THE PRETEND KEEPER

[stavross]

Well the birds are in, I was up at 3:45 this morning, got to the shoot just before 5 ( still, just about dark ) had a walk around the fields and a little squeak, didn’t see any foxes but that’s definitely the time to be out if your looking for a deer up there, anyway, up to the forestry pen to repair the water pipe and wait for the birds and shoot members to arrive, I’ve split them 50/50, 500 in each pen, we released them under the cover but they were very flighty, so we left them too it for half an hour or so before removing the crates, the shoot captain is going to go up late afternoon today to check them and walk any in that are outside the pen, then I’ll start my routine from tomorrow morning, they do look good strong poults, which is generally the case with our supplier, the boss man himself brought them this morning and invited me up to his place to have a look around, which I’ll definitely do, this may of just been a ploy to get me to take him the rest of the money up in cash

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Been many a year since I've seen wooden game crates, bloody nightmare things to clean the power washer lifts splinters out of them plus wet straw sticks to the slats, don't collapse to stack away.
Fortunately for you, not your problem best of luck with your birds, you might even get a blink of warm dry weather to settle them in.

 

[stavross]

Been many a year since I've seen wooden game crates, bloody nightmare things to clean the power washer lifts splinters out of them plus wet straw sticks to the slats, don't collapse to stack away.
Fortunately for you, not your problem best of luck with your birds, you might even get a blink of warm dry weather to settle them in.

Cheers mate, yeah, he’s one of the last of the old boys, very knowledgeable and everything is done how it used to be done, he was having a right grumble when I met him at 6 this morning about how he had 3000 partridges to crate up and deliver this afternoon and 2000 pheasants after that and there’s no money in the game and his backs knackered I almost offered to go and help ( almost )

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Could be my twin brother then, miserable old git but loses less than 5 per cent from egg to poult

 

[stavross]

Could be my twin brother then, miserable old git but loses less than 5 per cent from egg to poult

That sounds like him, he’s slowing down now and is knocking the commercials he supplies on the head next season due to having to constantly chase them for money and in his words “ keepers on commercials aren’t keepers any more, they are just lazy tw*ts that feed birds and moan about it “ I think my mate who works on one will have a different opinion

 

[stavross]

So I was up early ( ish ) this morning, went and got the bike out, loaded with feed and headed off to Gordon’s pen, now last night when the shoot captain was up he rang me and said there was a lot of birds outside the pen and they were very flighty, he’d walked them in as best he could, when I got there they seemed nice and quiet with only half a dozen I could see around the pen, checking the feeders they had emptied 2 of the hat feeders, I found one dead in the pen, nothing to worry about, just looked like the stress of the move may of been a bit too much for it
Off now to forestry pen, again the captain said there was a lot outside the pen, when I approached the gate I could see quite a few in the pen, looking to the left I could see a bunch outside the pen, so I opened the gate and before I fed I walked around the pen, I walked in well over 100 birds, then filled the feeders, again 2 were empty in this pen, I gave it one more walk round before leaving them to settle. I’m not overly concerned about birds being outside the pen as the tend to hang around the wire and it will not be long before I lift the wire and allow them to come and go as they please because it doesn’t take long for 500 birds to paddle up a pen

 

[jall55]

This is when its fully loaded Stav hahahahah

 

[David.evans]

I think jall you need a jcb mate

 

[jall55]

I think jall you need a jcb mate

All bases covered David !

 

[David.evans]

I’ll swap ya a days operating the 360 , for a day on the pigeon
ive the blue card

 

[stavross]

Up again tonight and with the low cloud cover they were all settling down for the night, only 2 birds outside of forestry pen which made their way back into the pen, there was still quite a few the wrong side of the wire at the back of Gordon’s pen but they were heading back around the pen and a few were off ground so all in all I’m happy with them ( for now )

 

[Smellydog]

Bad storm blowing through tonight. Might not be to bad for you guys the wrong side of the Pennines though.

 

[stavross]

It still looks like they are going to get a wetting

 

[Foxyboy43]

It still looks like they are going to get a wetting

Absolutely honking in NI and torrential rain to continue through the night. If the rain doesn’t kill our poults the falling branches/trees will!
Tell me it’s August……

 

[Smellydog]

Absolutely honking in NI and torrential rain to continue through the night. If the rain doesn’t kill our poults the falling branches/trees will!
Tell me it’s August……

I was out last night and I was cold. Had to don an extra coat and gloves....!

 

[potshotpat]

Absolutely honking in NI and torrential rain to continue through the night. If the rain doesn’t kill our poults the falling branches/trees will!
Tell me it’s August……

Tell me it's August, just put the dogs up and said the my wife it's more like October /November out here . Crazy

 

[jall55]

I’ll swap ya a days operating the 360 , for a day on the pigeon
ive the blue card

Hahahahah
Yeah i love using it

Should have seen the Mrs face when i just randomly announced i had bought a digger and that turned up hahahah

First thing i did with it was dig a hole and then backed the disco into the hole ! Luckily it was the day the birds were arriving so a bit of grunt - a few straps and shackles and it was out hahahah

 

[jall55]

Bad storm blowing through tonight. Might not be to bad for you guys the wrong side of the Pennines though.

I have just got in - am im wet wet wet !

 

[jall55]

Tell me it's August, just put the dogs up and said the my wife it's more like October /November out here . Crazy

Its very very warm out over here - but lashing it down - almost like a european storm

 

[Smellydog]

Its very very warm out over here - but lashing it down - almost like a european storm

We are err.... European. Connected to Africa even, via dinghy.