Feeding Requirements of Gallinaceous Upland Game

FEEDING REQUIREMENTS OF GALLINACEOUS UPLAND GAME BIRDS by Ralph B. Nestler ^ W Í T H an awakened public interest in the preservation of wild life, more and more farmers, 4-H Club members, and others are raising upland game birds. Also, more attention is being given to the right kind of feeding practices. This article discusses the feeding of these birds in the wild and in captivity. THE iMPOiiTAxcE of a knowledge of gamo nutrition and satisfactory feeding practices is gradually being impressed upon game managers and others interested in ^-ame tliroughout the country. For more than half a century civilization lias been forcing game almost to exthiction. One notable example is the complete destruction of the heath hen, or eastern pinnated grouse. At one time this bird was found in large numbers in Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, Xew^ York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Its last stand wâs on the island of Martha^s Vineyard, Mass., where it existed for man^^ years after its extinction in oth.er sections of the comitry. In 1930, only one bird of this species could be found there. In recent years, certain foresighted citizens have realized the need of help for wildlife. Through their efforts game refuges have been started, feeding grounds are prepared especially for the game, and artificial game propagation has become a business. The work of game preservation and replenishment by both State game commissions and private individuals has made such strides in recent years that it has passed the trial-and-error stage and reached the field of scientific research. This article attempts to sliow^ wdiat has been done in the field of nutrition and feeding of gallinaceous upland game birds and what still remains to be done. Because much of the wôrk on game to date has pertained to these species and because of space limitations, other kinds of game, including game mammals, marsh and aquatic game birds, pigeons, and doves, are not here considered. -' Ralph B. Nestler ii? Associate Biologist, Bureau of Biological Survey. Appreciation is expressed to H. W. Titus, in charge of Poultry Nutrition Investigations, Bureau of Animal Industry, and Arnold Xel- 'ôn, Section of Food Habits, Bureau of Biological Survey, for their helpful suggestions, assistance, and constructive eritieisni of this article. (The Bureau of Biological Survey was transferred from the Depart- ment of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior July 1,1939.) 893 894 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE, 1939 THE UPLAND GAME BIRDS Gallinaceous upland game birds belong to tbe superfamily Phasia- noidea, of the order Galliformes. This superfamil}^ is di\dded into four groups—(1) grouse, ptarmigans, and the sage hen (the Tetraoni- dae family); (2) American quails and Old World partridges (the Perdi- cidae family) ; (3) pheasants (the Phasianidae family) ; and (4) turkeys (the Meleagrididae family). The 13 most important species in continental United States on which some work has been done in captivity are ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chicken or pinnated grouse, sage hen, bobwhite quail, mountain or plumed quail, California or helmet quail, GambePs quail, scaled quail, Hun- garian partridge, chukar partridge, ring-necked pheasant, and wild turkey.^ Until very recently, only the bobwhite quail, the ring- necked pheasant, the Hungarian partridge, and the wild turkey have been propagated successful^ in captivity to any great extent. Other species of quail also are now being raised in this wa^^ with success. GROUSE Of the Tetraonidae family, the ruffed grouse, commonly called partridge in New England and pheasant in the southern AUeghan}^ States, is probably the best known generally, and is one of our most esteemed native game birds. This species ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to the higher ground of the Southern States. In 1884-85, Pierre Lorillard turned ruffed grouse loose on the game reserve at Jobstown, N. J., with satisfactory results. Suc- cessful implantations were made in 1900 on a 1,500-acre tract on Washington Island, Wis., by William Barnhard. Birds shipped from Alberta, Canada, to an island in Puget Sound, Wash., in 1923, have also done very well. Game propagators have found that the proper care of ruffed grouse in pens is very difficult, induit native birds usualW are too wild for controlled conditions. On the other hand, propagated stock brought to maturity is usually too tame for planting in the wild. The sharp-tailed grouse is not so familiar to most people as the ruffed grouse, and it has not received as much attention from the game propagators. It is found in eastern Colorado, central Nebraska, eastern South Dakota, Minnesota, Utah, northern New Mexico, and western Wisconsin. Changes in the center of the prairie chicken population as related to human settlement of this country are still in process. This bird formerly ranged throughout all the open country between the Appa- lachian and the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf