HotShot! Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Now then all. Hope you all had are are enjoying the last few days pheasant shooting ! Was my last today on our shoot. Anyway this year has been a bit poor for us. We are planting some more game cover or different variates. Please could I have some advice. At one farm we have two woods and that's it. It holds a few pheasants but don't hold it potential ! What you advice. ? The other farm is completely different. No woodland at all ! Rely on game cover but they have wandered a lot this year :L Would you advice putting in more cover or a different sort ? The artichokes worked well but the snow killed em ! We are thinking about chicory ? What's your thoughts ? We need a cover for holding birds really and something for the woods. Oh by the way game cover can be planted round the wood. Thanks very much ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside1000 Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 We used to use the large varieties of kale as holding areas, it's very hardy so won't die back in the frost and snow, but without some dense wooded areas with lots of thick under growth you will always have problems holding them long term, even with good feeders and fox deterrents .if they don't feel safe at roost they will go looking for a place they do, if you roost shoot pigeons in the same areas the regular disturbances will also push the pheasants further out, one way to slow down the drift away is release smaller numbers more often, with fewer birds on the ground at any one time there is less competition for food and roosting spots , so less pressure to wander off, down side is more intensive care of stock holding pens , once you've established a stable population it's just a matter of topping up numbers just prior to shoot days, and ensure as little disturbance as possible between shoot days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pboro shot Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) you need to get out and push them back home try some game puller or similar seems to do the job ,lay straw in the woods or try some deer grazer pro mix has chicory in plus some other good cover to much cover can be as bad as none Edited January 26, 2013 by pboro shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdog Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Scatter or drag as much as possible! This will hold your birds far better than hoppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 We used to use the large varieties of kale as holding areas, it's very hardy so won't die back in the frost and snow, but without some dense wooded areas with lots of thick under growth you will always have problems holding them long term, even with good feeders and fox deterrents .if they don't feel safe at roost they will go looking for a place they do, if you roost shoot pigeons in the same areas the regular disturbances will also push the pheasants further out, one way to slow down the drift away is release smaller numbers more often, with fewer birds on the ground at any one time there is less competition for food and roosting spots , so less pressure to wander off, down side is more intensive care of stock holding pens , once you've established a stable population it's just a matter of topping up numbers just prior to shoot days, and ensure as little disturbance as possible between shoot days. trickle releasing is against pretty much every code of conduct in the book so I wouldn't even consider it. In this case woodland may be the answer pheasants roost and without anywhere to roost they will wander. Cover crops have been generally poor this year so you may find next year is better but generally you need to work on habitat and after that maintain food and water and keep disturbance down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalfordninja33 Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 We had a similar problem in one of our woods, it had very little cover in the bottom and was very cold, Pheasants had vacated it by December each year. 2 years ago we cut down a number of the small trees around patches of brambles and it made a big difference to the cover, we paid the old branches over the brambles which then grew up through it. Its now much warmer and hold birds right through the season. We now cut down areas of nut hazel in all our woods to let the light in an enourage the growth of cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Put some large bales as a wind break along the western side of your cover crops. Bit pricey with the current price of straw etc but sometimes bales can be 're cycled' if you are lucky, i.e ex beet clamp. Also Pheasants and Partridge love to stand on the bales and watch the world go by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elby Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Where do the birds roost on the land with no woods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotShot! Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 yeh scolpax we can get a few bales easy. A few damp ones in the shed I can grab lol. @Elby - Single trees here and there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elby Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 How many birds are roosting in these few trees and what type of tree are they? Sorry for all the questions but if these trees are exposed to the elements and don't give much shelter then your birds won't hang around. It's been a very hard year for most shoots with mild & wet weather but seems impossible for you without woodland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Pheasants will jug quite happily on the ground, especially in wet boggy areas. Not the best thing for them if there are foxes around of course. I was down in Norfolk once and took my dog for a walk down a green lane in teh dark. A lot of pheasants were roosting on top of square cut thorn hedges, never seen that before anywhere else. Plenty in hedge row trees and bushes but never on the flat top of a cut hedge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elby Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Yes they will unless it gets cold in which case they'll look for a warm wood. Even if there isn't one for a long way it still means they have wandered off your ground and if the ground they have found has food on there's no reason for them to return. Maybe putting partridge on the farm with no woodland would be a better bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotShot! Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 yeh a lot go in hedge roes and there is an overgrown canal that is warm where they often go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 We have used chickory for some years, 4-5 year life, no feed value and you may need to put flushing rides into it. Drill it in wide rows. I have 2 plots that have just done their third season, still over 6 feet tall and standing well. Ideal alongside a wood, just needs feeding hard. I like it, not as good as kale agreed but that is a dreadful crop to try and establish, fly, slugs, rabbits, pigeons, drought, rot, lack of nitrogen and/or lime will all kill the crop. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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