2130martin
Well-Known Member
No,our feeders are just static,some quills and some barrels with springs...
Pheasant feeder positioning
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No,our feeders are just static,some quills and some barrels with springs...
2130martin
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the replies,just gotta convince the others that my theory was right all along,SIMPLES!!!
Thanks for the replies,just gotta convince the others that my theory was right all along,SIMPLES!!!
Ha ha ha
Its exactly the same on our shoot !
Do the drives and the birds are on the boundaries !!
RED-DOT
Well-Known Member
Feed away from the pen and drive your birds towards it. A straightish line of feeders along a fed straw ride hold birds well and simplifies the beating work. Obviously no feeders past any flushing fence or net. Taps and claps ONLY from the beaters with no shouting or loud radios. Beat slowly and let the dogs do the work.
I whistle feed my birds every day, There are always a few early birds leaving as I get there. They have filled up on the feeders and are heading off.
If the feeder is empty ,they hang about waiting for me to arrive to whistle and feed.(which I don't do on a shoot day ). I think it puts a few more birds in the drive when I need them.
Plus 1 also site them from where they can be best driven towards the guns, as said if your land isn't that big stay away from the boundaries, interesting note I have seen a lot of birds walking towards the warmth of the rising sun after a cold rainy night, which has left them wet, so start your dogging in from the eastern boundary.
Very best, WB
Crosshair243
Well-Known Member
It's a very personal thing how people feed their birds so it is important that you believe in what you do as that is half the battle 
Regardless of how they feed, most people's returns are in the same ballpark and stay very similar over time despite massive fluctuations in annual feed consumption/wild food/quality of cover plots etc
This gives you a clue as to the relevance of the particular system chosen IMO.
HABITAT is where it's at. Get that right and the feeding method becomes irrelevent.
I do have a few rough guides though:
Get the earliest poults you can. You'll use a little more food but returns will be the same and they'll fly better than any 'insert latest marketing fad strain of pheasant here'.
I personally use at least 1 hopper per 50 poults, if not more as well as occassionally spin feeding all the places I know the birds like to frequent.
I only feed straight wheat until the cover plots ripen when I top weekly feed rides of maize, sunflowers and triticale.
I make sure I feed when the birds aren't. I don't want to see my birds. Tame birds always fly worse!
I feed my drives of course but I also feed the release woods quite hard too- this helps keep birds roosting there a little longer.
I hate straw for pheasants! Grass rides and leaf litter are far better alternatives to feed on if you must. If you want perches, small lengths of post and rail made from left over timber do the same job.
Don't be afraid of boundaries- everybody has them! If it's a good drive- feed it. It won't make a jot of difference as to whether they find next door or not.
Hungry birds are never going to fly their best. By keeping a constant, ample supply of good quality food available, birds will lay down the fat they need to stay well conditioned which helps with spells of bad weather and means they fly high and fast from day one. There are no thin weedy sprinters!!
Regardless of how they feed, most people's returns are in the same ballpark and stay very similar over time despite massive fluctuations in annual feed consumption/wild food/quality of cover plots etc
This gives you a clue as to the relevance of the particular system chosen IMO.
HABITAT is where it's at. Get that right and the feeding method becomes irrelevent.
I do have a few rough guides though:
Get the earliest poults you can. You'll use a little more food but returns will be the same and they'll fly better than any 'insert latest marketing fad strain of pheasant here'.
I personally use at least 1 hopper per 50 poults, if not more as well as occassionally spin feeding all the places I know the birds like to frequent.
I only feed straight wheat until the cover plots ripen when I top weekly feed rides of maize, sunflowers and triticale.
I make sure I feed when the birds aren't. I don't want to see my birds. Tame birds always fly worse!
I feed my drives of course but I also feed the release woods quite hard too- this helps keep birds roosting there a little longer.
I hate straw for pheasants! Grass rides and leaf litter are far better alternatives to feed on if you must. If you want perches, small lengths of post and rail made from left over timber do the same job.
Don't be afraid of boundaries- everybody has them! If it's a good drive- feed it. It won't make a jot of difference as to whether they find next door or not.
Hungry birds are never going to fly their best. By keeping a constant, ample supply of good quality food available, birds will lay down the fat they need to stay well conditioned which helps with spells of bad weather and means they fly high and fast from day one. There are no thin weedy sprinters!!
Cut a ride down any Game covers you have (not straight) roll out a couple of big bales and feed regularly. Small cut outs off the ride with hopper in them.
Don't forget the main requirement to hold birds is water near food. Cut plastic 5 gallon in half,upend a full 5 gallon in it,it lasts a while.
It all works fine where I am,do not feed on the boundaries whatever you do.
Don't forget the main requirement to hold birds is water near food. Cut plastic 5 gallon in half,upend a full 5 gallon in it,it lasts a while.
It all works fine where I am,do not feed on the boundaries whatever you do.
I forgot to mention in the previous post that an auto feeder can be very useful, if a bit expensive. Buy one that can be set to feed twice a day and which emits a noise before feeding. I have seen the birds turn up half an hour in advance of the feed times and still more arrive when the 'feed noise' is emitted. Auto feeders are useful for ducks as well, when placed in the shallows on long legs. I think they cost a bout £70 a unit and need to be fitted to a barrel (food store) and legs. If you feed kibbled maize for pheasants - the effect can be very satisfying. The barrel needs to big enough to store a wekk or mores feed and yet still be capable of being charged from the back of a quad with the 25 kg sack.
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