything in my yard to keep the quail happy here.
Min |
RE: Quails: plus or minus in my garden?
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| Wow, that doesn't sound like quail. They are very shy in my yard, only foraging for seeds and bugs...I love them and the noises they make. Is this happening during the day? |
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