Part time keepers

[keeper101]

Morning all,

 

Just wanting to find out how many of you are part time keepers.

How many birds do you put down? How do you work your shoot jobs around your full time jobs?

I run a small shoot putting down 2500 pheasants and work full time, sometimes wonder how people manage when they have more birds?! From when my birds turn up July/August I'm either at the shoot or at work, and sometimes occasionally sleeping for the first 2 months. How do other people work it in. Do you use just hoppers for feeding or do you spin every day / every couple of days before work?

 

It would just be interesting to see who on here does what!

 

Cheers.

[cocknee]

I have been a part time keeper for 35 years I do it on a much smaller scale than you only releasing 800 to 1000 birds. Once the poults are in the pen I visit at least once a day and if possible 2 or three times depending on where I am working. I have always used hoppers and some hand feeding. All the jobs that need doing prior to the arrival of the poults are done evenings and weekends from March to July. I dog in as often as I can the worst time for me is when the clocks change and it is dark when I get home all the work has to be done on Sundays as I am usually shooting / picking up / beating on a shoot somewhere Saturdays. I also try and fit in a bit of pigeon shooting but this seems to have taken a back seat over the past couple of years there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day / days in the week.

[Gadge-it]

For the Last two years i was looking after 4000 birds and working shifts, it took over my life, I was using hoppers this was the only way people said that they would give you a hand but never happened, so this year I've changed places now looking after 1200 birds, still with hoppers, you can only do what you can do i live about 15 miles away so the cost of diesel, running a jeep

[scutt]

not a keeper more like a looker afterer try me best often wounder if shoot was closer than the 120 miles round trip would it be better or would I now be divorced . Hopper feeding and auto feeders open pop holes from the start on the main pen, roof nets on the smaller release pens to try and keep our buzzards from doing to much damage.And now a caravan ( as I have retired from the rat race )so I can stop overnight for a bit more vermin control that's the plan anyway.

[Gadge-it]

I know that's it's love and not money. But it's what we do to keep the syndicate members happy

[rich1985]

I have been part time keeper for near enough 10 years now on 1000 acres on my door step. I work full time, I run tunnel traps, Larsen cages etc etc and do all my keepering before and or after work. I get my poults the first week of August, I hopper feed all drives etc but I hand feed on straw rides every other day, hand feeding is key. Work and keepering all fit together very nicely for me. I feel I could not preform my keepering if I lived miles away and wasn't there to hammer the vermin by running traps and snares etc that need checking at least once a day. I would rather not bother than do a half hearted job. There are a lot of people out there that call them selves keepers when all they do is put some hoppers out in October and take them in in February and control no vermin or do nothin else all year, I have one of these "keepers" on my boundary, he serves no purpose to the conservation of wild game and song birds and habitat improvement and this is what ikeepering is all about.

[mr baddoo]

Aye

Sorry aye a agree with u rich

[Novice]

No such thing, you always find you end up putting more time into it than you anticipated 😄

[Grandalf]

I have been a part time keeper for 35 years I do it on a much smaller scale than you only releasing 800 to 1000 birds. Once the poults are in the pen I visit at least once a day and if possible 2 or three times depending on where I am working. I have always used hoppers and some hand feeding. All the jobs that need doing prior to the arrival of the poults are done evenings and weekends from March to July. I dog in as often as I can the worst time for me is when the clocks change and it is dark when I get home all the work has to be done on Sundays as I am usually shooting / picking up / beating on a shoot somewhere Saturdays. I also try and fit in a bit of pigeon shooting but this seems to have taken a back seat over the past couple of years there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day / days in the week.

This post sums up my last 30 years too.

Easier now I'm retired.

It is a labour of love with fantastic rewards and job satisfaction.

[kennett]

And me! Although that first drive, on the first day when birds FINALLY start to break cover makes it all worth while.

[cocknee]

And me! Although that first drive, on the first day when birds FINALLY start to break cover makes it all worth while.

That is if you have everything right, beaters and dogs under control flaggers and stops in the right places then there are still things that can go wrong. But as Kennett so rightly says there is no better sound than the constant banging from the gun line when the birds begin to flush in a controlled manner and at the end of the drive when the guns compliment you on a job well done, all the hard work and time you have put in is worthwhile and I for one will continue to do so for as long as I am fit enough even though I moan about it to anyone that will listen at this time of year.