coast. As the country became more thickly populated, the prairie chicken has disappeared from man\^ regions, and the eastern limit of its range has moved westward. At the same time, the clearing of forests has provided much new open country that it lias been prompt to occupy. In this way, its range has extended westward and north- ward, and at the same time has been curtailed eastward. It is a ^ The scientific names of these species are Bonasa umbelius (ruiîed grouse), Pedioecetes phasianeUus (sharp tailed grouse), Tympanuchus cupido (prairie chicken or pinnated grouse), Centrocercus uropkasiajius (sage hen), Colinusvirginianus{\iohv7hit^<l\i2L\\), Oreortyxpicta (mountainor pUiniedquail), Lophortyxcalifornicus (California or helmet quail), Lophortyx gambeii (Gambel's quail), Callipepla squamata (scaled quail), Perdix perdix (Hungarian partridge), Alectoris graeca chukar (chukar partridge), Phasianus colchicus tortnatus (ring-necked pheasant), and Meleagris gailopavo (wild turkey). UPLAND GAME BIRDS 895 gregarioTîs bird and is easily domesticated, but it has not been pj'Oj>a- gated successfully in captivity. The sage hen is found in the sagebrush plains of the Transition Zone from northwestern North Dakota to central California, northwestern New Mexico, and northwêstern Nebraska. It has not been raised successfully in captivity. QUAILS AND PARTRIDGES The very popular bobwhite is more widely distributed in the United States than any other species of the Perdicidae family. In the North it is commonly called quail, whereas in the Soutliern States it is generally designated partridge. It is very abundant and is the principal upland game bird of tlie Gulf and South Atlantic States. It ranges westward to the elevated central Plains from South Dakota to Texas. The distribution of the bobwhite in tlie Northeast is more restricted now than it was about 50 years ago, and the present stock seems unable to occupy the colder regions of the New England States, where at one time the bird lived successfully. This withdrawâl of bobwhite from the cold interior of the Northeast to the warmer coastal belt probably goes hand in hand with the decline of agriculture in New England and a nearly complete failure of the winter food supply. Introduction of the bobwhite into Washington, Colorado, and Montana w^cst of the Divide has met with moderate success, but implantations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wvoming, South. Dakota, and Minnesota have failed. Bobwhite are amenable to large-scale I'earing in captivity. ^ William Coleman of Virginia pioneered in the development of techniques and electrical equipment for successful quail propagation, and in 1929 succeeded in raising very large numbers of birds successfully with electric incubators and brooders. Only a few years prior to this, all hatching and rearing had been done with bantam hens. The various other American quail, such as the mountain quail, the California quail, and GambeTs quail, also may be raised in captivity. Their eggs may be incubated successfully luider bantam hens, and for some species electrical incubation has been tried. The mountain or plumed quail is confined to the momitainous sections of the Pacific Coast States; the California or helmet quail likewise is^ localized more or less on the west coast; and GambeFs quail inhabits Texas, Arizona, and New^ Mexico, from which it is rapidty spreading to sur- rounding States, especially California and Nevada. The scaled quail, known also as the white topknot and the blue quail, is one of the most interesting game birds of the Southwestern States. It is found in abundance locally and ranges through New Mexico and xirizona to Colorado, Oklahoma, west Texas, and Kansas. The European or Hungarian partridge was introduced into this country by Kichard Bache in the latter part of the eighteenth century, when he stocked his plantation near Beverly, N. J. Subsequent plantings were made in Virginia and other parts of New Jersey. In 1904, this exotic bird was planted in North Carolina and did moderately well for a time on breeding grounds planted to cowpeas. The next year a wave of importation began along the entire Atlantic 896 YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE, 1939 coast. Importations were made in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, on a very large scale. For a while the residts were encouraging, but by 1920 practically all the birds had disappeared. Recent attempts to implant this species in the North Central States have met with varying success. It seems, however, that the Hun- garian partridge has a good chance of becoming established in the grain-producing section of the Midwest. The chukar partridge has a number of other names, derived mainly from its loud double call—^*kau-kau/^ '^keklik,^^ 'Îndian chukor,'' ^^chickore,^^ ^'chukar red-legged partridge/' '^chuchare/' and ^^chukru." The chukar is a native of India, but it is found also in large numbers in north China, from which place it has been imported to this country.

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