Those little gentlemen birds don't deserve anything like that. Nature can be extremely cruel.
For sure!
I am not sure I've ever even heard of eye worms before this thread; thanks for educating us. Your description of the nearby plantation is discouraging for anyone hoping to establish a quail population on their land. Have you heard any explanation of why they haven't wiped out the quail in SW GA that Gil mentioned? I have a friend who helps manage several plantations in SE AL and they still have plenty. Maybe they just haven't gotten that far south yet.
The last wild quail I got to hunt were in NW OK a few years back. There is no agriculture in the area, and the size of their population is very dependent on rain in the spring and early summer. If they get rain, they have birds. No rain, and they have very few.
Despite not having any to hunt, I eat quail pretty often. The local Piggly Wiggly has them all the time now. They sell a pack of 4 for about $10, and that makes a nice meal for us. They get them from a processor in GA.
