Birds
A word of advice to new members: YOU NEED BIRDS TO TRAIN A BIRD DOG. Order birds ahead of the training day. Once you and your dog have progressed beyond basic obedience, most of your training will involve birds. We can provide limited help to you if you do not have birds.
This is one of few clubs that actually provide the opportunity to purchase training birds on site. It takes a lot of time to compile and process the orders. It takes a lot of time and resources to collect and deliver the birds to the training site. All of this work is done on a volunteer basis. Please honor this by being prompt in picking up your orders. Please also consider becoming a volunteer. Talk to any of the officers if you would like to help.
Which Birds Should I Buy?
Pigeons
Strong flyers, run very little, smell very strong. Occasionally a dog won't point them and some dogs may have diminished intensity on pigeons which will come back when you introduce the dog to game birds. Pigeons are very hardy and easy to care for. They can be purchased or you can catch them yourself. You can contact a farmer and ask him if you can trap or net them at night in their barn for your dog training usage. Homing pigeons can be a solid investment if you have a place to keep them.
Quail
Captive quail are usually weak flyers, and should be used shortly after purchasing them. They tend to run very little. Quail are very easy to plant and keep and generally the least expensive game bird to use.
Chukar
Captive chukar are hardy, strong flyers. They do tend to run if not used in traps or planted hard. Typically expensive in the spring (birds sold in the spring have to be over-wintered and feed is costly) with the price going down substantially on birds purchased in July and August (young of the year).
Pheasants
Other than training for the NA pheasant track we generally don't use pheasants. Full grown pheasants are expensive to purchase and maintain. They are not good for training as they often run after being planted.
Ducks
NAVHDA dogs will need ducks. If you just want to train for upland hunting and will never duck hunt or test UPT or UT, the need for ducks goes down. Ducks are easy to care for, but expensive to buy and feed. They can be thrown in the swamp/water areas for your dog to find and retrieve. But the state requires that you retrieve all ducks you put out.
How many birds should I buy?
On a typical chapter training day expect to go through 3-5 upland birds (pigeons, quail, chukar). Each time you take your dog out for a training session in the field expect to go through the same number of birds. Its always useful to have one or two birds in reserve in case something goes poorly in the field that you want to correct. When duck training, most people will go through 2-3 ducks. Some dogs bring their ducks back alive (nice!) but many will dispatch the duck during their return.
Wisconsin DNR Dog Training Permits
A bird dog training license allows you to purchase, possess, release and shoot the following bird species for dog training purposes:
This is one of few clubs that actually provide the opportunity to purchase training birds on site. It takes a lot of time to compile and process the orders. It takes a lot of time and resources to collect and deliver the birds to the training site. All of this work is done on a volunteer basis. Please honor this by being prompt in picking up your orders. Please also consider becoming a volunteer. Talk to any of the officers if you would like to help.
Which Birds Should I Buy?
Pigeons
Strong flyers, run very little, smell very strong. Occasionally a dog won't point them and some dogs may have diminished intensity on pigeons which will come back when you introduce the dog to game birds. Pigeons are very hardy and easy to care for. They can be purchased or you can catch them yourself. You can contact a farmer and ask him if you can trap or net them at night in their barn for your dog training usage. Homing pigeons can be a solid investment if you have a place to keep them.
Quail
Captive quail are usually weak flyers, and should be used shortly after purchasing them. They tend to run very little. Quail are very easy to plant and keep and generally the least expensive game bird to use.
Chukar
Captive chukar are hardy, strong flyers. They do tend to run if not used in traps or planted hard. Typically expensive in the spring (birds sold in the spring have to be over-wintered and feed is costly) with the price going down substantially on birds purchased in July and August (young of the year).
Pheasants
Other than training for the NA pheasant track we generally don't use pheasants. Full grown pheasants are expensive to purchase and maintain. They are not good for training as they often run after being planted.
Ducks
NAVHDA dogs will need ducks. If you just want to train for upland hunting and will never duck hunt or test UPT or UT, the need for ducks goes down. Ducks are easy to care for, but expensive to buy and feed. They can be thrown in the swamp/water areas for your dog to find and retrieve. But the state requires that you retrieve all ducks you put out.
How many birds should I buy?
On a typical chapter training day expect to go through 3-5 upland birds (pigeons, quail, chukar). Each time you take your dog out for a training session in the field expect to go through the same number of birds. Its always useful to have one or two birds in reserve in case something goes poorly in the field that you want to correct. When duck training, most people will go through 2-3 ducks. Some dogs bring their ducks back alive (nice!) but many will dispatch the duck during their return.
Wisconsin DNR Dog Training Permits
A bird dog training license allows you to purchase, possess, release and shoot the following bird species for dog training purposes:
- captive bred quail of the subfamily odontophorinae
- gray partridge
- chukar partridge
- red-legged partridge
- mallard duck
- ring-necked or Reeves pheasants