Wyoming company cancels egg gather for sage grouse breeding

A company that breeds wild game birds has decided not to collect sage grouse eggs this year for an attempt to breed the species in captivity.

Diamond Wings Upland Game Birds told the Wyoming Game and Fish Department about the change in plans last week.

The Powell-area company is the only one in Wyoming certified to breed sage grouse but hasn’t bred any for the state yet. Company owner Diemer True tells the Powell Tribune a tight schedule between getting certified and needing to collect 250 eggs from the wild was the reason for his decision.

Sage grouse are ground-dwelling, chicken-sized birds whose numbers have declined substantially in recent decades.

Nobody has succeeded yet in significantly boosting populations of wild sage grouse by breeding the birds in captivity.