THE PRETEND KEEPER

[Bo Diddley]

Another big lovely dog fox for me tonight
Just on his way to a partridge pen - i though he had done me as he was on the wrong side of the hedge - but history tells me they always come this side eventually and that he did !

A good night to be out, black with a breeze in Norfolk, well done. I'm keeping my powder dry for tomorrow night and Saturday... enjoying a small Bacardi & Coke at the minute

 

[jall55]

A good night to be out, black with a breeze in Norfolk, well done. I'm keeping my powder dry for tomorrow night and Saturday... enjoying a small Bacardi & Coke at the minute

Rain up here

 

[jall55]

Got 3 rats on way out too

 

[Bo Diddley]

Got 3 rats on way out too

Good work sir, I'm going to heave the Cockers off my lap and take myself off to bed, fingers are crossed that I manage to knobble another one over the weekend... I shall dream of keeping the chooks safe

 

[bumpy22]

Guilty

 

[stavross]

View attachment 380387
Guilty

Sentenced to death

 

[bumpy22]

Birds are looking great. Taking feed well now. Just losses in one pen to buzzard

 

[stavross]

Back from London yesterday and I needed to check my chickens, I headed up there late afternoon, on my way I got a call from the shoot captain ( the boss ) saying he was there and would wait for me to arrive anyway, when I got there he had a smile on his face and said he was pleased with the condition of the birds and the pens, we waited and until around 6:30 as this is when they start heading back, it wasn’t long before they had doubled in numbers and looking through the thermal showed him just how many were in and around the pen which showed that all that walking in had paid off

After he buggered off I went for a look about, it was lovely to be back in surroundings where I feel at home, my intention was to have a look for a fox, but after seeing a few deer my attention shifted to them, it was all doe’s to begin with until the last half hour of light when I came across a young buck, 10 minutes later it presented a clear 80 yard shot, just as it started to tip it down, the shot was good and the beast reared up and made for the wood, I gave it a minute or two before I went to look for it. As the light had dropped and the cloud had come in with the rain it was dark in the wood, it took me about 10 minutes to find the deer aided by the thermal, it had made about 45 yards and down into a gutter, only a young lad but my god he took some dragging out that gutter and getting him back to the farm, from shooting the beast to getting it back to the farm took me about an hour and a half, in hindsight I should of left it where it was and went and got the quad, one thing we learned from this is that I’m not as young and fit as I once was

 

[Bo Diddley]

I've just got back from the morning feed shift, ours are looking good, starting to spread out a bit, so I'm doing some "dogging in".
The highlight for me this morning was seeing a brood of pheasant chicks, probably two weeks old, fingers are crossed that we have an Indian Summer and all these late hatches do ok, I've no idea how many but I counted 5, they were almost under the wheels of the Gator in the nettles.

 

[bumpy22]

Mine are doing great really going through the feed. Nothing seems to be going too far from pen . The buzzard attacks seem to be slowing up.
On a side note shot 21st fox in 3 weeks seems to be going crazy with them this year. Luckily not so many off my shoot but everywhere else

 

[Phil fox man]

Just sat near the pens watching a bird with a leaf in it's beak being chased for it when there's hundreds on the floor.
I put bushels of ferns in to keep them occupied,it keeps them busy.
Has anyone had any problems with pellets this year? I've had to make some pan feeder's as the pellets are a bit dusty and clog up the springers.

 

[Cheviot]

Just sat near the pens watching a bird with a leaf in it's beak being chased for it when there's hundreds on the floor.
I put bushels of ferns in to keep them occupied,it keeps them busy.
Has anyone had any problems with pellets this year? I've had to make some pan feeder's as the pellets are a bit dusty and clog up the springers.View attachment 380938View attachment 380939

Do the pellets smell off ? Could be Meal mites put some of the dust on your hand luck closely see if it moves

 

[Phil fox man]

Do the pellets smell off ? Could be Meal mites put some of the dust on your hand luck closely see if it moves

Hi.
It doesn't smell off, I'll check for meal mites when I go down later,thanks.
Phil.

 

[Smellydog]

Mine are doing great really going through the feed. Nothing seems to be going too far from pen . The buzzard attacks seem to be slowing up.
On a side note shot 21st fox in 3 weeks seems to be going crazy with them this year. Luckily not so many off my shoot but everywhere else View attachment 380936View attachment 380937

Bloody hell I first thought that was a fox orgy scene.

 

[jall55]

Just sat near the pens watching a bird with a leaf in it's beak being chased for it when there's hundreds on the floor.
I put bushels of ferns in to keep them occupied,it keeps them busy.
Has anyone had any problems with pellets this year? I've had to make some pan feeder's as the pellets are a bit dusty and clog up the springers.View attachment 380938View attachment 380939

Ours were shocking last year but very very good this year with Oakwood as our new supplier

 

[Phil fox man]

Ours were shocking last year but very very good this year with Oakwood as our new supplier

Massey feeds supplied them, should have taken them back really.the pan feeder's worked through.made from plastic drain pipe and a freybentos tin.

 

[Phil fox man]

I just knocked them up with what I had to hand

 

[jall55]

Have a lovely day today at a few pigeon on some standing wheat
None would decoy but managed 70
Out tonight for a fox but no show and its dropped cold so off home !

 

[stavross]

Just sat near the pens watching a bird with a leaf in it's beak being chased for it when there's hundreds on the floor.
I put bushels of ferns in to keep them occupied,it keeps them busy.
Has anyone had any problems with pellets this year? I've had to make some pan feeder's as the pellets are a bit dusty and clog up the springers.View attachment 380938View attachment 380939

I used to use topgun feed that were a bit dusty but a couple of years ago it turned up and it was more powder than pellet, so swapped to Aone ( Devenish feed ) and it’s spot on

On another note, bloody forestry have decided to start ripping timber out of some of my drives and they are planning to go in around my main pen, there was always an agreement that they wouldn’t go in after August, but the new boss seems to do what he wants, I had a meeting with him and let’s just say we didn’t get off on a good footing

 

[Smellydog]

I used to use topgun feed that were a bit dusty but a couple of years ago it turned up and it was more powder than pellet, so swapped to Aone ( Devenish feed ) and it’s spot on

On another note, bloody forestry have decided to start ripping timber out of some of my drives and they are planning to go in around my main pen, there was always an agreement that they wouldn’t go in after August, but the new boss seems to do what he wants, I had a meeting with him and let’s just say we didn’t get off on a good footing View attachment 381112

Remember Stav, in the UK you are never much longer than two minutes away from the next idiot!