Wild Life Management/Habitat Restoration/Food plots

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

Wild Life Management/Habitat Restoration/Food plots

Although it seems that the majority of the members here are into raising game birds as there main interest, how many of you own land suiteable for wild life habitat?

How many of you do some sort of wild life management, habitat restoration and plant food plots?

What type of equipment do you use for these tasks?

What do you plant, and do you leave it there for the wild life or do you harvest the crops?

Also are you aware that (in some states) you can get a real estate property tax reduction on planting certain crops if you change from residential to agriculture?

Since I raise birds for sale and propagation, my farm consists mainly of grains in my food plots. I plant Sorghum, Milo and millet, either brown top or pearl. The deer seem to like this selection of crop as well as the over abundance of Dove that have taken up residency. I have 5 food plots scattered within my 15 acres.

I do not harvest any of the crops. All this is left standing until early May and then I cut it down and start the process over.

The equipment that I use is a PlotMaster and I also use the Polaris Ranger 4x4 as my horse.

Since I only have about 5 acres in food plots, I do get $55.00 a year off on my real estate property tax as been classified as AG.

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[CharlieHorse]

I have a 400 acre farm that hasn't been used as a working farm for about 30 years. It is surrounded by thousands of acres of the same, some just recently not being farmed and a lot of wooded areas too. A big mixture of everything basically. The farm had not been touched until I started cleaning it back up about 6 years ago, roads were blocked with trees etc., a real mess. It has 1 pond, 1 creek running thru the middle and 4 other creeks that start on the property.

I have a 46hp 1959 Ford 860 and a 50hp 4wd Kubota tractor at my disposal and a Yamaha Grizzly 660. I keep the fields mowed in strips and create brush piles along paths and mowed areas when cutting firewood.

I usually disk a few acres and broadcast various seeds. Plant corn and millet in strips and leave it until spring.

I distribute and release birds to friends and families land also. I have gotten reports of sightings throughout the summer and one report of chicks with a adult quail trying to get up a steep creek bank in one area that I had released in the spring.

I usually try to release in areas with large rabbit populations. Alot of rabbits usually means that there isn't a lot of predators in the area. Or it could have a negative effect on the quail, as the rabbits may attract predators to the area? It's a gamble no matter what.

A friend that deer hunts with me calls it a "bird sanctuary". He says that he has never seen such a diverse population of birds in the wild, and I would have to agree. The "Pileated Woodpeckers" are everywhere on this property along with wild turkey, owls, hawks, that are in abundance and many, many other birds including grouse. I hear coyotes upon occasion and have seen only one.

[Reeves]

When done, I may have a place much like trailboss, except in a much more northern climate.

It takes around 40 seconds for a vent pipe to fall out of
  the sky after a furnace explodes.

I'd like to hear that story !

[CharlieHorse]

I'd like to hear that story !

LOL!  I was looking for blood!   

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

I have a 400 acre farm that hasn't been used as a working farm for about 30 years. It is surrounded by thousands of acres of the same, some just recently not being farmed and a lot of wooded areas too. A big mixture of everything basically. The farm had not been touched until I started cleaning it back up about 6 years ago, roads were blocked with trees etc., a real mess. It has 1 pond, 1 creek running thru the middle and 4 other creeks that start on the property.

I have a 46hp 1959 Ford 860 and a 50hp 4wd Kubota tractor at my disposal and a Yamaha Grizzly 660. I keep the fields mowed in strips and create brush piles along paths and mowed areas when cutting firewood.

I usually disk a few acres and broadcast various seeds. Plant corn and millet in strips and leave it until spring.

I distribute and release birds to friends and families land also. I have gotten reports of sightings throughout the summer and one report of chicks with a adult quail trying to get up a steep creek bank in one area that I had released in the spring.

I usually try to release in areas with large rabbit populations. Alot of rabbits usually means that there isn't a lot of predators in the area. Or it could have a negative effect on the quail, as the rabbits may attract predators to the area? It's a gamble no matter what.

A friend that deer hunts with me calls it a "bird sanctuary". He says that he has never seen such a diverse population of birds in the wild, and I would have to agree. The "Pileated Woodpeckers" are everywhere on this property along with wild turkey, owls, hawks, that are in abundance and many, many other birds including grouse. I hear coyotes upon occasion and have seen only one.

Sounds like you have a nice piece of real estate there pal.....

Oh, by the way does OH require NPIP an AI along with New castle testing?

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[CharlieHorse]

Thanks. It is alot of work, just to be playing!!   


Steve,  That may depend on what a person is doing with the birds. I have the "non-commercial propagating license" for birds of my own use.  The "commercial license" I know opens up more sections of the Ohio Revised Code that apply. I'll see if I can locate some of the details, I have read them before, but didn't pay much attention as it did not apply to me and might as well been reading Cherokee.

With my license, I have never recieved any documents requiring me to do anything special other than I am required to keep a log of how I acquired the birds, what I did with them, and how many I have on hand at any given time, and no one has ever asked for those either. Like I said, I've never seen anybody. The only time I talked to anyone was when I was at the Division of Wildlife inquiring about the license and they handed me the paperwork to submit. Other than that, I just send the state my $$. They like $$!

I know WV probably requires a person to be able to fly themselves to have a bird, but you can drive ATV's up and down the road......no problem!.....Yet dune buggies are not permitted! LOL!  I get looked at pretty hard by the police whenever I drive mine over around Parkersburg, until they see the Ohio tag and they leave me alone. I know that you better not be on your side of the river with "off-road" diesel in your pickup either. I didn't know they would randomly stop and check a pickup truck, cost a friend of mine from Ohio $1000! (Not that I would ever do such a thing).  It's funny how WV permits some questionable things to go on and then get totally rediculous on other things. My daughters boyfriend lives in Parkersburg and He's told me what it takes to be permitted to own and drive a vehicle over there......I about flipped! Maybe other states are that way too, I just see it because I'm so close to WV. Or maybe we can just get away with anything here in the Appalachian Foothills?   LOL!

[Redhorse]

Maybe someday I'll have some property to manage. Right now I only have an acre, but half of it is wooded, and I build brush piles, tend trails, etc... on the adjacent 7 acres. I have a degree in Fish and Wildlife management, and try to use that knowledge to the benefit of anyone who lets me hunt or cut firewood on their land. So far, I'm a "freelance" wildlife manager....who was that masked man?