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Show State Chukar Partridge Program Expanded Chukar partridge brood stocks i at the Price and SprlngvlUe game bird farms have been selected and placed in laying pens during the past several days, as the Utah Department of Fish and game program to establish this new upland game bird went into the fifth year. Brood birds selected numbered 3,200 chosen from the 5.500 mature ma-ture chukars carried through the winter from birds raised at the farms last spring. The birds are placed in brood pens for the laying season at a ratio of one male to three hens. Though chukars normally pair i during the nesting season in the wild, they are polygamous when confined on game farms, with records showing the highest egg proaucuon ana iertvity irom the one to three ratio now used. i Tile egg laying season reaches a peak during April. Eggs are gathered daily and incubated in the large brooders at each farm. I When the combined egg take at both farms reaches 20.000 all brood stock and other mature! birds held at the farms will be released Into chosen sites where It is expected they will still raise j some wild broods this spring. The-goal The-goal of 20,000 eggs should be reached and the brood birds released re-leased in early May. All but 7:500 of the young chikars raised this spring will be pranfedi-n the wild at eight weeks of age. The 7,500 birds will be held for brood stock and mature ma-ture bird releases as this program pro-gram continues Into 1957. This Is the maximum number that can be carried through the winter with present farm facilities. Chukar partridges have now been released in plants of 200 or more birds at 48 we.H scattered sites over the state. Total number num-ber released during the four year program exceeds 35.000 birds. |