Data from: Northern bobwhite chick survival, growth, and movement in relation to broadcast supplemental feed and drought

The northern bobwhite is an economically important species across its
geographic range that has experienced declining population numbers. There
is ample research dedicated to evaluating management practices for the
adult life stage. However, the effects of management on bobwhite chicks
remain understudied, despite this being the most vulnerable age class. We
evaluated the effects of broadcast supplemental feed on bobwhite chick
survival, mass, and location both during a breeding season with normal
precipitation and one with historically low precipitation. We followed
broods via radio transmitters on hens until chicks were large enough to
carry their transmitters at around 12 days of age, then followed chicks
until independence. From 0-12 days old, broods had higher survival in
control units than supplementally fed units, but there was no effect of
supplemental feed on 12-35-day-old survival. Likely due to severe drought
conditions in 2011, chicks weighed more in 2012 than in 2011. Feed
treatment was not predictive of chick mass except for 4-day-old chicks in
2012, for which chicks in supplemental feed units were heavier. This could
suggest that, under normal weather conditions, supplemental feed helps
hens produce heavier chicks, but that this advantage disappears with age.
Additionally, we found that broods in fed units were closer to roads,
along which feed was broadcast, than in control units, where roads had no
added management impacts. Overall, supplemental feed had little or no
clear influence on chick survival and body condition. Despite this,
supplemental feed remains a useful management practice for adult
bobwhites.