Crouch valley Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Hi all I have just taken on the keepering on another shoot its only a small family shoot on about 800 acres but it looks like it has loads of potential. The farmer wants to run it as mainly a wild bird shoot as there is lot of wild birds there. So plenty of vermin control coming up im not new to this game as I already keeper a small shoot and my uncle was head keeper on a totally wild bird shoot on a huge estate. but any good tips for a wild bird shoot appreciated as no one no's every thing you can always learn new tricks. I meant to say the farmer ony wants about eight days a year. What covers do you guy's use to hold pheasants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Good luck. I've not keepered on a totally wild shoot, but from what I know and have read, I think that you have hit the nail on the head when you said vermin control. I think that you will need to employ every legal tactic in the book to show results. Remember that Pheasants are very poor mothers, you will therefore need to ensure that every aspect of husbandry is covered to its maximum potential. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Most importantly, do not shoot the hens. Removing all the predators is of no use if you have nothing to lay eggs to start with. Even reared hen pheasants can be good mothers if given the right conditions. Apart from that, zero tolerance on all 'vermin'. Feed right through until the summer. Give a thought to establishing summer brood rearing cover aswell as conventional winter game cover. For the latter you will struggle to find anything better than Kale, if you can get a good crop established you are onto a winner. If the owner wants as many as eight shoots then you may have to consider releasing some cock pheasants to boost numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted December 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Most importantly, do not shoot the hens. Removing all the predators is of no use if you have nothing to lay eggs to start with. Even reared hen pheasants can be good mothers if given the right conditions. Apart from that, zero tolerance on all 'vermin'. Feed right through until the summer. Give a thought to establishing summer brood rearing cover aswell as conventional winter game cover. For the latter you will struggle to find anything better than Kale, if you can get a good crop established you are onto a winner. If the owner wants as many as eight shoots then you may have to consider releasing some cock pheasants to boost numbers. Thanks for both your replies. We intend to put in kale next to our 4 meter grass strips so we will have a nice thick hedge a 4 meter grass strip then a 4 meter strip of kale. i was thinking of puting down about 500 birds to help wild stock and get new blood out there although the place is teeming with wild birds yesterday i counted 30 birds on one small field. Keep your replies coming they all help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasons gold Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Ahhh somebody beat me to it about the kale, Looks like i will be busy building larsen traps soon then mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted December 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Ahhh somebody beat me to it about the kale,Looks like i will be busy building larsen traps soon then mate Yes mate that would be great loads to do. I have loads of snares but i carnt find the little clips that go with them can you get them separately any where Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeh Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Traps trap traps and traps. You want to be running around 100-200 Fenns, with a good few dozen (60+) snares. I'd also recommend you look seriously into rook traps too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasons gold Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 (edited) Traps trap traps and traps. You want to be running around 100-200 Fenns, with a good few dozen (60+) snares. I'd also recommend you look seriously into rook traps too. Larsen traps will take any corvids and i haven't come across any rook specific traps before, what are they like? i have found one and they are just a side entry larsen trap. Edited December 25, 2009 by jasons gold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted December 25, 2009 Report Share Posted December 25, 2009 Larsen traps will take any corvids and i haven't come across any rook specific traps before, what are they like? i have found one and they are just a side entry larsen trap. Ladder traps. They work well where large numbers of corvids need to be trapped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 8 days is a lot of shooting on a small wild bird shoot if you are looking for reasonable bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hi Anser2 although the farmer wants to run it as a wild bird shoot i will be catching up some hens to take the eggs to rear and we will also be puting down about 500 phesants down to get some new blood out there. I think with some good keeping and some help from some friends we should be able to have 7-8 100 bird days as there is a huge population of wild birds. I know i have my work cut out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfisherman Posted January 8, 2010 Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 Was interested to see the topic started as I have come across a shoot which has laid dormant for a few years and although have a bit of experience with this (old man was a keeper and i grew up on pheasant shoots) Im always looking for hints and tips. Think we wont be relying on wild birds.. Got a few pens and expect to put down a few hundred pheasants.. Interesting to see your estimate or 7-800 pheasants from only putting 500 down.. Whats the secret?! Never seen an average like that achieved, even with wild birds to top up the bag. A question to you all, what are the pros and cons of getting ex layers over poults? I will have access to both, i seem to remember ex layers being hit and miss regarding their ability to wander! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2010 Hi flyingfisherman i would never put ex layers down again they are like ramblers no mater how much food you put down they walk off. As for our 7-8 100 bird days we are only putting 500 pheasants but i will probably put about a 1000 partridge down to start things off i will also be catching up some hens and put them in a large pen to get the eggs off them there is a hell of a wild bird population there as well i walked around today and counted 133 phesants that are wild just on a few fields there was 36 on just one small field so with a bit of work we should do allright i think i will posy and let you know how we get on next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfisherman Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 Ah i see.. that makes more sense!! Ive had the nod from the landowners to sort the shoot out and be the keeper.. Which is great, and although im fairly happy with the day to day running of a pheasant shoot driven or rough, im not sure on how to budget. At the moment, the land is there (rent free), the pens are there although they need some work and partridges have never been put down so that will be to sort out.. I have no real idea how to sort out a costing and therefore dont know how much the guns would pay. Obviously the landowners wont be paying (hope to get them to suppy the wheat though). In the syndicate im in now, probably about the same acreage we pay £300 PA and have 10 days shooting a year of pheasants and partridge (were averaging about 40 head so far) so i am using this as my yardstick. Im hoping to have max 8 days shooting and to be honest, looking more at an average of 20 head.. so to keep figures simple, shoot 200 head over the season. Out of this 200, i would expect 75% to be pheasants and partridge. Working on shooting 40% of what you put down, we would need to put down around 400 pheasants/partridges. How much should i expect to pay for poults and pellets. As i say, i dont think wheat will be a problem.. Any more useful tips much appreciated!! Also any books worth reading, i have your shoot by ian McCall and running your own shoot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Vermin control and good habitat are the main keys, fox is the number 1 vermin target. You wont shoot 800 a year without putting down around 2000. Sparrow hawks, Kestrels etc are a major problem here with Partridges, to get a decent return you will need to have partridge days from late September. Leave them till November and the pheasant days and you will probably return under 20%. If the landowner does not want to release then his wild stock will soon be decimated at 100 a day. At the end of the shooting season move feeders out from drives into cock terratories along hedges etc. ideally use smaller barrells as each one will only be feeding a handfull of birds. This helps get the hens into good condition for egg laying and provides a local fast food takeaway adjacent to the nest site when she is sitting. Feed untill the end of June. A Edited January 9, 2010 by Alycidon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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