Hi Steve
that is similar to the ones I got from Agway except it had a large lip over the feed itself, like the brim of hat to keep rain out. I dont know how our bears would treat this one. I am hoping to find some state groups through the DNR who might have ideas for feeders the bears wont destroy. The one that NASCO lists is right at 199 plus shipping.
Glad you responded: have you kept track of how many of your birds survived the winters there ? That is the proof of the value of releasing to me.
I originally started this to just raise enough birds to release some around my place and then it grew to some other sites. As with yours each site has water close by, and I have cover at both my close sites, along with that, whatever feeder I use I want to put it close to cover and hang netting above it to at least discourage owls. If I can get some additional cover plots established there in the sspring so much the better.
Most of those around here who feed deer just put out black grain tubs and they stand by waiting for the grain to be put out. I think I have more neighbors who feed then hunt. Unfortunately one of the feeders feeds bears and onlly lives a mile away.
Jake,
The feeder I use is a Kenco tornado 3 way straight-line feeder. It is a deer feeder. I have been using this one for over 5 years. There are no bears in my area so I don’t have a problem with that. As long as I use mixed grains, whole corn. Milo, black oil sunflower, millet and crack corn, there is no problem of it getting plugged up due to moisture. I wouldn’t recommend using any palletized feed though. The palletized feed seems to expand due to moisture and plug up the shooting trough.
I have made other feeders with the purchase of the spinning motorized timers using my own plastic barrels. You can get the motors and timer controls under $30.00. You can fine these anyplace, Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply, online: The Sportsman Guide.
You can make your own to either hang or tripod.
The birds that are released are all banded. I use to use plastic colored numbered bands. The different colors were for the D.O.B. I have since gone to the Aluminum bands. These are more durable, and these bands have my farm name stamped on it along with a number on it.
All my birds are released on local farms in a 5-mile radius. I usually release excess (100-150) cock birds during the late summer and fall months prior to the opening day pheasant season, which opened November 3rd and will close January 7th 2008. Since all my birds are numbered, I have a record of where they are released, weather conditions during the release and the age of the bird. Since there are no other
Licensed Game Bird Breeders in my area, any birds spotted are mine. Any birds that are without a band could possibility be either
”older seasoned birds,” by checking the spur length that where banded with the plastic color bands, or birds hatched out during the prior spring hen release. There are no
“Wild Pheasants” in the county I live in.
I usually get a good response from people that find my birds at their location either being shot, seen at their bird feeders or by the local hunters either Ruff Grouse hunting, pheasant hunting, deer hunting or rabbit hunting during the fall and winter months.
I have had these birds spotted along the roadside walking in the late afternoon by either the mailman or the UPS driver outside the 5-mile radius and up to a 10-mile radius. Some of these birds have even made it back to my farm and walk around the outside of the pen in the springtime.
Early spring mornings when I walk the property, I can here the cock birds on the other hillside calling in the hens, along with the wild turkeys gobbling. Great spring sounds. That’s when I know the birds I released have made the winters. I love seeing and hearing them myself for my own verification.
I do have sign agreements with all the landowners, granting me access to their property anytime I want to do a survey on the birds. When I do this, I take two GSP with me. These two dogs that I use are the same dogs that I use in the pen to herd the birds for capture. The dogs when used out on the survey, will stalk, point, and then return back to me, giving me an actual sighting. I don’t do any bird surveys during the breeding months for the obvious reason.
My releases on the mature pheasant hens (1 year and up to 2 years old) are during mid-to late spring (April-May) and the early summer months (June and up the first week of July). Since I have the cooperation of the local farmers on the sightings of the cock birds during the spring and how many, this will be the determining factor on the cock to hen ratio in any given area. I will usually put out 15 hens per cock bird sighted in a 20-acre area.
In my pens, my hen to cock ratio is 1 cock per 8 hens.
Since we all know that the hens will lay eggs with or with out the males, the idea behind the 15 released hens to 1 cock is that the cock bird has a better chance on finding the hen. When the hen has mated, she is good for 10 days for the eggs to be fertile. We also have to factor in that 95% of the released hens, will not actually nest. We can only hope that the balance 5% will nest up, come to full term incubation and brood their young.
Another factor in the survival of propagation is the predatory rate factor. In my 5-mile radius release site, the major concern is the Red-Tailed Hawks during the spring and summer months. Although there have been sightings of Cooper’s Hawks, the main problem is the resident over abundance Red-Tailed.
Other predators, but not as much of a problem are the Great Horned Owl, skunk, black snake, and raccoons. Most of the mink, and raccoon problems have been around the barns and chicken areas of the local farms.
My release of 6-8 week old and 8-10 week old birds hasn’t been successful in the past. I have spotted them up to 2 weeks after the release and that was it, even with the abundant cover during the spring and summer months. I haven’t seen any of these released birds come to full maturity. I haven’t even seen any of these birds found dead on the property.
On another note, I forgot to mention, it seems that the Melanistic Mutant Pheasant cock and hens seem to survive longer, it could be the fact that these birds are much darker in color and harder to be found by sight.
Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm