Resources

What is Surrogate Propagation?

SURROGATE PROPAGATION is a technique used to instill a home range in birds by rearing them in a specific location at an age when they are most receptive to imprinting. Once hatched, the hen’s major function is to provide warmth and protection from the elements. Nothing more is needed. A baby chick is equipped to feed immediately with no preempting from parents. After birth they can peck, chase, hide and find moisture. Since the greatest dependency of the chicks to the parent is protection from rain and warmth, after 4 to 5 weeks there is no need to rely on the parent any longer, in fact, parents typically abandon a clutch when the chicks are 30-40 days old.

SURVIVABILITY - Our research studies show that birds raised in captivity experience a gradual diminishing of their survival instincts past 5 weeks of age. Birds released at this age or later are incapable of surviving in the wild because their survival instincts have atrophied from lack of use. Other re-search studies show that the vast majority of bird losses occur in the nest (egg predation), up until 3 weeks of age. After this age they are no longer susceptible to nest and chick predators.

HOMING INSTINCT and IMPRINTING - All birds have a homing instinct. Although there is some disagreement as to how a bird tracks home, whether it is through their olfactory sense or some awareness of the elec-tromagnetic field, studies have shown that time and time again birds use their homing instinct to return "home." Wildlife specialists have re-established ducks and geese on certain bodies of water by clipping the wings of a male and female allowing them to reproduce in a specific loca-tion, and thus imprinting their offspring. By utilizing a birds natural homing instinct, chicks are raised in the Surrogator® until 4 to 5 weeks of age im-printing them to a specific location. Research has proven that imprinting takes place in the first week of life. After this time, a chick will have lost this instinct. Chicks are then released at the optimal time of year which maxi-mizes survival. As a result, they are imprinted to the location where they were raised from the first few days of life. Because they have been im-printed, they will instinctively stay "home" to reproduce. By providing ideal, suitable, constantly improving habitat, birds have no need to wander away from "home."

What is a Surrogator?

THE SURROGATOR® is a self-contained field unit that will establish a huntable population of game birds on your property. This patented game bird restoration process is the only proven method for restoring game birds that will not only imprint them to the area where they are raised, but will also produce a wild acting bird post release! Cycle maintenance requires only a few minutes of your time each week! Our Traditional Surrogator® and Surrogator® XL Models are profiled on the next few pages. Read about the Surrogate Propagation process on the back inside cover of this catalog!

When can I use a Surrogator?

THE SURROGATOR® can be used whenever the nighttime temperatures are 50 degrees or warmer.

What types of birds can be raised in the Surrogator®?

Primarily the Surrogator® is used for game such as quail and pheasant, but other game birds can also be successfully raised in the unit including Chukar, Hungarian Partridge, and Wild Turkey.

Where can I find game birds for my Surrogator®

We do not sell birds, but can direct you to many hatcheries that would be happy to provide you with birds for use in the Surrogator®. Even if a hatchery isn’t close by you can have birds shipped to you via U.S. Mail. Please use the Resource page on our website to find bird suppliers. If you are still having trouble finding birds please contact us and we would be happy to help you locate a source.

Additional Information

We have added this section to give some additional ideas that we are many of our customers have used to aid in success. The steps in the manual are in most cases sufficient, but we wanted to add these to share additional steps that can be taken.

Preparation – Setting up and placing the unit the afternoon before the chicks arrive ensures that everything is functioning smoothly. Lighting the burner will ensure the unit is warm when chicks arrive. These few extra hours of propane use will not be significant.

Sand/Dirt Pan – After the first two weeks in the unit, a pan filled with fine dirt and/or sand (or combo) can be placed in the unit. This allows the birds to dust and prune themselves, which can help activate the oil gland. The activation of the oil gland allows the feathers to shed water. Birds love dusting and pruning activities. Be sure to change dirt/sand out periodically.

Misting – Misting your birds periodically with a fine water spray can be beneficial in starting the oil gland to work. Any kind of hand sprayer that sprays a fine mist is acceptable. We are developing an automated misting system that goes in the unit and mist the birds a couple times per day. We have an automatic Misting system available f

Watermelon – Putting cut up watermelon in the unit periodically gives the chick’s additional nutrients (picture #24). Tomatoes can also be used. Never add these items until chicks are at least 2 weeks of age.

Week old chicks – A week old chick can be used in place of a day old chick. Our research showed that chicks placed in the unit before 10 days of age exhibited strong “imprinting” traits. This means that the birds will be imprinted to that property and will tend to live and reproduce to where they were imprinted. There are some benefits such as: 1) shorter cycle time of 3 weeks for pheasant and 4 week for quail. Chicks should still be released when they are 4 weeks (pheasant) and 5 week (quail) of age, therefore the chicks will be in the unit 1 week less. 2) No need to grind feed. 3) No need to use divider (although using the divider for a couple days to get the chicks acclimated to the brooding area is wise). 4) No need to use special chick flooring. 5) Chicks tend to be a little stronger, therefore less loss may occur. Be sure that you operate as if you are starting at the end of week one of the instructional manual. If chicks are being mailed to you, day old chicks will be the only option. Postal regulations prohibit mailing chicks past 24 hours old. Chicks that are in the mail more than 24 hours will have a higher mortality rate.

Field Waterer – For those concerned with water after release, we do sell a field watering system that can be placed near the release site. The field waterer works the same as the Surrogator® nip-ple watering system, and can be used in conjunction with our WMT Game Bird feeders. In most cases this is not necessary but can be used as an insurance policy against insufficient water sources (picture #25). In dry years this can be a real plus.

Field Feeders – We have developed a top of the line WMT Game Bird feeder that can feed all varieties of grain, as well as hen laying formula. Supplemental feeding has been proven to significantly increase bird numbers versus non feed areas.

Chicken Wire – Putting chicken wire under the unit can prevent rodents, varmints, and predators from trying to dig underneath. This is not a typical problem, but can be used if this issue is a concern.