tealer

I don't think there are enough jays through-out the country to be on the vermin list and the damage they do is minimal now considering most game birds are released at 6-7 weeks old, just my view

Patients is sometimes key for better shooting, you could go every day and get a few or better wait till the crop is cut and employ a strategic feed to an area of the field which is the safest for all concerned, you could pop a few decoys down to help them find it but don't shoot. feed every night until you feel they are confident then go shooting. P.s i wont be dragged into any arguments concerning this advice. Take it or leave it

If you are to set up now do so only on laid areas but the farmer may not thank you for treading his crops to pick birds, personally i would just keep them off until the crop is cut then set up and enjoy

If the pigeon are hammering the barley then you must remember why your there ,do justice to the crop and the farmer by doing your job, if only taking the odd shot and keeping them away until the crop is cut, then go enjoy a better set up and hopefully with it better sport for you. Sport comes second to crop protection at all times

make sure your fence is 24 v, a couple of cheap radio's left on from 9 ish till early morn should help.

Well done for sorting the problem out but .........Quote'The fox had managed to jump the electric fence & dig under the wire to our small holding/laying pen, the netted roof gave the birds no chance no.gif' I can't understand that, how far was your electric fence from your pen, it should be around a foot out and 10 to 12 inches high, this makes landing in between and digging impossible without being electrocuted' also if you had buried the mesh and pegged it down a foot out, a digging fox will only find more mesh underground in the event of electric fence failure. Don't take this post the wrong way as a very determined fox will get almost anywhere but as you are well aware of prevention is much better than cure and with these safety measures in place with a high enough fence (7feet at least) with a good overhang, 99% if these incidences will be avoided. A few snares around the pen will also pick up a circling fox just outside the electric fence. A good pen is hard work and costly but very rewarding to build and will save more money in the long term. I have never been a fan of roofed pens and much prefer to get them up to roost as soon as poss, a series of horizontal post from 18 inches right up into the branches works well for this by getting them up into the trees quickly preventing jugging. Hopefully make sure the pen is large enough and well sighted, so the roosting trees are far enough away from the fence ideally. just my thoughts..

I feel the lack of knowledge is yours, most keepers are well aware of the capabilities of Tawnys, the signs are decapitation or puncture wounds to the head, I have seen several killed in a night possibly by more than one Owl and none of them eaten, maybe they mistake the moveing heads for smaller birds, Why i'm not sure but they often take smaller birds this way at roost. The Fox However is the more common culprit and always leaves obvious tell tale half burried signs and aromers behind. Problem solved anyway, thats the main thing.

No offence, but i for one have never seen a buzzard take any of my Pheasants, not even attempt one. I have even tried them as Falconry birds but even then they are hard work to catch anything with. A Owl, spar or gos on the other hand, thats a different matter

I wouldn't clip pheasants wings, don't forget with out them they are left open to predators more on the ground, sooner they can roost the better, if your loosing birds quickly ***** your feeding , to much too quickly springs to mind. As for Ducks, Its handy to clip a few duck so they remain on the pond as callers. the others who fly will return with newly made friends, just make sure they feed on yours

Tawny's are renowned for taking heads off pheasants. A fox will usually half bury a few and urinate on them and are obvious.they will always return if the site is left undisturbed. The puncture wounds could be the back talon of a Tawny who generally go for the head at roost often cleanly decapitating. it's not badger because your fence would be destroyed on entry. The birds too are big enough to be roosting adequately high enough. Its easier to see if your there but from what i can see a family of Tawny's shouldn't be ruled out yet.

Sorry, what does this mean ?? Its a Heavier shot , If i take it to the extreme where 8s travel rapidly being quicker and lighter with more shot eg (walked up snipe) but loose energy and pattern faster. A 5s has more energy thus stopping power and you don't tend to pepper the rabbit as much with less shot also less likely to fly out of control as fast being heavier,where you loose control of your shot, even one pellet from a fives does the trick. just my opinion henry, Cartridges for courses so to speak but i will often have 6s in the open and a fives in the choke for the longer second shot. There is a difference between all the shot sizes.

Shooting rabbits sitting with a shot gun, i don,t see the point, one shot and the rest have gone. A good rim-fire with low velocities does a much better job at clearing numbers. If it's sport your after, use an air gun or wait till colder weather and employ a ferret or two and take them running at speed, my tip for this kind of shooting is to use 5s as the shot doesn't fly around as much and keeps lower, less shot in the bunny oh and let the rabbit get 25 yrds before thinking of raising your gun and shoot at 30-35 yards. much better sport

Fair point Ice, i suppose that's where the dog comes i handy yet again, if you have one. as for spoiling the crop ,no it won't, not at that stage as there will be many rodents etc thrown out of the combining process .

'actually shot birds whilst flying' and 'Look, wing-shooting with a shot gun is a skill which has to be learned, very few have the natural hand/eye co-ordination required. These two quotes worry me a little, does this mean to say most are shot on the deck, i often take one paddling the other flying,particularly if i need a couple of quick decoys but never all on the deck, thats not pigeon shooting for me, probably best to learn how to shoot before you go

If your lay-ed area is large enough you can ask the farmer if you could erect a small straw bail hide, optimum camouflage with optimum comfort