I'm not interested in the well, windmill/solar pump and cement tank or $1,000 catchment based systems.

Looking for more novel and less expensive methods to try on a lease.

Thanks.

Quail don't need drinking water.

I agree with Bill. The water that quail need is rain, not so they have drinking water, so the grasses grow & bugs are plentiful.

Bas I was looking for the same type info however Talked to My biologist in the area and as bill said quail dont need water they get the moisure from plants as well as mornig condensation

Get you an electrical cable spool ( the kind that highline wire come on ). Lay it on its side then cut some 6 inch holes around the bottom center part where quail can get into the inside. These spools are hollow put a four inch rubber tub in the center bottom for water, then set you a 55 gallon drum up on the top portion with a drip tap set to drip continuously into the tub . fill the tub and the drum with water and your set for thirty days. Then fill it again. Put hog wire around the side and you have a make shift johnny house, where you can scatter some feed and the predators can't get to the birds.This also makes it hog proof.
I agree that quail don't need drinking water but they need moisture in their feathers to take back to the nest to regulate the humidity on the eggs. If a quail has access to water they will definitely use it. The over flow from your drip system will produce a few bugs for the chicks. In areas of very low humidity like the last three years there isn't much dew falling and the bathing tub will help.
P.S.These spools need to be within 250 yards of nesting cover and on about every 90 acres.

Does the theory of their water intake needs being met from their food and/or dew only apply to Bobs? I thought I had read a study online that, if im not mistaken, was conducted by the TPWD that attributed high losses of transmitter equiped quail to drowning in water troughs. In fact, I believe they lost at least two transmitter birds to the same trough. Could we conclude then that only the pen raised birds that were transmitter equipped required additional water intake, or that this was a trained behavior for them? Is it not plausible that all quail look to supplement their water intake if conditions call for it? Do pheasant also get their water intake from their food and/or dew? Just curious

DuckedUp :Probability of that happening can be eliminated by putting a tree limb or wood fence post in the tub. Believe it or not a Quail can swim and will use this for a ladder to climb out also other critters will use it for the same purpose. I've seen lots of squirrels drowned without the limb but never one with one. I'll see if I can post a picture of my system that I use. There are several guzzlers rigged up on the Packsaddle WMA in Okla. made especially for quail and Prairie Chickens. it is just and inverted tin roof, sloped to a small reservoir or tub at one end and collects dew and rainfall.
Quail, Pheasant, Prairie chickens don't need drinking water to survive but dang sure drink water when available . Thats why you usually find them within a quarter mile of a drink.

Rough sketch of water,feeding station and safe house for quail