PEREGRINE Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Hi guys a question for you, I am considering getting a couple of old chest freezers and storing my shot pigeons, until I have 500 or so and selling them to a game dealer. My question is how much is the going rate for pigeons when sold this way? Also are they in demand by gamedealers or am I wasting my time? I know some of you blokes shoot a lot of birds and must have the same idea, so any help would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernyha Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Peregrine,you need to know how far away your nearest dealer is and how much he pays for frozen birds. In my case the dealer is 25 miles away and only pays 10p per bird. This doesn't cover the cost of keeping them when you take the fuel for the car and the electricity to run the freezer into account. What i normally do is only take the frozen birds when i have a good number of fresh ones as well, otherwise i use the frozen ones as decoys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Do you have to pluck and prepare them etc. before you sell them to the game dealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 We are sort of **** over here at the mo Dazza as there is game dealer to take the birds (that I know of). We had someone last year but he's not taking them this year. We give a ferret breeder ours. Sorry meant to tell you that the game dealers take them as they are (not plucked) but the people in my pub want them that way :yp: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 P Find a Local restaurant, Pub or Butcher and offer them the birds or rabbits. I have a couple of restaurants who I keep topped up with Pigeon Breasts and a Hotel that takes the head shot rabbits. But I dont shoot them in any great volume. I dont ask for anything much in return 25p for a pair of breasts and I get £1.50 off the Hotel for the rabbits. However I do prepare them first and bag them up. The butcher normally takes a few of each buck shee and gives me the odd pound of sausages now and then... Bit like Jonesey on Dads Army... Other than that I freeze them and eat them my self. I think we have to be very carefull about establishing a regular outlet for the birds particularly as we shoot under the name of pest control and not as a commercial enterprise. I am of the opinion that if anything is going to undermine our sport and jeopardise its future it will be the bleatings of those that see we are shooting large numbers of birds and doing so for a profit. FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Not that it matters to me anyway! If I manage to find a pigeon to shoot I' ll be treating it like a bar of gold! :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon master Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Peregrine do you have any dogs? If so then buy yourself a slow cooker, debreast the birds and stick them in, leave for a few to many hours and hey presto, the best dog food a man can get. My dogs love them and I do to but I think I would struggle to eat all of them without the help of my two dogs. Try not to kill what you can not use, its not really the way to go about killing, pest or game. I know it happens and I would struggle to use a red letter day but it would kill me to put these fine birds into a bin liner and throw them in the bin, you might as well leave them for next time. If you have a free ad mag paper then advertise them in there for working dog food or falcons etc, that way poeple will collect them from you so theres no messing about. Thats my tip The PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Try not to kill what you can not use, its not really the way to go about killing, pest or game. Always a difficult issue, when you remember that we are crop protecting, by pest extermination. I have never told a Farmer, "I didn't shoot as many as I could have, because my freezer is full, so I've left them for the next time"." If I did, I doubt there would be a "next time". Another option is to just cut off the breast meat, put it in plastic bags and freeze it. Then its available for you, friends, dogs etc when you want it. Pigeon breasts are small and take up very lttle room, unlike a whole feathered bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon master Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Cranfield I understand what your talking about with regards to pest control over crops but like you say you can get alot of pigeon breasts in a chest freezer. Its just my point if view, if you can then find a source for your dead pigeons then thats makes all the difference, waste not want not my parents always drilled into me, and to take a life even though a pest then we should try to do something with them. Saying that I never eat crows so they go to my mates ferrets but sometimes I can not find a use for them. Please dont think I'm judgeing anyone who puts every pigeon in the bin because thats not the case but like I said, it just makes me feel better if I use them. Happy woody shooting PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdfish Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 I left a load in a black bin bag the other day over the weekend as I had completely forgotten about them. I would strongly advise that others do not do the same. Yhe drive to work on monday was not fun jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plinker Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 jimd, why don't you take sandwiches to work like everyone else? :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digga Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 a mate of mine gives his to one of the local chinese restaurants, ( for personal use!) :yp: they offer him a free take-away once a week, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 just spent two minutes mesmorised by diggas avatar. :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon master Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 me 2 :yp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digga Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 just spent two minutes mesmorised by diggas avatar. :yp: my son pinched it off someone on another site, shall i put it back up? or look for my own? I think its nice to have a change now and then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digger Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 bring it back ! and to have that in a chat with references to chest freezers and breasts ? del boy would be proud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digga Posted September 13, 2004 Report Share Posted September 13, 2004 bring it back ! and to have that in a chat with references to chest freezers and breasts ? del boy would be proud there we go my mrs is back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Mike Posted September 15, 2004 Report Share Posted September 15, 2004 I get £1.50 for rabbits and £1.50 for pigeons plucked and gutted or 18p otherwise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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