off season training

[simcgunner]

After the season we are allowed to use pen raised birds. to train our dogs. The drawback is a smart dog soon learns that it can get  closer to and even catch a planted pen raised bird. which will never happen with  a wild bird. In the picture below is an example the young dog has crept in on the bird. we can do this to about April and the birds start to Molt. Do you do this in the UK?

Edited April 3, 2020 by simcgunner
grammer

[Lloyd90]

Most birds in the U.K. are ‘pen raised birds’ although have USUALLY (I stress that) been released weeks or months before the shooting season so have been living wild for a period before being hunted. 
 

With those birds, how long beforehand did you release them? 
 

Over here a lot of trainers tend to use rabbit pens or flight pens, so they have ‘wild’ rabbits in a big pen that the dogs can flush and be trained on. 
 

 

[simcgunner]

 They are raised in flight pens and caught just before use.We dizzy the bird just before "planting" it they will sit tight for about hour unless  if not disturbed. then they  walk around and fly off at will. the big downside of this is they are not used to finding natural food and if not called back to a recall pen . They will most likely not survive. There is an abundance of large Hawks that live pretty good off our bad shots around our training club. the training birds we use are Quail, Phesant, and chucker Patridge. If the dog holds a solid point  and the bird flushes they are rewarded with a shot bird to retrieve.

[Lloyd90]

1 hour ago, simcgunner said:

 They are raised in flight pens and caught just before use.We dizzy the bird just before "planting" it they will sit tight for about hour unless  if not disturbed. then they  walk around and fly off at will. the big downside of this is they are not used to finding natural food and if not called back to a recall pen . They will most likely not survive. There is an abundance of large Hawks that live pretty good off our bad shots around our training club. the training birds we use are Quail, Phesant, and chucker Patridge. If the dog holds a solid point  and the bird flushes they are rewarded with a shot bird to retrieve.

 

You seem to be a lot more open with what your allowed to do over the pond. I have seen some tie a bird to a reel of hose before, so it takes off, doesn't go far and then just lands again to be flushed. 

 

Thing we'd be in big trouble with some of those methods over here. Although birds being flushed and shot not long after being released isn't unheard off

[simcgunner]

These practices are leagal here. They are common on shooting preserves and only allowed in areas where there are no wild populations. We have learned to our dismay that intermingeling wild with pen raised birds has a disasterous effect on the wild population. that practice led to the decline of the wild turkey almost to extinction . that bird has recovered to the point that it is almost cosidered a pest. and they are predatory on wild bobwhite quail a bird that once flourished and is in serious danger of disapearing..Habitat loss is the main culpret, but this wonderful ground nesting bird is in danger from skunks. coons.housecats, rapters, possims even whitetail deer(another species that has boomed to record highs) We have several organizations trying to help but with the declining number of licensed hunters who support our efforts and the growing number of anti hunting people is rapidly causing many of our forrest lands to become wildlife desserts.I can only hope your country keeps managing your Grouse moors by rotational burns.