foxes getting pheasant poults off roost

TURNBOLT

Well-Known Member
Always thought that poults found dead in the morning had been killed by fox as they came down from roost.Not always so.Friend with night sight watched a vixen run around and around the base of a tree until poults dropped out of tree,it killed 6 before he shot it.
 
This happened to mine 12 days ago....caught fox on camera at 1.30 am running around pen,following morning at first
light picked up 14 dead poults that were stone cold...couldn't understand it as I haven't had any birds out of the pen yet
until I checked camera. Been up there every morning since before they come off roost and so far ok.
The fox has not been back yet which I find strange.
 
i dont understand this why does the poult fall out of the tree? does it get spooked by the fox flutter down and try and do a runner? or just get dizzy watching it :)
 
Although I've never experienced this myself I have certainly heard of other keepers that have. I also seem to remember seeing a very old cartoon where the fox had run in circles and I think the poults got dizzy and dropped out of the tree!
 
Although I've never experienced this myself I have certainly heard of other keepers that have. I also seem to remember seeing a very old cartoon where the fox had run in circles and I think the poults got dizzy and dropped out of the tree!

Seen the same cartoon many years ago but hadn't realised it was based on a true story,most cartoons were though I suppose....
 
Not convinced it's the fox making them dizzy. Try walking amongst trees where adult pheasants are roosting and making a bit of a disturbance. Generally they will spook and take to flight. Probably the poult's flying skills aren't up to much more than getting down to the ground, with fatal results.
 
Not convinced it's the fox making them dizzy. Try walking amongst trees where adult pheasants are roosting and making a bit of a disturbance. Generally they will spook and take to flight. Probably the poult's flying skills aren't up to much more than getting down to the ground, with fatal results.
+1
I genuinely hate pheasants they send normally sane men slightly deranged this time of year
 
+1
I genuinely hate pheasants they send normally sane men slightly deranged this time of year

I resemble that remark. For birds that have reputedly low brain power, I can only marvel at the inventive and wondrous ways they find to put themselves in danger and depart this mortal coil.
 
I resemble that remark. For birds that have reputedly low brain power, I can only marvel at the inventive and wondrous ways they find to put themselves in danger and depart this mortal coil.

That is until shooting season comes around and then they go out of their way to avoid being shot, a laugh or slammed door is enough to have them bombing out the wood.

Must admit i've never heard of anything like that before, althou 1 twilight eve about sept time about 50 flew off the roost and landed just near me about 100m's from pen, next few mornings i had 4-6 headless birds under roosting trees otherwise untouched, been a Tawny.
Think i'm with pedro and others it may work with daft poults but not with adults or els u wouldnae be able to snare/airgun/catty them at night


Can always remember as a kid beating on 1 estate, can still picture it, we were acting as stops below flushing point and pheasants where flushing and flying over these real big douglas fir/cyprus trees (be real 100ft trees) we were al daft on shooting, my mate was swinging his beating stick like a gun on birds as they passed over, the movement must of caught this cock pheasants eye and it flew straight into the tree trunk, broke its neck. My mate was jumping about like a mad thing, that would of been his first 'shot' pheasant
 
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Last year I tried rearing pheasants from eggs..hatched OK in the incubator, but I was amazed at how many different ways they managed to kill themselves ....
 
They don't have the sense to shelter from the rain, they huddle together to keep warm and suffocate one another, they peck each others tails until they are tailless and bleeding, they practice flying into fences, hanging themselves from them as their heads go through, they impale themselves on sticks when landing, they endeavour to escape from pens before they've learnt to go up to roost or even fly well and then wonder why everything eats them. Sometimes, they just decide to die for no apparent reason that I can see!
 
I had 25 poults this year from my only hen, 8 weeks old and a bloody wild ferret got in and killed the lot, nothing left.
Thankfully a nice fella in Ardersier is keeping a few back for me until I can get them collected.
 
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