This question doesn't really have an answer, but the old rule of thumb was 100 yards by 100 yards in the right location with the right habitat was OK for 1000 pheasants. Then it all depends on how long you want to keep them inside and the weather, I know some people that lift the wire after 2 weeks, personally I leave it 4 weeks. As someone has already mentioned you can't really have a pen to big, if the cover is rubbish you really do need to make it as large as possible.
Pheasant pen size
- Thread starter ruger54
- Start date
badbob
Well-Known Member
like it200 metres circumference minimum as a starting point for 200 to 400 birds.
A smaller pen with no cover or roosting will fail.
The most important thing is to have plenty of cover, grass ,bushes, medium trees ,taller trees, sunny spots, dry ground.
The birds need to be happy, secure, able to hide in cover, able to sun themselves , dust, scratch ,peck at green stuff, drink fresh clean water, eat the feed without being hawked.
Get all these things right and you can have a much smaller pen than the theory suggests.
Its essential when you stand one side you cannot see straight through to the other.
If you can, any fox or dog running round the pen will spook them prematurely.
Check that the re-entry holes actually work one way , the right way
You need to keep the birds in the release pen long enough that they recognise it as a safe home.
Also establish feeding dusting stations around the pen.
The more brambles etc they can peck at means they wont turn cannibal. Give them a lettuce a day.
They will fly out and wander but then should return in the evening .
Phil fox man
Well-Known Member
I cutt a bushel of ferns daily per pe it's like crack cocaine to them
Hang bolted lettuce ( time of year in the garden) upside down about 2ft off the ground, they will spend hours jumping up to peck at them.
Always hang several or bullying will happen/ground will become soiled and renew when only the stalk is left hanging.
WB
Always hang several or bullying will happen/ground will become soiled and renew when only the stalk is left hanging.
WB
if your operating on or near an SSSi or SPA. the GWCT "advice" of 1000 birds per hectare of release pen is mandatory for pheasant release pens General licence 43 refers.
this means 250 birds are allowed in a 50m x 50m (square) release pen.
we had to enlarge a lot of our pens last year to meet the requirements.
it seems a bit silly, as has been previously said, the birds are only in there a few weeks to realise where home is and then they are off around the pen woods/rides.
a neighbouring shoot that releases a lot more birds than us, has had to erect mega sized pens to achieve the requirement.
They literally encompass whole woods. Not quite sure how the larger pens protect the SSSi any better than the smaller ones as long as the pen roofs are not netted.
this means 250 birds are allowed in a 50m x 50m (square) release pen.
we had to enlarge a lot of our pens last year to meet the requirements.
it seems a bit silly, as has been previously said, the birds are only in there a few weeks to realise where home is and then they are off around the pen woods/rides.
a neighbouring shoot that releases a lot more birds than us, has had to erect mega sized pens to achieve the requirement.
They literally encompass whole woods. Not quite sure how the larger pens protect the SSSi any better than the smaller ones as long as the pen roofs are not netted.
Similar threads
