Farm & Ranch

[AgriLife Today] Urban Quail Appreciation Day set March 29 in Fort Worth

Published

6 years ago

March 14, 2018

NTFR

By Gabe Saldana

Writer: Gabe Saldana, 956-408-5040, [email protected]

Contacts: Amanda Gobeli, 720-333-6224, [email protected]

Dale Rollins, 325-653-4576, [email protected]

FORT WORTH – Urban Quail Appreciation Day, March 29, aims to inform North Texans about the value of one of the state’s most popular game birds and what people can do to help reverse declining quail populations, organizers said.

“Quail populations in Texas, especially among the northern bobwhite, have declined significantly in the last 40 years,” said Dr. Dale Rollins,Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist in San Angelo and executive director of Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation.

The appreciation day runs from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth.

“Because they live their lives within roughly 20 city blocks, changes to quail environments can affect them drastically,” Rollins said.

He said the event is designed to inspire habits that stakeholders can implement to protect natural quail environments.

An interactive discussion on Texas quail on site will feature Kirby the Quail, a tamed northern bobwhite, and his handler, Amanda Gobeli, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute associate in Dallas.

“Kirby has toured the state helping to highlight the importance of conserving quail populations,” Gobeli said. “People’s connection to Kirby becomes tangible when they interact with him, and they tend to take a stronger interest in how their behaviors affect quail like Kirby.”

The event will include discussions on quail ecology and management, a guided anatomy lesson, activities to help people “think like a quail” and interactive discussions using Kirby as an example.

The event is held by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Reversing the Quail Decline in Texas initiative and Quail Coalition. Proceeds for the event benefit Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade, a wildlife leadership camp for youth, organizers said.

Early registration is $10 at http://bit.ly/2HqO44l or $20 at the door. Lunch is included.

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Farm & Ranch

Hazards of Backyard Poultry

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

NTFR

By Barry Whitworth, DVM

Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.

Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.

The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.