Putting down birds

[adam f]

I shoot over a farm next door to where I live. It's 300 acres, mixed flat and hills with a few valleys. It has a couple of very small copices, the usual hedgerows. 90% of the farm is pasture for cows. They have about 30-50 acres for maize, wheat and rape. The maize stands until about Oct.

 

We dont have any shoots for a good 5 miles around, but the farm holds a few pheasants each year - at a guess maybe 50 at best when the crops are standing - but now when the farm is bare - I'd guess at alot less than that.

 

My question - is it worth putting a few birds down with some feeders next year to try and substitute the wild / residents birds and boost the shooting a bit?

 

I dont want to shoot hundreds, just the odd brace once a week or so. It's only me and the odd guest that shoots.

[Pheasant Feeder]

Depends how big the copices are? Would they be big enough for a release pen? Why not try putting feeders in good spots, and try asking the farmer if he could leave a small amount of maize till February. Possibly try hand broadcasting mustard seed into wheat a couple of weeks before its harvested if he is leaving stubble over winter.

 

If you have done none of the above yet start with a couple of feeders in the copices, and if the hedgerows are likely to provide some cover there too.

 

I'm not struck on releasing birds without a pen, if the copices are not big enough what about a couple of partridge pens?

 

Birds need Food, Water, Grit and Cover provide it all and they'll stay.

 

P.s dont shoot the same area everyweek, once a fortnight is frequent enough.

[Alycidon]

You could put a few ex layers down, they would not need pens but without any decent cover and food they will soon disappear, you don't mention foxes, these also need keeping on top of. Partridges might me a better option, release July -August and start shooting in Sept when they are still around. A few small depressions in the ground and they should go well, your grassland with big hedges will also be good for them, far better than arable. rape can hold partidges and pheasants well in early season.

 

A