52. The STATE GAME FARM

(open 10-5), Briarcliff Rd. about 12 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, is devoted at present to rearing quail for distribution in Georgia areas where the native stock has been depleted either by over-shooting or by lack of food. On the 35^_acre tract of wooded land the loud, clear bobwhite call rings like a frequently repeated echo. From the entrance gate a driveway leads past caretakers cottages to the breeding pens, incubators, and brooder houses. Here 650 hens lay about 2,700 eggs a week during the season.

Domesticated quail are used for breeding. Because they are not allowed to set, they lay an average of about 80 eggs a season; wild birds under the same conditions lay only an average of from 35 to 40. One domesticated hen laid 121 eggs in a single season. When the birds are from 10 to 12 weeks old, they are released to individuals and groups who promise that no hunting will be permitted on restocked land for at least 12 months. Plans have been made to give the excess eggs to 4-H Clubs, the Future Farmers of America, and similar organizations, the eggs to be hatched under bantam hens and. the young to be placed in depleted areas. The young club members will be given instructions in the conservation of wild life, and, if the program is successful, only eggs will be distributed in the future. About 7,000 quail and 16,000 eggs were released in 1940.

Experiments have been conducted with the chukar, an Asiatic partridge that is faster, hardier, and four times as large as the Georgia quail. From an original stock of three pairs, many chukars were reared and distributed throughout the state, but these birds did not prove to be adaptable to conditions in Georgia, since they were unable to protect themselves from predators. The few remaining chukars are displayed in pens.

The game farm was established in 1936 by the Georgia Game and Fish Department, a part of the Department of Natural Resources. The quail brood-stock was built up from an initial purchase of Tennessee birds and from native Georgia quail. Plans are being made to establish a fish hatchery here and also to enclose acreage for the rearing of deer.

Contents