I've tried to hunt prairie chickens with springer spaniels while pheasant hunting in Kansas. Labrador retrievers in South Dakota. In my experience, however, chicken heaven is eastern Nebraska's sandhill country. It produces an abundance of chickens, is too steep and dry to fall prey to the plow and looks and sounds like it did to the first settlers. Pheasants hold tighter as it gets colder.
Chickens get spookier.
They sit tightest when it's hottest. Of course, that's also when scenting conditions are at their worst. This calls for an extremely cautious, very cooperative dog that always keeps within sight and is willing to lock on point at the suspicion of chicken scent, often at a distance of 20 to 40 yards. In the hot, dry sand hills, that means a greater number of false points than average. Kelley is sure of quality chicken hunts for only a month, so that's all he books.