Fussy buggers

[jef]

We've had our birds for 5-6 weeks now and this weekend we introduced wheat into the feeders. The timing was purely because the pellets were almost finished and the farm finally had wheat. I went down this afternoon to find huge piles of wheat under the feeders as the birds were only interested in the remaining pellets mixed in amongst it. There is going to be a fair bit of waste due to the current ground conditions but they will have to start eating it once they get hungry and there are no more pellets. I don't see what can be done now but could we have done something differently earlier on?

 

I'm thinking we'll have wheat in the pen from day one next year so they have time to get a taste for it. As it happened last weekend was the first time wheat was available but perhaps we should keep a stock for next year.

 

Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated.

 

James

[bjlfishing]

if i was you id try to get my hands on some pellet and ween them off 50/50 wheat pellet slowly over acouple of weeks other than that im snookered

[palombier]

James

 

Because they are used to the pellets in the feeders,they will look for every last one until they realise that there aren't any. The result will be as you have described,piles of wheat on the ground.Pheasants will take scattered grain from the floor, so next year start broadcasting at about 9-10 weeks as this gets them used to it. It also helps if you have 1 or 2 feeeeders with just grain in them. There is not a lot you can do about it in essence,just one of the vagaries of rearing game.

 

Regards

 

P

[chrisjack231]

i have been mixing mine 50/50 fpr a few weeks now,have not had really any noticable waste as yet,going to try and ween them onto wheat over the next couple of weeks

 

i just remembered,i put a spring feeder in with my parts as well as kingfisher feeders,

thought i would try and get them used to them,within 2 hours they emptied that completly out of pellets

but another pen i tried it in they didnt,could not understand that at all

i just cant afford to feed my birds on pellets all the time as im sure most cant

Edited September 9, 2008 by chrisjack231

[Devon Fox]

James

 

Because they are used to the pellets in the feeders,they will look for every last one until they realise that there aren't any. The result will be as you have described,piles of wheat on the ground.Pheasants will take scattered grain from the floor, so next year start broadcasting at about 9-10 weeks as this gets them used to it. It also helps if you have 1 or 2 feeeeders with just grain in them. There is not a lot you can do about it in essence,just one of the vagaries of rearing game.

 

Regards

 

P

 

 

100% agree with above,when we deliver our birds from the game farm we always advise as above, mixing just doesnt work, they will scatter and waste so much food its untrue, and very often even if its not mixed they will dig and search for pellets!

[Down South]

I start adding wheat at 25% when the birds are 12 weeks old. They are on 100% wheat 2 weeks later like it or not. Hand feeding a little wheat early on helps as well.

[jef]

Thanks chaps.

 

I shouldn't complain. Just had a mate on the phone who thinks he's lost half of his 200 birds released this weekend thanks to 125mm of rain in 48 hours. Also heard of another mate who found 30 poults burried in his pen. The funny thing is he'll shoot more foxes in a year than all of us put together.

 

 

James

Edited September 9, 2008 by jef

[Quist]

I don't think you'll have a problem. Once they get hungry, they'll switch quick enough.

Good news is that August was such a **** month weatherwise that a lot of the wheat coming in is only fit for feed and feed prices are coming down.