Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Fledgling blackbird.
Releasing Partridge - just like comedy - it's all about the timing...
- Thread starter Stalker62
- Start date
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
The dry spell has done for a lot of this years hatch around here, both blackbirds and robins. Their parents chase them off as soon as they can feed themselves and nest again up until approximately the middle of June.
I suspect that the combination of inclement weather and being harassed out of the territories they were born in kills more fledglings every year than magpies and crows combined.
We have dabbled with releasing a small number of partridge on my equally small shoot. Up to 150 but generally about half that. Only cover was mustard, which they do like. It really really was not worth the effort and money and time would be better invested in more pheasants. I really love partridge shooting, but we never got into double figures any season.
Redleg Partridge are not difficult….if you have the acreage, the cover and importantly, next to no foxes. Pheasants can handle foxes on the ground, partridges cannot.. Partridge do best when released in decent numbers, many hundreds if not thousands. 50 or 100 for a bit of variety is generally not fruitful.
I concluded if I wanted to shoot partridge, save my money and buy a peg on keepered ‘partridge’ shoot.
Redleg Partridge are not difficult….if you have the acreage, the cover and importantly, next to no foxes. Pheasants can handle foxes on the ground, partridges cannot.. Partridge do best when released in decent numbers, many hundreds if not thousands. 50 or 100 for a bit of variety is generally not fruitful.
I concluded if I wanted to shoot partridge, save my money and buy a peg on keepered ‘partridge’ shoot.
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
Have to agree cover is key also if your fox control is poor (no wires) the foxes will dial in to the food on the ground.
The owner wanted red legs I said no so he ordered them anyway. A short film about partridges
Lol@mudman
Have you considered this as a second source of income?
View attachment 379870View attachment 379871
I love partridges, I love partridge shooting, I enjoyed releasing partridges. Just on a small DIY shoot I found our returns were dire. It did not help only have five or six standing guns and same number of beaters.
Partridges can be done well, but scale is important. More the better. A few for a bit of variety does not work if you measure success as % returns. Have lots of land, good cover, and put a lot down. And hammer foxes, or they will hammer the partridge on a night.
I would do partridge again, I may have too as it looks like I may lose the wooded part of my shoot to compulsory purchase for green energy infrastructure. But if I do the foxes will have to get serious attention.
Cumbrian 1
Well-Known Member
They were called French partridge after the adoption of red trousers by the French army after 1829, I remember when people would refer to shooting red legs as shooting “Frenchmen”.@stavross
@jall55
@Rhodesianjess
We have this year, for the first time, taken on some Partridges on our wee Shoot.
It is only to add another dimension to the days; and to encourage the birds on the Estate - we have some wild Frenchand English
on the ground.
These Partridge are Spanish.Who knew?
I have had them in their Pen for two weeks today, and was minded to start 'trickling' them out over the next day or so.
Before I open Pandora's box...
View attachment 378415
Any Keepers on here have any hard earned lessons they want to share, or words of wisdom to impart, don't by shy...
View attachment 378414
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
I think the story also included something about their tendency to run away.
Most kind, my spelling is not the best but a memory bank from the time before time....Brilliant Tim.. you have a song for every occasion
Besides it is just common sense.
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
I think "our" Shoots, may be similar in size.
Notwithstanding that it may be a disaster, I have enjoyed the "experiment" and look forward to just seeing what results from their release.
Apropos foxes.
I have never been one for shooting them, and will leave them alone if I can - never claimed I was a good Keeper.
We had too many foxes. A keeper friend told me it was a revelation when he started using thermal, just to watch how foxes would hunt down jugging partridge. He said they will choose a jugging partridge over a jugging pheasant every time. When we put down 120 for a few years, three pens of forty each. Invariably I found one pen would just go off the shoot quickly after release. One pens worth would go mid season, see them for a couple of shoots then no more. The last covey would still be on the ground in March, totally hefted to one field.I think "our" Shoots, may be similar in size.
Notwithstanding that it may be a disaster, I have enjoyed the "experiment" and look forward to just seeing what results from their release.
Apropos foxes.
I have never been one for shooting them, and will leave them alone if I can - never claimed I was a good Keeper.
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
Foxes and badgers are disaster for partridges, reared or wild.
Trickle them out and leave a few cocks in the pen as call birds for as long as you can.
It is nice when you see a covey burst over the guns. Our little shoot is too small for success with these little rockets, we tried, the guns were always a week away from being ready for the action
Trickle them out and leave a few cocks in the pen as call birds for as long as you can.
It is nice when you see a covey burst over the guns. Our little shoot is too small for success with these little rockets, we tried, the guns were always a week away from being ready for the action
This may be relavent or interesting. On my farm in Saskatchewan I have planted about 12 miles of hedgerows over the last 45 years. Mainly to provide cover for wild grays and some sharp tail grouse.
Many years ago a quail biologist from the US told me that excellent habitat held 1 quail per acre. I have about 1200 acres and some years must have at least 1000 grays so I feel I have done well. Foxes and coyotes don’t seem to be a large factor in survival rate’s although I do shoot them.
The grouse have arrived in the last 15 years and might number a 100.
Weather seems the biggest factor in survival. Minus 0 and some snow is not a big problem. It seems that too hot or wet during nesting is the biggest factor. None of this is scientific but based on my observations over 50 years.
Many years ago a quail biologist from the US told me that excellent habitat held 1 quail per acre. I have about 1200 acres and some years must have at least 1000 grays so I feel I have done well. Foxes and coyotes don’t seem to be a large factor in survival rate’s although I do shoot them.
The grouse have arrived in the last 15 years and might number a 100.
Weather seems the biggest factor in survival. Minus 0 and some snow is not a big problem. It seems that too hot or wet during nesting is the biggest factor. None of this is scientific but based on my observations over 50 years.
Yea let them out after a day@stavross
@jall55
@Rhodesianjess
We have this year, for the first time, taken on some Partridges on our wee Shoot.
It is only to add another dimension to the days; and to encourage the birds on the Estate - we have some wild French
These Partridge are Spanish.
I have had them in their Pen for two weeks today, and was minded to start 'trickling' them out over the next day or so.
Before I open Pandora's box...
View attachment 378415
Any Keepers on here have any hard earned lessons they want to share, or words of wisdom to impart, don't by shy...
View attachment 378414
that’s what we do here if the weather lets us. I kept mine in for 2 days this year as it rained for 35 hrs straight the evening of them arriving
. Keep a handful of call birds in the pen and just let the rest out it will be fine and make sure nothing is disturbing them and they won’t go far. I don’t bother with call birds I just let em all out. I dunno how the Spanish will fly??? I’ve heard bad reports about them last year but not had any first hand experience with them.
They fly as a covey and sleep as one... most let them out some have them come in batches every 2 weeks
call birds are kept back like pinioned ducks as call birds.
Stop worrying about them what can go wrong they can only disappear once....
All in one go
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
I think that is a universal thing.
Most of my Guns get caught out with Pheasants, so Lord only knows how they are going to manage with any Partridge that turn up...
I think "our" Shoots, may be similar in size.
Notwithstanding that it may be a disaster, I have enjoyed the "experiment" and look forward to just seeing what results from their release.
Apropos foxes.
I have never been one for shooting them, and will leave them alone if I can - never claimed I was a good Keeper.
That fair play and up to you Stalker - but to run a shoot and be a keeper - the foxes need to get it
You are dragging extra fox pressure into the area and if you think about it thats not fair on the resident wildlife either as well as being no good for reared game
