Husbandry of wild-caught greater sage-grouse

Authors

Paul Oesterle, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center
Robert McLean, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Michael Dunbar, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center
Larry Clark, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow

Date of this Version

January 2005

Comments

Published in Wildlife Society Bulletin

Abstract

This study reports the first successful husbandry and breeding in captivity of wild-caught greater sage-grouse (Ccntroccrcus urophasianus). In October 2003, 2 1 hatch-year greater sage-grouse were trapped in northwestern Nevada and transported to Fort Collins, Colorado. We held grouse in pens at the United States Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center for 8 months. We offered a varied diet, including native food items such as sagebrush (Arternisia tridentata and A. tripartita) and yarrow (Achilles millefolium). We housed grouse in a large flight pen and allowed to them freerange as one flock. Mortdlity rate was 16.7%. Several of the grouse exhibited breeding behavior, and 13 eggs were laid. We describe the techniques used to house and feed wild-caught sage-grouse. This study has conservation implications for captive breeding of this species of concern.