AttwatersPrairieChicken_PrairiesAntsandRains_Jurries_Royce_ColumbusTX_21January2021_Reel4047.mp3

Royce Jurries [00:00:01] Bill and I started doing the surveys, you know, annually in 1970. And in 1970, our count showed 1450 birds.

Royce Jurries [00:00:14] What we did, the way you do that, you count the number of roosters on the booming ground and you want to do that during the prime booming times, you know, like in March or late February, March, because that's when all the roosters are normally going to be on the booming grounds. And then you assume a one-to-one sex ratio and you double the number of birds that you saw on the booming ground. And that's how you come up with a population estimate.

Royce Jurries [00:00:40] In 1975, our survey showed that they had increased up to 2250 birds. And during the 1970s, it seemed like they, the population, had stabilized pretty much at 1500 to 2000 birds.

Royce Jurries [00:01:03] And then, from that, that was kind of the high point. And starting in the '80s, they started declining and there was a big dip by, in the '90s.

Royce Jurries [00:01:18] And I suspect, looking back, you know, that was probably brought about by a combination of things. I think one of the big factors, though, and I saw this in the quail numbers declining in the '80s: the fire ants were really taking over. And I just think they played a big role in that. As well as, still, you know, losing habitat. But I think that the fire ants played a big role.

Royce Jurries [00:01:51] Plus, you have other factors involved. If you've got a couple of wet springs in a row and you didn't get any reproduction, you know, they could, your population starts going down because the chickens don't live that long. And as a result, if you don't get some reproduction, pretty often, you're going to have a decline in numbers.

Royce Jurries [00:02:10] So, it was, you know, the numbers were going down and then they're like, 42 was the estimate in 1996. Basically no chickens left.

Royce Jurries [00:02:24] And that's when the captive breeding program really got started because it was seen that, you know, the chicken was doomed without some kind of, some kind of captive breeding help.