Mr pigeon Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Hi guys, I run a small shoot on just over 300 acres with two huge farms surrounding us that do not release any birds. Last year we released a mix of breeds ex layers and managed a return of 33%. The only bum note and only a small one at that was the fact out of the bag each week only 1 or 2 would be cock birds. Say out of 35. This year we have got half and half so hoping to shoot a few more true braces as it were. My questions are: Do hens hold better than cocks? Is 33% a good return for ex layers? Looking forward to the normal fountain of knowledge overflowing once again! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIDES EDGE Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 33% is a good return even more so given your small acerage and normaly you get far more hens than cocks due to the ratio in the laying pens so you are bound to shoot more hens. As to whether cocks hold better than hens I dont think there is any differance during the winter only in spring time when the cocks spread out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Now I am no pheasant man, however I will attest to seeing at least 5 times as many cocks on my bit year round. The only hens we get are the odd wild breeder and Wednesday birds, what's a Wednesday bird you ask? One that knows shoot day next door that what, even the back lawn has birds on a shoot day next door that what We are surrounded by game shoots here for miles around, so either they don't have many hens or the cocks are the more likely to roam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 33% is good for ex layers and yes, cocks most certainly do have a tendency to wander more than hens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Most keepers tend to believe that the cocks are worst for roaming, but i was on a GWCT day a few years ago and seemingly they have done radio tracking and ringing studies which proves the oppisate. They say the cock will find a territory and stay there (might roam to find it?) which sort of makes sense as generally most males tend be be more territorial He thought that the cocks are more likely to be noticed wandering and u don't notice the 6 hens in the background wandering with it. Hens do seem to favour some woods thou, esp very warm settled woods Nothing wrong with 30+% as a pt keeper esp in ur 1st season, tides edge makes a good point that generally with ex layers u will get more hens to cocks (is about 7-1 the corrct ratio? been a while since i've been involved with that side of things) Just thinking after typing that, mibee the cock holds the same territory all year hence always wandering down the hedgerows and not in the woods while the hens only come out to breeding territories in the spring? Edited August 18, 2014 by scotslad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Most keepers tend to believe that the cocks are worst for roaming, That's put me in my place!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Sorry charlie, was a few keepers with us that day too and all were surprised, althou i don't think most believed him thou. Dunno if true or not but thats wot the GWCT boy said and to be fair he is quite good an knows his stuff. To be honest i don't keep an accurate enough count of cocks to hens ratio to know. And to really find out u would have to ring/tag all your birds so u knew where each bird came from. Possibly if ur shooting 50;50ish u could be shooting all ur neighbours cocks and ur shooting all his? It'sonly in the last 30 mins had this brain wave (might be complete b*****ks of course)I'm thinking cocks might just wander find a territory and then stay put usually in a good breeding bit, funny how u always get cocks in the same corner/rough bits and even when u shoot him there is another 1 there next time. Mibee holding the good breeding territories for the spring, which are unfortunately not ur woods or cover crops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Actually, the more I think about it the more the GWTC's findings make sense. I must say, I do agree with your comments about not noticing hens. When I was out dogging in early this morning I stumbled across a large bunch of hens in some tall stubble. I'd have bet a tenner there wasn't a bird within 500 yds ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalmac Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 Tend to see more cocks dead in the road than hens.... perhaps they are all the same as human blokes, do anything to get away from moaning women for a bit and just pop back for food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 My own personal observations are that cocks hold better than hens, both will wander of course but when hens go they go in a group, this is especially so later in the season when they are well past the poult stage. Another point that I have noticed is that some woods are cock woods, some are hen woods and some are just more or less an even mix. The more open type of wood is favoured by cocks, more dense ground cover, thorn thickets or similar are favoured by hens. It is as if cocks like to show off and hens like to hide away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 you have just described, a shoot I know of its a bit larger, release a few, put ex layers down which then justifies shooting all hens. do you ring/tag the ex layers to confirm that they are the ones you released !!! cocks are a lot more crafty than hens they run move sooner if they can, or sit later if they cannot escape, hence more hens shot. the shoot I mentioned used to shoot 50/60 I think this is their last season they now shoot 8/12 and still continue to shoot hens cos ex layers are released. think of the future maybe release cocks and limit hens you need deep pockets or restrictions atb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 18, 2014 Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 yep cocks hold better but not necessarily were you want them to, I shall go for that its called Frekostistical analysis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man o kent Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 There was so much wild food about last year, esp daddy long legs, that a lot of people had trouble holding the birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00jacksonp Posted August 20, 2014 Report Share Posted August 20, 2014 I have had the same problems for a number of years. IMHO i would say it is the hens that stay put and the cocks that tend to roam around finding new hens and expanding their territories. Also it is more common to see groups of hens together in numbers. Cock birds seem to be solo birds and in turn this means more spread out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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